No. 10 Oklahoma (14-3, 2-2) defeated Texas A&M (8-8, 1-3) 77-62 on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Back in the win column 😁#BoomerSooner // #ONE pic.twitter.com/7ySwFIkWnr
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) January 13, 2025
Here are three takeaways from the win:
Aggressive on defense
Oklahoma played aggressively on defense. The team held Texas A&M to 18 of 67 baskets, shooting 26.9% from the floor. The Sooners stole the ball 11 times and forced the Aggies to turn the ball over 17 times. As a result, the Sooners gained 15 points off opponent turnovers.
OU got under the glass to gain the rebounds as well. Against Texas A&M, Oklahoma had 47 rebounds, 33 of which were defensive.
With this aggressive playing style, personal fouls are still a problem for the Sooners. On Thursday against Mississippi State, Oklahoma had 21 personal fouls. Tonight, Oklahoma had 22 personal fouls against the Aggies. Redshirt senior center Liz Scott had five, fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter and senior guard Payton Verhulst was in danger of fouling out of the game with three.
“We fouled too much in the second half, but in the first half we’ll say that was as good a half as any that we’ve had from the defensive end,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “And I think this team wants to guard. We do. We want to and we need to guard, because we’re capable of guarding.”
Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams prove to be key players
Junior center Raegan Beers led the way for the Sooners on Sunday. Throughout the game, Beers played aggressively. On both sides of the ball, she got in the paint and grabbed available rebounds.
From the line Beers only missed one making 10 of 11 free-throws helping Oklahoma achieve a free-throw percentage of 73.9%. In the first half of the game Beers scored a total of 16 points, ending her night with 16 points, six rebounds and one assist.
Beers left the game early in the second half due to a currently unknown injury.
Sophomore forward Sahara Williams was also a key player for Oklahoma. On the floor Williams got in her opponents' faces and communicated with her teammates to gain points. The forward played aggressively on both sides of the ball and grabbed four defensive rebounds.
Williams finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Offensive improvement
Throughout conference play the Sooners have struggled turning over the ball and shooting from the three-point range. In their first three Southeastern Conference games the Sooners have attempted 58 three-pointers, only making 18 of them.
Against the Aggies, OU made eight of 33 attempts with a three-point shooting percentage of 24.2% Five Sooners were able to sink one or more three-pointers. Redshirt senior guard Nevaeh Tot, sophomore forward Sahara Williams, and Vann each had two.
Oklahoma cleaned up the turnovers tonight, improving from recent performances. On Jan. 5 against No. 16 Tennessee, the Sooners had 31 turnovers. On Sunday against Texas A&M, OU turned the ball over 19 times giving the Aggies 15 points as a result.
“I think the turnovers that we’re going to keep working on are our post entry passes,” Baranczyk said. “...We need to be better receivers. We need to be better passers. We need to understand angles.”
Next Oklahoma will face Missouri (11-8) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Lloyd Noble Center on SEC Network+.
