'What great teams do': Sooners pick up 9th straight win behind Kiersten Johnson's career night

No. 23 Oklahoma (18-6, 12-1 Big 12) held off No. 21 Baylor (18-6, 7-6) 84-73 Wednesday in Norman.

OU shot 45.8% and grabbed its ninth straight win, dating back to Jan. 13.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

Sooners' defense shows up

OU has shown visible improvement on the defensive side of the ball from earlier in the season. The Sooners entered the contest third in the Big 12 in turnover margin and hold opponents to the second lowest shooting average in the conference.

The Bears, who average 77.2 points per game, shot 36.8% and struggled shooting throughout the game.

The greatest scoring hurdle for the Bears proved to be in the paint. The Sooners’ defense was aggressive and ruled out Baylor’s ability to drive to the hoop. The Bears were denied at the rim eight times, with junior guard Payton Verhulst blocking five shots. OU outscored Baylor in the paint 38-30.

OU also collected seven steals and scored 22 points off of the Bears’ turnovers.

“It took us a little bit to adjust to them,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said postgame. “As we started to adjust to them, I think we did a better job. I think at the beginning, I felt like there were times where it was like we were being rushed and they got us. Then I felt like we started to play to each other’s strengths….We did a much better job really just playing to each other’s strengths.”

Finding the rim against pressure

Baylor holds the fourth most effective defense in the Big 12 and knew how to flex its muscles against the up-tempo Sooners’ offense. The Bears collected 10 steals from OU and generated 17 turnovers to disrupt its ball movement.

Scoring was difficult, but not an impossible task for the Sooners. OU kept the pace steadfast and found ways to adjust to the Bears’ physicality. The Sooners racked up 26 assists, 10 more than the Bears.

Five players scored over 10 points against Baylor, but one stood out. Sophomore forward Kiersten Johnson scored a career-high 20 points to lead Oklahoma. In addition to her offense, Johnson grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots.

Verhulst also dominated both sides of the floor. Verhulst scored 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, had seven assists and blocked five shots.

“That’s what great teams do,” Baranczyk said. “I thought Payton (Verhulst) was incredible in terms of saying, ‘okay, this is where we’re at, this is what we need to be able to do and just keep going.’ Obviously it’s not ideal but we’re a team and that happens. Teams have to cover for teams and that’s what I felt like we did today.”

Annual Pink Game

OU’s contest with Baylor marked the annual “Pink Game” for breast cancer awareness.

The Sooners ran onto the court donning the usual home white uniforms, but with the crimson lettering replaced with pink. In between breaks, players appeared on the jumbotron with messages of encouragement for loved ones. The opposing Baylor Bears could also be seen displaying the pink ribbon in support of the cause.

Fans, home and visiting, were greeted with free pink t-shirts upon entrance. Dozens of breast cancer survivors were honored on the court during halftime as the crowd shaded in a radiant pink showered them with cheers.

“It’s not just for the color obviously, it’s for them,” Baranczyk said. “It’s so incredible because you can see all of their shirts and everybody’s impacted, unfortunately, by cancer…This is one we get to play for all these people and we really get to shine a light on our community.”

Next, Oklahoma hopes to extend its win streak to 10 against No. 24 West Virginia (21-3, 10-3 Big 12) at noon on Saturday in Morgantown on ESPN+.