Oklahoma Sooners-Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball

Redshirt senior forward Skylar Vann during the game against Kentucky on Feb. 2

 Willie Gillespie/OU Daily

WATCH: OU women's basketball beat the Auburn Tigers 73-71 Tuesday evening.

Filmed and edited by Kadence Rodriguez

No. 16 Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 SEC) defeated Auburn (12-12, 3-8 SEC) 73-71 Monday night at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Here are three takeaways from tonight’s matchup:

Improvement on ball movement

During the season, Oklahoma has had some communication problems. Some of these miscommunications led to turnovers and accidentally passing the ball to its opponents. There were many instances against the Auburn Tigers where Oklahoma showed improvement when moving the ball. 

OU has averaged 21.9 assists per game and reached 21 against Auburn Monday night. Despite moving the ball well, the Sooners turned the ball over 20 times, allowing the Tigers to score 26 points off it. This is an improvement from Thursday against Mississippi when Oklahoma had 26 turnovers. 

“We’re gonna struggle because we’re averaging giving up 25 points a game,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “So when we don’t, we’re really, really good. And when we do, it comes down to the end, and we give up a 10 point lead in a minute.”

 

Skylar Vann and Payton Verhulst

Redshirt senior guard Skylar Vann and senior guard Payton Verhulst were the top scorers against the Tigers. 

Throughout the season Vann has had difficulty on offense and has not been able to sink as many shots as she has in the past. She shot 9-for-15 from the field and managed to score one of the Sooners five three-pointers. Vann led the way for Oklahoma, finishing the game with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. 

 

“I need to know that I got a look to score when I have the ball, especially when I feel like I have a mismatch,” Vann said. “I definitely did that today, and it felt good. ”

Coming off back-to-back double-doubles, Verhulst played with aggression and helped the Sooners achieve five three pointers. She was able to make two of nine attempts, the most from a Sooner in the duration of the game. Verhulst was the only Sooner to score two three pointers against the Tigers. Verhulst finished her night with 15 points, six rebounds and one assist.

Personal foul trouble

During the 2024-25 season, Oklahoma has gotten into foul trouble often. Against Mississippi on Thursday, the Sooners had 21 personal fouls, and Vann fouled out of the game with five. 

On Monday against Auburn, four Sooners were in foul trouble. Sophomore forward Sahara Williams and junior guard Reyna Scott had three personal fouls, while redshirt senior center/forward Liz Scott and Vann had four each. 

Due to the constant stop and start from fouls and turnovers on both sides of the ball, momentum started to slow down, allowing Auburn to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Despite losing some momentum, it did not stop the Sooners from playing with aggression and securing the home victory.

Next, OU will take on Missouri (13-13, 2-9 SEC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri on SEC Network. 

What channel is Oklahoma vs. Auburn on today? 

TV channel: SEC Network

Start time: 7 p.m.

Location: Lloyd Noble Center

Notes: This is the second matchup between the schools and the first in Norman. 

Oklahoma women’s basketball schedule 

Nov. 4: Oklahoma 76, Southern 44

Nov. 8: Oklahoma 95, Virginia 51

Nov. 13: Oklahoma 122, Western Carolina 56

Nov. 19: Oklahoma 79, Wichita State 49

Nov. 22: Oklahoma 88, UNLV 58

Nov. 25: Oklahoma 85, DePaul 62

Nov. 27: Duke 109, Oklahoma 99

Dec. 4: Oklahoma 78, Louisville 72

Dec. 8: Oklahoma 110, Alabama State 46

Dec. 15: Oklahoma 94, Oral Roberts 54

Dec. 17: Oklahoma 72, Michigan 62

Dec. 22: Oklahoma 111, Omaha 65

Dec. 29: Oklahoma 82, New Mexico State 64

Jan. 2: Texas 80, Oklahoma 73

Jan. 5: Oklahoma 87, Tennessee 86

Jan. 9: Mississippi State 81, Oklahoma 77

Jan. 12: Oklahoma 77, Texas A&M 62

Jan. 16: Oklahoma 80, Missouri 63

Jan. 19: South Carolina 101, Oklahoma 60

Jan. 26: Oklahoma 86, Georgia 55

Jan. 30: LSU 107, Oklahoma 100

Feb. 2: Kentucky 95, Oklahoma 86

Feb. 6: Oklahoma 66, Mississippi 56

Feb. 10: vs. Auburn at 7 p.m. (TV: SEC NEtwork)

Feb. 16: at Missouri at 1 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 20: vs. Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 23: at Arkansas at 2 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

Feb. 27: at Florida at 6 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

March 2: vs. Alabama at 1:30 p.m. (TV: SEC Network)

This story was edited by Josh McDaniel.

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