OU women's basketball defeats Western Carolina 122-56, sets program record for most points in a game

No. 9 Oklahoma (3-0) defeated Western Carolina (3-1) 122-56 on Wednesday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

In the win, the Sooners set a program record for points in a game.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Skylar Vann and Raegan Beers lead the way

On Wednesday, redshirt senior forward Skylar Vann and junior center Raegan Beers combined for 42 total points. At the end of the first half, Vann scored 13 points while Beers scored 15 points.

Vann is known as a powerhouse on the court. In the first half of the game against Western Carolina the redshirt senior scored 13 points and finished the game with 15. Vann played with aggression and was not afraid to put her

Junior center Raegan Beers had another impressive game on Wednesday. Beers shot 12-for-14 from the field, and continued to play aggressively in and out of the paint.

Vann finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. For the third time this season, Beers had over 20 points, with 27 points, nine rebounds and one assist.

Defensive aggression improved

The Sooners defense played aggressively against Western Carolina. They consistently forced pressure, and forced 15 turnovers.

They played a hard man-on-man and zone coverage during the game, and also forced eight steals and blocked three shots.

“I think paint is always going to be a key for us,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “I think we’re learning different ways to be able to guard and one, you have to know yourself. You have to be able to know the people that are on the floor with you. I think we’re also to a point now where you can really start to focus on your opponent as well on what they’re wanting.”

Inside the paint, Beers grabbed multiple rebounds and got the ball to numerous Sooners at the other end of the court for points.

Improvement from the 3-point range

Prior to Wednesday, the Sooners had only made nine three-pointers, despite averaging 85.5 points per game. Against the Catamounts, the Sooners went 10-for-18 on 3-pointers.

Redshirt senior guards Aubrey Joens and Lexy Keys both went 3-for-3 on three-pointers, and combined to shoot 7-for-7 on Wednesday. Joens finished with nine points, one rebound and one assist. Keys finished her game with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

“We’re never going to rely on someone having to make a shot,” Baranczyk said. “That’s where depth comes in. It’s been a couple games that maybe the ball wasn’t going in the hole, but everyday it goes in the hole… So if it’s never going in, then we have a different conversation.”

Next, Oklahoma will play Wichita State (1-1) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

This story was edited by Daniel Homrok