Basketball
Balanced scoring, frenzied defense and dominant rebounding fueled No. 13 Oklahoma to an 89-65 victory over Florida on Thursday night in Gainesville.
“We started the fourth quarter on a pretty big run,” OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said on the postgame radio show. “Really proud of that, because that’s where you want to be playing your best. But I love the balance that we have right now, and I love the fun that we’re having.”
Six Sooners scored in double figures, led by Payton Verhulst’s 17 and Raegan Beers’ 16. Sahara Williams had 11 points and nine rebounds, Skylar Vann had 13 points and four steals, Liz Scott had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Zya Vann had 10 points, three assists, two steals and a block.
Verhulst also had seven rebounds, three assists and three steals to pace the Sooners’ efforts.
Zaya Vann hit a 3 to give OU a 64-49 lead at the end the third quarter, and the Sooners went on a 21-7 run that was fueled by 3-pointers by Skylar Vann, Scott, Liz Allen and Lexi Keys.
OU won its sixth game in a row to improve to 22-6 overall and 10-5 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Gators fell to 14-15 and 5-10.
Nevaeh Tot played in her 151st career game on Thursday, breaking Taylor Robertson’s school record for career games played. The Columbus, OH, product has won 107 games at Oklahoma, tied with Skylar Vann for the fifth most in program history.
It was OU’s third straight 20-point victory and 13th of the season.
“It’s one of those games that I just love the depth that we have,” Baranczyk said. “That’s, again, the nice thing is that everybody got in, everybody contributed everybody, you know, played really hard — but everyone practiced this hard every day, so when we do that, it’s really nice to be able to get those game minutes.”
Oklahoma came into Thursday ranked No. 5 in the nation in scoring offense and has surpassed 80 points in four consecutive games. OU is now 67-5 under coach Jennie Baranczyk when scoring 80 or more, and 20-0 this season when holding their opponent under 80.
Florida led by a point late in the first quarter, but the Sooners pulled away to a 44-32 lead at halftime and then outscored the Gators 45-33 in the second half. OU led by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter thanks to a 36-24 advantage in the paint, a 21-7 edge in fast-break points and a 13-4 lead on second-chance points.
Earlier Thursday, Oklahoma was tabbed as the NCAA Selection Committee’s No. 13 overall team in its final reveal before Selection Sunday. As the top No. 4 seed, Oklahoma would host first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament if selections were made today.
OU hosts No. 20 Alabama (22-6, 9-5 SEC) at Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in a critical matchup for seeding at the SEC Tournament. Oklahoma, due to Kentucky’s win over Tennessee on Thursday, is locked into seeds Nos. 5-8 as the Wildcats are guaranteed a top-four spot in Greenville.
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