No. 16 OU women’s basketball defeated No. 2 South Carolina 94-82 in an overtime thriller on Thursday.
The Sooners’ (15-4, 3-3 SEC) win over the Gamecocks (19-2, 5-1 SEC) marks their second AP Top-25 and first top-five win of the season after a three-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
Here’s how the Sooners took down the No. 2 team in the nation:
Sooners break losing streak
OU suffered losses to No. 18 Mississippi, No. 11 Kentucky and No. 6 Louisiana State University heading into Thursday, with the Mississippi and LSU games coming at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Head coach Jennie Baranczyk said that the win reminded the team of its identity after going through a period of adversity.
“We’re back to who we are,” Baranczyk said. “This has been a hard, hard, hard two weeks that have felt like two months, and it's challenging.”
OU’s 94 points, the most the Gamecocks have allowed all season, came against the eighth best defense in the nation, which had held opponents to 53.9 points per game heading into the game. It was an offensive onslaught across the entire game, with the Sooners shooting 48% from the field, 39% from 3-point range and a 70% free throw percentage. OU's starters outscored South Carolina’s entire team by four points with 86.
For Baranczyk, the sharp production on a top-10 defense felt like a confidence builder.
“I think it does a lot for the Oklahoma fans in the belief in us, even more than the belief we have in each other,” Baranczyk said. “I think, the synergy that we have, … if you came today, you're like, ‘Dang, I really like this team. I like what they do.’”
Raegan Beers, Sahara Williams physical play
Senior center Raegan Beers and junior forward Sahara Williams posted double-doubles in OU’s win over the Gamecocks.
Beers finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and a block. Her performance came while playing a majority of the fourth quarter and overtime in foul trouble, and South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley praised her perseverance.
“She's a tough guard,” Staley said. “I thought she got her positioning. … She did a great job fighting for her position, and she was constant with it for us.”
Williams posted 12 points and 10 rebounds along with five assists and two steals. Her impact came as a result of her often battling in the paint for rebounds and constantly providing defensive pressure to force turnovers.
“Sahara Williams was different,” Baranczyk said. “Her energy was different, her intensity (too).”
The frontcourt duo accounted for almost a third of the Sooners' 94 points, and their 24 combined rebounds helped OU record 12 second chance points.
Aaliyah Chavez late-game takeover
Chavez took her game to another level in overtime after struggling during the first three quarters.
OU headed into the final 10 minutes of regulation with a two-point lead after trailing for much of the game, but South Carolina didn’t back down. The Gamecocks forced the Sooners to rely on Chavez after she had three first-half points on 1-of-7 shooting.
However, when the pressure started to rise for the Sooners late in the game, Chavez’ clutch 3-point shooting led to a 10-0 run to start overtime, and the Sooner never looked back. She finished with four 3-pointers in overtime.
Chavez credited her teammates for giving her confidence in overtime.
“It was big on my teammates. They kept telling me to keep on shooting,” Chavez said. “Sahara and Raegan, both of them, they were like, ‘That's a great shot. I'll take that shot a million times with you.’ So just knowing that they trust me on taking the shots that I was taking, it just brought my confidence up.”
She recorded 15 points in overtime to finish the contest as the leading scorer with 26 points, four rebounds and eight assists.
“She was great,” Staley said. “She ran her team, did big shots, delivered the ball, everything that you want a point guard to do. So she's having a great freshman year.”
Next, the Sooners will face Auburn (13-7, 2-4 SEC) at 1 p.m. Sunday on the SEC Network.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
