No. 11 OU women’s basketball (20-6, 8-5 SEC) narrowly defeated No. 24 Georgia 71-67 (20-7, 6-7 SEC) on Thursday in Athens behind a dominant performance by freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez.
The Sooners picked up another resume-building win against an AP Top 25 opponent to improve their record against ranked opponents to 3-6 and increase their chances of hosting an NCAA Tournament first-round game in Norman.
OU has faced ranked opponents in four of its last five games, going 2-2 in the stretch with losses coming against No. 4 Texas (24-3, 9-3 SEC) and No. 5 Vanderbilt (24-3, 10-3 SEC) and wins coming against No. 25 Alabama (20-6, 6-6 SEC) and Georgia. The Sooners have dealt with significant adversity during the five-game stretch, as all four of their ranked matchups were on the road, with the lone home game against Florida (15-12, 3-9 SEC), where OU had to overcome a 13-point deficit.
Head coach Jennie Baranczyk's group has shown growth during a pivotal stretch, capitalizing on opportunities against tournament-caliber opponents and building a three-game winning streak. OU is widely projected to have a spot in the tournament, according to the NCAA women’s tournament selection committee and ESPN’s Bracketology, barring a late collapse.
Chavez carried the offensive load for a Sooners team that struggled to find consistent production beyond its star freshman. She finished with 27 points on 53% shooting to have her fourth-best scoring performance of the season.
Chavez has also elevated her production against ranked competition this season, averaging 16.3 points on 33% shooting in the Sooners’ past eight matchups against Top 25 opponents. Against Georgia, she shot a perfect eight for eight from the free throw line, continuing her consistency from the stripe against ranked teams. Her reliability from the field and ability to draw fouls to push OU into the bonus were invaluable to the Sooners with star senior center Raegan Beers sidelined for 23 minutes of Thursday’s contest.
Junior forward Sahara Williams was the only other Sooner to eclipse double figures in scoring, finishing with 11 points. She drilled a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute before Beers sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Chavez’s efforts were much needed in order to combat a 29-point outing by Georgia sophomore forward Mia Woolfolk. Woolfolk became the fourth player in four games to erupt against the Sooners, joining Vanderbilt guards sophomore Mikayla Blakes (34 points) and freshman Aubrey Galvan (30) along with Florida’s sophomore guard Liv McGill (29). The Sooners may need to improve their ability to contain high-scoring opponents as postseason play approaches, where a single standout performance can end a postseason run.
While OU wasn’t able to contain Woolfolk, its defense held in the closing minutes, preserving its perfect record this season when leading at halftime.
OU will look to keep its momentum going against another ranked opponent, No. 21 Tennessee, at 1 p.m. Sunday at Lloyd Noble Center on ESPN.
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
