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Oklahoma Sooners battle to top 25 win over Michigan Wolverines

Takeaways from Oklahoma Sooners Basketball’s gritty win over the Michigan Wolverines.

The Oklahoma Sooners earned their second top 25 win of the season on Tuesday night, defeating the No. 25 (Coaches Poll) Michigan Wolverines 72-62.

It was a hard-fought win as the Wolverines tested the Sooners physically and pushed the pace offensively. And on a night when Oklahoma didn’t shoot their best, they still found a way to come out on top in the end.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

Experience Shines Through

Michigan is young and scrappy. They’d won nine in a row coming into the Jumpman Invitational and gave Oklahoma everything they could handle. In the end, the Sooners were able to pull away.

The Sooners trailed 39-35 with just over six minutes to play in the third quarter. A 9-0 run, where Oklahoma scored on four of their next five possessions, helped the Sooners establish control of the game. And the Sooners never looked back. They outscored Michigan 37 to 23 over the final 16 minutes of game action.

Overcame Adversity

The Sooners came into the game shooting 50% from the field. Against Michigan, OU only shot 37.5% from the field and 30.8% from three. In the first half, Oklahoma shot just 31.4% from the field and were just 3 of 14 from three.

The Sooners also had 21 turnovers in the game. Oklahoma also had to overcome foul trouble for their leading scorer and rebounder, Raegan Beers.

It wasn’t the cleanest performance from one of the best shooting teams in the nation, but they were much better in the second half, where they shot 44.8% from the field and 41.7% from three.

Team Win

Despite her foul trouble, Beers chipped in nine points and 10 rebounds. The Sooners ended up with four players in double figures, including a team-high 12 points from Payton Verhulst and Skylar Vann. Lexy Keys chipped in 11 points off the bench, including 3 of 7 from three.

Oklahoma had eight players score at least six points in the game and received 23 points off the bench.

It wasn’t the cleanest performance for the Oklahoma Sooners. But they found a way to get a tough win in a neutral site contest against a top 25 team. They’ll hope to build on that performance with two more nonconference games against Omaha and New Mexico State before what will likely be a top 10 showdown against the Texas Longhorns to open SEC play.

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Oklahoma Sooners have record breaking day in win over Western Carolina

The Oklahoma Sooners set a program record for points in their win over Western Carolina.

It was field trip day for the Oklahoma Sooners at the Lloyd Noble Center. And they put on a show for those in attendance. The Sooners beat Western Carolina 122 to 56 to move to 3-0 on the season.

It was a big day for the Sooners, who continue to light up the scoreboard and put forth fantastic defensive efforts. Through three games, OU hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 56 points in a game this season.

Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma’s 122-56 win over Western Carolina.

1. Setting Records

The Oklahoma Sooners have been on a tear at the offensive end of the floor. On Wednesday morning, they kept it rolling, setting a new program record for points in a game at 122. That surpasses the former record of 121 points from 2007 and 1990.

Oklahoma’s 66-point margin of victory is the largest under Jennie Baranczyk and the fifth-largest margin of victory in Sooner’s history.

The Sooners shot an incredible 63.2% from the field. After struggling from three-point range for the first couple of games, OU came to life from deep in this one, hitting 50% of their threes in the win. They were 7 of 8 in the second half from three.

The Sooners have increased their scoring output in each of their three games and are now averaging 97.67 points per game this season.

2. Raegan Beers dominates

The reigning AP National and SEC Player of the Week had another fantastic performance for the Sooners against Western Carolina. Raegan Beers was 12 of 14 from the field and scored 27 points in the win. She had nine rebounds, including five offensive boards.

Beers has been dominant to start the season for the Sooners and her presence opens everything else up for the rest of the offense.

3. Three ball comes to life

Even though the Oklahoma Sooners were dominant in their opening pair of victories, they struggled to get their three-point stroke going. It looked like it was going to be another rough outing after starting out 3 of 10 from three in the first half. But the Sooners turned it around in the second 20 minutes, hitting 7 of 8 from downtown.

Lexy Keys and Aubrey Joens each went 3-for-3 from three.

If the Sooners can hit from deep on a regular basis, they’ll be incredibly tough to defend this season.

What’s Next for Oklahoma

The Sooners are now 3-0 on the season and sit at No. 9 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. They’ll have a week off before they go on the road to take on Wichita State on Tuesday, November 19.

Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles one of five national players of the week

Another honor for her.

Notre Dame guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] already was named the ACC Player of the Week for the first week of the season. That only proved to be the beginning though.

Miles has been named one of five national players of the week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Joining her are Oklahoma’s Raegan Beers, Rutgers’ Destiny Adams, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Norfolk State’s Diamond Johnson.

To say Miles has wasted no time announcing her return after missing all of last season with a knee injury is an understatement. She achieved a triple-double in the season opener against Mercyhurst and scored 17 points against Purdue, three of them coming on a shot from beyond half-court at the third-quarter buzzer.

In this young season, Miles is averaging 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists a game. She will have a chance to improve on those numbers in the Irish’s next game Wednesday against James Madison. That will be followed by a contest Sunday against Lafayette.

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Oklahoma Sooners Forward Raegan Beers earns national, SEC weekly honors

Oklahoma Sooners forward Raegan Beers earned several weekly honors after her impressive start to the 2024-2025 college basketball season.

The Oklahoma Sooners Women’s Basketball team is off to a strong start at 2-0, winning by a margin of 38 points in their first two games. The Sooners moved up to No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Sooners boast an experienced roster and have been led by Oregon State transfer addition Raegan Beers. In two games with the Sooners, Beers is averaging 23.5 points and 14 rebounds per game.

For her efforts, Beers was named AP Player of the Week for the opening week of the women’s basketball season. Beers was also named the SEC Player of the Week and earned a selection to the USBWA’s starting five of the week. Beers was also named to the Wade Trophy watch list, as selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

She’s been as advertised, providing the Sooners an inside scoring presence and has impressed with her range and rebounding ability. Beers shot an incredible 70% from the field and 50% from the three-point line.

The Sooners are one of the more intriguing teams in the nation with an experienced group and one of the more talented frontcouts in college basketball with Beers, Skylar Vann, and Sahara Williams.

Oklahoma Sooners move up one spot in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After a strong start to the season, the Oklahoma Sooners earned a bump in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a 2-0 start to the 2024-2025 women’s college basketball season. They’ve won their two games by an average margin of 38 points per game in wins over Southern and, most recently, Virginia of the ACC.

With their hot start to the season, Jennie Baranczyk and the Sooners have moved up one spot to No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Sooners have been led by transfer forward [autotag]Raegan Beers[/autotag], who is averaging 23.5 points and 14 rebounds. She was named AP Player of the Week in her first week of action with the Sooners.

The top of the poll features defending national champion South Carolina, who garnered 29 of the possible 31 first-place votes this week. They’re followed by UConn, USC, Texas, and Notre Dame in the top five.

The Sooners are one of four SEC teams in the top 10, coming in two spots behind Liz Mulkey’s LSU Tigers.

Oklahoma’s in a solid spot in the first couple of weeks and will look to build on their start when they take on the Western Carolina Catamounts on Wednesday morning at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Full USA TODAY Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll

Ranking Team Record Points
1 South Carolina Gamecocks 2-0 772 (29)
2 UConn Huskies 2-0 740 (1)
3 USC Trojans 2-0 707 (1)
4 Texas Longhorns 2-0 674
5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1-0 652
6 UCLA Bruins 2-0 598
7 LSU Tigers 2-0 586
8 Iowa State Cyclones 3-0 547
9 Oklahoma Sooners 2-0 516
10 NC State Wolfpack 1-1 476
11 Kansas State Wildcats 2-0 462
12 Ohio State Buckeyes 1-0 439
13 West Virginia Mountaineers 2-0 382
14 Maryland Terrapins 3-0 378
15 North Carolina Tar Heels 2-0 327
16 Duke Blue Devils 2-1 281
17 Baylor Bears 1-1 256
18 Louisville Cardinals 1-1 206
19 Kentucky Wildcats 2-0 165
20 Nebraska Cornhuskers 2-0 158
21 Ole Miss Rebels 1-1 145
22 Alabama Crimson Tide 3-0 123
23 Stanford Cardinal 3-0 99
24 Illinois Fighting Illini 2-0 87
25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 2-0 50

Schools Dropped Out

No. 19 Florida State; No. 20 Creighton; No. 24 Indiana;

Others Receiving Votes

Oregon 42; Florida State 38; Iowa 34; Tennessee 33; Utah 17; Creighton 11; Auburn 11; TCU 10; Michigan State 9; Middle Tennessee 8; Indiana 8; Fairfield 7; UNLV 6; Michigan 4; Penn State 3; Mississippi State 3; Saint Joseph’s 2; Gonzaga 2; Richmond 1; Columbia 1;

List Of Voters

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Brian Holsinger, Montana; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Renee Jimenez, UC Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.

Oklahoma Women’s Basketball inside Top 10 of preseason Coaches Poll

Where did Oklahoma Women’s Basketball land in the Preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll?

It’s a new era for Oklahoma Women’s Basketball as the Sooners prepare to take on the challenge of the SEC. Coming off their third straight NCAA tournament appearance, [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] enters a conference featuring the last three national champions; South Carolina (2022 and 2024) and LSU (2023).

But the Sooners have a good and experienced roster to wade into the waters of the historically strong SEC women’s basketball league. A conference with elite teams and historic blue bloods. Can the Sooners take the next step to join the sport’s elite?

The Oklahoma Sooners enter the 2024-2025 season as one of the top 10 teams in the nation, according to the USA TODAY Sports preseason Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Defending national champion South Carolina comes in at No. 1, earning 27 of a possible 31 votes after their undefeated 2023-2024 season. They’re followed by UConn, USC, Texas, and Notre Dame to round out the top five.

UConn was knocked off by Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the final four. Juju Watkins and USC won the Pac-12 tournament last year before getting beat by UConn in the Elite 8. They’re the team to beat in the expanded Big Ten. Texas won the Big 12 tournament title after falling short of Oklahoma in the regular season title race.

The Sooners are the fourth-highest-ranked SEC team in the poll. Seven SEC teams were included in the top 25.

Led by returning Big 12 Player of the Year [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] and one of the top players in the transfer portal [autotag]Raegan Beers[/autotag], the Sooners are set to make another tournament appearance in 2024-2025. But the question the Sooners are facing is if they can make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in Baranczyk’s tenure and the first time since 2013.

2024-25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll

Rank School (Last Year’s Record) Points First Place Votes
1 South Carolina (38-0) 770 27
2 Connecticut (33-6) 734 3
3 Southern California (29-6) 716 1
4 Texas (33-5) 670 –
5 Notre Dame (28-7) 629 –
6 UCLA (27-7) 612 –
7 LSU (31-6) 567 –
8 North Carolina State (31-7) 533 –
9 Iowa State (21-12) 487 –
10 Oklahoma (23-10) 457 –
11 Duke (22-12) 449 –
12 Baylor (26-8) 434 –
13 Kansas State (26-8) 407 –
14 Ohio State (26-6) 405 –
15 West Virginia (25-8) 285 –
16 North Carolina (20-13) 263 –
17 Louisville (24-10) 261 –
18 Maryland (19-14) 254 –
19 Florida State (23-11) 177 –
20 Creighton (26-6) 150 –
21 Mississippi (24-9) 135 –
22 Kentucky (12-20) 106 –
23 Nebraska (23-12) 92 –
24 Indiana (26-6) 75 –
25 Alabama (24-10) 57 –

Others Receiving Votes

Gonzaga 49; TCU 37; Tennessee 32; Stanford 32; Iowa 28; Utah 25; South Dakota State 22; Oregon State 21; Princeton 18; Colorado 15; Virginia Tech 10; Illinois 9; Middle Tennessee 8; Fairfield 7; Richmond 6; California 6; Auburn 5; UNLV 4; Miami (FL) 4; FGCU 4; South Florida 3; George Mason 2; Saint Joseph’s 1; Michigan 1; Cleveland State 1;

List Of Voters

The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Brian Holsinger, Montana; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Renee Jimenez, UC Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.

Oklahoma Women’s Basketball hosting No. 1 prospect on official visit

The Oklahoma Sooners are hosting the No. 1 player in the 2025 recruiting class, Aaliyah Chavez on an official visit.

Oklahoma Women’s Basketball and head coach [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] are hoping to build off of another tournament appearance in their first season in the mighty SEC. They landed one of the top players in the transfer portal in forward [autotag]Raegan Beers[/autotag], and are in the running for the No. 1 player in the [autotag]2025 recruiting class[/autotag], [autotag]Aaliyah Chavez[/autotag].

Chavez, who is in Norman for an official visit this weekend. According to On3, her current top schools are Texas and Texas Tech, but Oklahoma remains a possibility. Other schools in pursuit are defending national champion South Carolina and West Coast power UCLA.

Citing sources, On3’s Talia Goodman shared that NIL is likely to be a significant factor in Chavez’s recruitment. But you can never underestimate the power of a great recruiting visit.

Over the Summer, Chavez told On3 of the Oklahoma Sooners, “It’s not too far from home, and I love coach Jennie [Baranczyk]. She’s the head coach that I usually talk to. She’s very young, and I like how they just play basketball. They don’t try to force anything – no sets. They just go out there and play basketball.”

Chavez went on to say that she wanted to play for a place that allowed her to have high energy and for a coach that didn’t have “low energy.”

 

The 2023-2024 Gatorade Girls basketball Player of the Year averaged 37.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.5 steals for Monterrey in Lubbock, Texas as a junior.

She’s a dynamic point guard who can facilitate the offense but also dominate the game with her ability to work to the basket as well as shoot from every area on the court.

Oklahoma will have to make a strong impression this weekend with Chavez to put them at the front of the recruiting race for the top player in the class. Baranzcyk and her staff have done a really good job on the recruiting trail and this is a huge weekend for the program to take another strong step toward being a national title contender.

Pair of Oklahoma Sooners earn All-SEC preseason honors

Pair of Sooners earn All-SEC preseason selections for the 2024-2025 season.

As the Oklahoma Sooners venture into their first season in the SEC, they’ll be faced with new challenges. But the 2023-2024 Big 12 champions will pose a threat in their new conference home as well.

The Sooners were picked to finish fourth by SEC media in their preseason poll.

Oklahoma finished behind South Carolina, Texas, and LSU. Though it will be a tough mountain to climb, especially as South Carolina and LSU have won each of the last three titles, the Sooners have a talented roster for head coach Jennie Baranczyk to work with.

Oklahoma returns 98% of its scoring production from a year ago and added one of the best players in the transfer portal in [autotag]Raegan Beers[/autotag]. Beers was named to the All-SEC preseason first-team while [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] was named to the All-SEC second team by the media.

In 2023-2024, Beers averaged 17.5 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game for Oregon State last season. Vann averaged 15.1 points and seven rebounds per game, earning Co-Big 12 Player of the Year honors last season.

Oklahoma is looking to make their first trip to the sweet 16 under Baranczyk but has a talented and experienced roster to make a run this season.

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Where did Oklahoma Women’s Basketball land in SEC preseason media poll?

Oklahoma Sooners Women’s Basketball picked to finish fourth in the mighty SEC.

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball program is coming off of another strong season in year three under head coach Jennie Baranczyk. They made the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. They battled Indiana tight for 35 minutes before the Hoosiers pulled away late.

Still, it was another encouraging season for Baranczyk and the Sooners ahead of Oklahoma’s move to the SEC.

With their inaugural season in the SEC approaching, the media voted on their preseason rankings and the Oklahoma Sooners came in at No. 4. OU trails defending national champion South Carolina, the Texas Longhorns, and women’s hoops power LSU in the preseason rankings.

https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1845910688952185225

Behind Oklahoma are Ole Miss, Alabama, and then blue blood program Tennessee.

The Sooners have a ton of talent returning for the 2024-2025 season. They return 98% of their scoring production from last year’s Big 12 championship team. It was already an experienced roster, and Baranczyk picked up All-American forward Raegan Beers out of the transfer portal.

The Sooners have an opportunity to go into the SEC and make a statement against the deepest and most talented women’s basketball conference in the nation.

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Jennie Baranczyk says the SEC will ‘be a dogfight’ every night

The SEC is arguably the toughest women’s basketball conference in the country and Jennie Baranzcyk is excited for the challenge.

The move to the SEC raised the stakes for the entire Oklahoma Athletic Department. While much of the focus has been on the increase in competition for the football program, other teams will be seeing a step up in competition and intensity as well.

The SEC boasts arguably the best women’s basketball conference in the country. South Carolina has become a dominant force in recent years under head coach Dawn Staley. The Gamecocks went undefeated in 2023-2024 to capture their second national championship in the last three years. The one that South Carolina didn’t win in 2022-2023 was taken home by Kim Mulkey and the LSU Tigers, led by superstar forward Angel Reese.

Then there’s the women’s hoops blue blood Tennessee. They’ve been a tournament team, but haven’t found the same level of success they enjoyed under the legendary Pat Summitt.

And that’s what the Sooners will have to contend with when they enter the SEC, and Oklahoma women’s basketball head coach [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] is aware of the challenge facing her squad.

“I think you’re looking forward to playing everybody,” Baranczyk shared with SEC Now on Monday. “Because, honestly, I think every night it’s a dogfight every night, you know, and it’s new. It’s new to us. I mean, I know we’re new to everybody, but there’s no familiarity and so that’s going to be really fun in itself, especially that first year or two.”

Eight SEC programs made the Women’s NCAA tournament last season. Five of the eight made it to the round of 32 and the Gamecocks and LSU made it to the elite eight.

As tough as the conference will be for the Sooners, Oklahoma brings in a talented and experienced team. Under Baranczyk, they’ve made the round of 32 each season and were a few possessions away from beating Indiana and reaching the Sweet 16.

The Sooners made a splash in the transfer portal by adding forward [autotag]Raegan Beers[/autotag] to their Big 12 championship squad from a year ago. And as important as the talent on the floor, the Sooners have the right woman at the helm to guide this team on a deep tournament run.

Baranczyk has done a fantastic job with the Oklahoma women’s basketball program and has them positioned to be a force when they enter the SEC.

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