No. 10 OU women’s basketball (19-6, 7-5 SEC) landed a 79-71 victory over No. 23 Alabama (20-6, 10-6) in Tuscaloosa.
The win marked the team’s second in a row after beating Florida last week. OU entered today’s matchup hoping to bolster its tournament stock after being projected as the 16th overall seed in March. The Sooners were -3.5 point road favorites against the Tide going into the game. Both schools sat at a game over .500 and tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference before today’s matchup.
The first half was senior center Raegan Beers’ show, as she finished six-for-seven from the field in the first half with a game-leading 13 points. She wasn't the only Sooner to reach double figures in the first half, as redshirt senior guard Payton Verhulst tallied 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the first two quarters.
It was a game of runs in the first as OU caught fire to end the first, culminating in a 7-0 run and a 21-14 lead to close the first quarter. The Sooners’ run continued into the second, reaching 13 unanswered points to take a 27-14 lead before Alabama junior guard Dianna Collins ended the run with a 3-pointer. Her triple kick-started the Crimson Tide’s counter punch, going on its own 18-6 run and pulling within one of OU.
The Sooners created one extra scoring run before entering the locker rooms at halftime. Fueled by freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez’s two-way efforts, OU ended the half on an 8-1 run that featured a pair of buckets off turnovers from the freshman standout. The half ended with OU on top, 41-33, on the road.
The second half began with back-to-back field goals for OU before Verhulst went down with an apparent ankle injury in the third quarter. She was assisted off the court while favoring her left leg. She headed to the locker room with 6:28 left in the third quarter.
Though the Sooners kept battling, Verhulst’s absence was immediately felt. The Tide went on a 26-11 run during Verhulst's absence. She returned with 54 seconds left in the third quarter, however. Verhulst’s first offensive possession back resulted in immediate points, but OU still entered the fourth quarter down 60-58.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle until Chavez took over. Heading into the final period, Chavez had just six points, but she shot perfectly from the field to put this one on ice for OU, hitting all three of her field goals and both of her free throws. This culminated in nine points in the fourth for Chavez, pushing them over the edge. The Sooners survived to win 79-71.
Raegen Beers led the way in both points and rebounds for the Sooners, tallying 21 and nine, respectively. Chavez was the team’s leader in assists with six.
OU’s key victory over the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa added a top-25 win to its already impressive resume, including a win over No. 3 South Carolina. The win also kicked off a two-game road trip that will wrap on Thursday against Georgia (20-6, 6-6).
The Sooners will tip off against the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on the SEC Network in Athens.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
