No. 4 seed OU women’s basketball (26-7) stands one win away from its fourth Elite Eight in program history, but to get there, the Sooners will have to topple one of the nation’s top teams.
On Saturday, head coach Jennie Baranczyk’s group faces its toughest challenge of the postseason: No. 1 seed South Carolina (33-3), a program searching for its fourth national championship in a decade and a team eyeing payback after OU stunned them in a 94-82 overtime thriller in Norman on Jan. 22.
Baranzcyk noted that her group enters the matchup with confidence but also with a clear understanding of the challenge ahead.
“It’s in the Sweet 16, and the margin of error is really, really small,” Baranczyk said. “And at least we go in knowing that. And we better be ready.”
Baranczyk believes that the Gamecocks also share that same mentality, understanding the mindset of a team that lives for the postseason. While the two teams may have different March reputations, Baranczyk noted that underestimating a team of that stature, even though they beat them earlier in the season, will not end well.
“They're very well balanced,” Baranczyk said. “They're a team that's used to the moment. And you never get to play this year's team at this time; you're playing a lot of history there.”
If OU can get over the hump and follow the trend of prior Sooners teams, history suggests there’s still plenty of basketball left to play as April approaches. The win over No. 5 seed Michigan State (23-9) marked the program’s 12th Sweet 16 appearance, but advancing beyond this stage has historically been the barrier. OU has reached three Elite Eights, but in each of those seasons, 2002, 2009 and 2010, the Sooners went even further, advancing to the Final Four and ultimately finishing as national runner-up in 2002.
This year’s roster, though, has shown signs of being built differently. Led by veterans like All-SEC senior center Raegan Beers and the team’s glue, junior forward Sahara Williams, alongside rapidly developing underclassmen like national freshman of the year guard Aaliyah Chavez and sophomore guard Zya Vann, OU has blended experience with youth in a way that has translated throughout the season.
“I love the way that our freshmen ... (are) playing,” Baranczyk said. “They're getting this unmatched experience playing in this conference, playing in the NCAA Tournament. This is their first Sweet 16, so I'm excited to be able to watch them step on the floor and just continue to grow. ... I think they've done great things and everything in between. So I love the mesh of our worlds and just excited to continue to be part of the journey with them.”
That growth was on full display in the first meeting with South Carolina, where Chavez’s late-game poise, a 15-point overtime takeover, helped fuel the upset. But even that win, Baranczyk emphasized, was about more than the result.
“The emotion didn’t come from the win of a game,” Baranczyk said. “The emotion came because we’re a young team trying to navigate life together. … You could feel that togetherness. You could feel those assists. You could feel the pace. You could feel the way that you played. That was really where that emotion is.”
Now, with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line, OU will need to display that same togetherness paired with execution against one of the sport’s most consistent powers to determine whether the Sooners can finally break through a barrier that has held for over a decade.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
