Jennie Baranczyk

OU women's basketball head coach Jennie Baranczyk during the game against Southern on Nov. 4.

No. 10 Oklahoma (1-0) defeated Southern (0-1) 76-44 in their regular season opener on Monday. 

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Vann sisters come alive

In the first five minutes of the game, redshirt senior forward Skylar Vann set the tone right away by scoring eight points. The forward finished with a total of 12 points, seven rebounds and one assist.

In her regular season debut, Skylar’s sister, freshman guard Zya Vann, scored four points with two rebounds and three assists. Head coach Jennie Baranczyk typically doesn’t play freshman, but did not have a problem putting Zya out on the floor when needed. Zya played for a total of 15 minutes and 58 seconds in her collegiate debut.

In the matchup, the sisters shared the court for the first time in college, as they fed off each other to get easy points.

Southern forces many OU turnovers

All game long, the Lady Jaguars pressured the Sooners, forcing OU into turning the ball over 18 times, including 12 steals. 

Oklahoma struggled on the three point line, going 3 for 22. Skylar, redshirt senior guard Lexy Keys and sophomore forward Sahara Williams were the only Sooners to make a three-pointer in the victory. 

Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers lead Sooners’ offense

Even with the Lady Jaguars constantly applying pressure and forcing turnovers, Williams had an impressive night. She managed to score 19 points, with 12 in the first half.

In her debut as a Sooner, Beers led the team in scoring with 21 points and also grabbing 14 rebounds with one assist. 

Next, Oklahoma will play Virginia at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Lloyd Noble Center on SEC Network. 

This story was edited by Daniel Homrok

OU Daily standards

See an error? Earning trust is our duty. We correct errors atop stories. Identify an error, request a takedown or get in touch.

Independent and free since 1916: OU is committed to our editorial independence. You can help ensure our reporting remains strong and accessible to all invested in OU and Norman.

Want to comment? We value dialogue on issues we cover. On our social media accounts, we moderate disparagements, arguments and attacks, including those directed at our staff — and ban those repeatedly failing civility. The editor considers guest column submissions.