Tag: Skylar Vann

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.

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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Oklahoma Sooners lose a heartbreaker to Indiana Hoosiers in NCAA Tournament

The Oklahoma Sooners lost a heartbreaker to the Indiana Hoosiers in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Indiana Hoosiers played a tough back-and-forth game throughout their second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

The Sooners held a seven-point lead in the third quarter and a four-point lead with just over two minutes to play, but couldn’t make the advantages hold up.

Turnovers down the stretch gave Indiana an opportunity to take the lead and ultimately pull away for the 75-68 win over the Sooners. The Hoosiers move on to the Sweet 16, where they’ll face top-seeded South Carolina.

It was a rough shooting night for the Sooners, who shot 35.1% from the field and were 4 of 25 (16%) from three. The Hoosiers didn’t shoot that much better, but unlike the Sooners, Indiana was the beneficiary of some uneven officiating.

Indiana shot 16 more free throws than Oklahoma in their seven-point win. Oklahoma’s impressive post duo [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] and [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag] only got to the line eight times combined.

Vann led the way for the Sooners with 20 points on 8 of 23 shooting and Williams added 12 points. Aubrey Joens was the only Sooner in double-figures.

Oklahoma’s starters shot just 25% for the game and the Sooners were just 1-for-7 in the final 2:41 of the game as the Hoosiers went on a 15-4 run to close out the round of 32 win.

It was an unfortunate end to a really good season for the Oklahoma Sooners. They won the Big 12 regular season title and had a shot at their first Sweet 16 in the [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] era. Still, it’s a loss that will sting as Oklahoma had opportunities to pick up the win.

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Oklahoma Sooners survive Florida Gulf Coast upset bid to advance in NCAA Tournament

After trailing for all of the entirety of the first half, the Oklahoma Sooners rallied to beat Florida Gulf Coast 73-70 to advance.

In their opening-round matchup, the Oklahoma Sooners were put to the test by No. 12 seed and ASun champion Florida Gulf Coast.

Oklahoma fell behind in the first quarter by as much as 12 points and were down 10 after the first 10 minutes. But [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag]’s squad responded with a big second quarter to trail by just two at halftime.

The Sooners shot it well in the first, but Florida Gulf Coast forced them into four turnovers, and the Eagles earned four offensive rebounds to keep the pressure on the No. 5 seed Oklahoma.

In the second quarter, the Sooners turned up the defensive pressure, holding the Eagles to just 26.7% shooting after they shot 47% in the first quarter. That defensive effort allowed Oklahoma to cut into the deficit.

Oklahoma’s dynamic forward duo [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] and [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag] led the way with 10 points apiece.

The second half featured a back-and-forth affair with each team taking leads throughout the final 20 minutes.

Battling an injury, Vann continued her dynamic NCAA Tournament performance with 14 second-half points, including six fourth-quarter points and a free throw that gave OU a three-point lead in the final seconds of the game. [autotag]Payton Verhulst[/autotag] came up clutch with seven of her 11 points in the fourth, including what turned out to be the game-winner with under a minute to play.

For the game, Vann scored 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting to lead the way for the Sooners who had just three players in double figures in the win.

Florida Gulf Coast’s Emani Jefferson had a fantastic game, with 22 points and 12 rebounds to give the Sooners fits.

For the game, Oklahoma held Florida Gulf Coast to just 37% shooting and the Sooners only led for a total of 7:57 of game time.

The Sooners survived and now will take on the host Indiana Hoosiers in the round of 32 on Monday. Gametime is currently to be determined.

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Best Photos from the Oklahoma Sooners win over TCU in the Big 12 tournament

A look at the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 69-53 Big 12 tournament win over the TCU Horned Frogs.

In her first collegiate tournament game, [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag] showed up in a big way. Williams led the way with 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half of the Oklahoma Sooners win over the TCU Horned Frogs in the Big 12 tournament.

Williams was 5 of 11 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and recorded eight rebounds along the way. Williams’ performance helped propel the Sooners while [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] and [autotag]Payton Verhulst[/autotag] combined to shoot 5 for 18.

[autotag]Lexy Keys[/autotag] was the only other Sooner in double-figures, scoring 11. She was 3 of 4 from three and 4 of 5 from the field.

The Sooners now move on to the Big 12 tournament semifinals where they’ll take on Iowa State. The Sooners beat the Cyclones 86-72 back in February.

Verhulst had a career-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists on the road in Ames.

Here are the best photos from Oklahoma’s win over TCU.

Jennie Baranczyk named Big 12 Coach of the Year, Skylar Vann Co-Player of the Year

Led by Jennie Baranczyk and Skylar Vann, several Sooners earn Big 12 women’s basketball regular season awards.

After a tremendous run in Big 12 play, several Sooners were honored with Big 12 regular season awards.

In her second year at Oklahoma, [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] was named Big 12 coach of the year after leading the Sooners to their second straight Big 12 regular season title. This after a 6-5 performance in the nonconference portion of the Sooners schedule.

The Sooners are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament and looking to make a statement as they push for a host seed in the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma received a lot of big-time contributions this season and several players were honored with awards. [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag], who leads the Sooners in scoring and rebounds at 15 points and 7 rebounds a game, was named Big 12 Co-Player of the Year alongside Madison Booker of Texas. The Edmond, Okla. native at nine 20-point games in 2023-2024.

[autotag]Payton Verhulst[/autotag], who joined the Sooners after two seasons at Louisville, really came on strong in Big 12 play. Verhulst was second on the Sooners in points and rebounds. She earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors after averaging 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In Big 12 play, Verhulst scored 15 or more seven times, including a 25-point effort against Iowa State.

Oklahoma’s spark plug, [autotag]Neveah Tot[/autotag], earned a Big 12 honorable mention selection. As did Sooners’ freshman [autotag]Sahara Williams[/autotag].

The Oklahoma Sooners really came together during conference play, where they went 15-3 and picked up big wins over No. 2 Kansas State, swept Texas, and beat Baylor in a top-25 showdown. Oklahoma will wait to see who emerges from the early stages of the Big 12 tournament but have a great shot to take home the tournament title.

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How to watch, key players for No. 20 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball at Kansas Jayhawks

The Big 12 regular season women’s champs are back in action for one final regular season game and here is how you can watch them.

It is time for the country to start noticing what the Oklahoma Sooners are doing right now. They just completed the season sweep of the Texas Longhorns with a great game earlier this week.

That win also clinched them the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] regular season championship for the second season in a row. They moved to 15-2 in the conference with one game to play and them being ranked No. 20 is criminally low. If they beat the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] and aren’t top 12 next week, there should be an investigation.

I’m only kidding, kind of.

Still, there is work to be done as the Sooners don’t want to fall to a Kansas team that is 17-11 on the season and who they only beat by five in Norman earlier in the year. So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players.

How to watch, key players for No. 23 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball vs. Oklahoma State Cowgirls

The ranked women’s team are back in action also in Bedlam and this is how you can watch the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners were able to bounce back after a tough loss to West Virginia with a good win on the road at Cincinnati. Now, they are also playing their final Bedlam game as conference foes but this time in Norman.

The Sooners won the first meeting in Stillwater 81-74. The Cowgirls come into this game losing three of their last five games but they did get a good win at home over the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] in their last game.

Oklahoma continues to have a hold on the conference as they have a one-game lead over Texas and [autotag]Kansas State.[/autotag] They currently lose the tie-breaker to Kansas State but win the tie-breaker over Texas who they will play again coming up.

But let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players for both teams.

How to watch, key players for No. 23 Oklahoma Women’s Basketball vs. Cincinnati Bearcats

The Sooners women’s team are back in action to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. Here is how you can watch the game.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ nine-game winning streak came to a heartbreaking end on Saturday as they fell at West Virginia. The Sooners had a chance to tie the game with one second left but missed the first free throw and then had a lane violation on the second one.

Now, they must bounce back as they still lead the Big 12 with four games to play. They take on a [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag] team they beat earlier in the year by 13 in Norman. But this one is on the road for the Sooners. The Bearcats are on a three-game losing streak and are 12-13 overall.

So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game and some key players to watch.

Oklahoma Sooners fall in close game to the West Virginia Mountaineers

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team’s nine game winning streak ended after a close loss to the Mountaineers.

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball team was back in action hoping to win their 10th straight game and keep their two-game lead in the conference. They took on the [autotag]West Virginia Mountaineers[/autotag] who possess one of the nation’s top defenses in the country.

The Sooners started red hot as they went on an 11-3 run to start the game. But that great defense for the Mountaineers settled in and they were able to tie it up at 18 at the end of the 1st Quarter.

The 2nd Quarter was a back-and-forth affair. The Mountaineers jumped up 26-20 early in the quarter before the Sooners stormed back and ultimately took the 32-31 lead into halftime.

At half [autotag]Payton Verhulst[/autotag] led the Sooners with 12 points on 4/5 shooting from 3. [autotag]Reyna Scott[/autotag] was big off the bench scoring six and shooting 2/3 from the field. The Mountaineers were led by [autotag]JJ Quinerly[/autotag] with seven but they had six players score four or more. The big key was the Sooners having double-digit first-half turnovers which kept the Mountaineers in the game.

The 3rd Quarter was similar to the first half. Quinnerly was really strong in the quarter, scoring six in the frame. [autotag]Kyah Watson[/autotag] also added six. [autotag]Skylar Vann[/autotag] who struggled in the first half, finished with four in the quarter.

Thanks to five more turnovers by the Sooners, the Mountaineers led for much of the time but a three-pointer with 38 seconds left by Verhulst gave the Sooners the 48-47 lead going to the 4th Quarter.

The 4th Quarter couldn’t have started worse for the Sooners.
They turned it over on three of their first four possessions. That helped the Mountaineers to go on a 5-0 run to give them the 52-48 lead. Just when it looked like the Mountaineers were going to run away with it, Vann drills a huge three to cut the lead to two just before the five-minute mark. But the Mountaineers responded to get it to a six-point lead before Verhulst made a nice post move to cut it to four with 4:05 left.

Verhulst did everything she could to keep the Sooners in it. After Vann dived on a loose ball, she found Verhulst who buried a three to cut the lead to one with 1:46 left.

The Sooners got down 68-61 but Neveah Tot hit a layup, Watson turned it over and then Tot hit a three to cut it to two. They fouled and West Virginia missed two free throws. They hit Tot on the run to the basket and she was fouled. She missed the first free throw and then had a lane violation on the second free throw to seal the Sooners’ defeat.

They fell 70-66 as turnovers, free throws and points off turnovers ended up being their downfall. The Sooners turned it over 25 times, went 5/11 from the line and allowed 23 points off of turnovers.

The Sooners were led by Verhulst who finished with 20 points on 6/8 from 3. The Sooners move to 18-7 (12-2) and hold a one-game lead over the Mountaineers, the Texas Longhorns and the Kansas State Wildcats. They lose the tiebreaker to the Wildcats and Mountaineers. They currently hold the tiebreaker over the Longhorns but face them again later on in the season.

They’ll be back in action on Tuesday at Cincinnati at 5:00 p.m. CT.

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