Jennie Baranczyk

OU women's basketball head coach Jennie Baranczyk during the game against UNLV on Dec. 9.

 Jenna Burress/OU Daily

OU Daily women's basketball beat reporter Ben Suey gives his top takeaways from the Sooners' victory over Kansas State Wednesday evening.

Check out his takeaways at length on our website: https://www.oudaily.com/sports/ou-womens-basketball-sooners-upset-no-2-kansas-state/article_c396d054-c0a2-11ee-b90c-fbe4b57ef631.html

Oklahoma (14-6, 8-1 Big 12) pulled off a 66-63 upset over No. 2 Kansas State (20-2, 9-1) Wednesday in Norman.

Senior forward Skylar Vann scored a game-high 21 points with former OU stars Madi Williams and Ana Llanusa in attendance.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Matching the physicality

It was no secret coming into the matchup that Kansas State is a physically dominant entity on both sides of the floor. Even with senior center Ayoka Lee out with an ankle injury, the Wildcats were no less imposing against Oklahoma. The challenge for the Sooners was whether they could match their opponent's intensity.

Kansas State guarded the paint ferociously, allowing OU to score only 10 times from the inside in the first half. The Wildcats stole the ball from the Sooners nine times with redshirt freshman Zyanna Walker grabbing four herself. Luckily, OU would answer back with their own prowess. A defensive charge led by senior guard senior guard Nevaeh Tot saw the Sooners answer right back with nine steals of their own and two blocked shots.

OU, after struggling to drive early, outscored the Wildcats 28-20 in the paint. The massive improvement was key in reversing course from the Sooners’ last outing against the Wildcats, which saw Kansas State bully its way to a 74-57 victory.

Vann’s back-to-back 20+ point showcase

When OU struggled to find shots early on in the first quarter, going 5-18, Vann stuck out to help keep the Sooners in pace.

Vann would drive in her first layup at the 8:16 mark to end the Wildcats’ 7-0 start and ended the game going 9-for-18 from the field. Vann matched her total last game against Kansas of 21 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds as well as a block and a steal.

Senior guard Lexy Keys and junior guard Aubrey Joens scored a combined 20 points, with Joens collecting two steals from the Wildcats.

Big win with bigger context

OU’s triumph puts it half a game back of first place in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners haven’t stood atop the conference since beating Bedlam rival Oklahoma State 80-71 to win the 2023 regular season conference title.

However, the win also marks another historical marker in the program’s 50 year history. The last time OU beat the No. 2 team in the nation was against Texas in the 2004 Big 12 Championship game.

Kansas State is the only other AP top 2 opponent Oklahoma has beaten all time.

Next, Oklahoma faces Oklahoma State (11-9, 4-5 Big 12) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater on ESPN+.

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