by CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Five Sooners scored in double figures as No. 25/21 Oklahoma dispatched Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., 82-67, on Sunday afternoon.
The Sooners are undefeated through five games for the first time in the Jennie Baranczyk era and have won all their games by double digits. Oklahoma sunk a season-best 13 3-pointers on the day, outpacing the Cavaliers, who shot just 1-of-23 from deep.
“It’s always a real challenge to come away with a win on the road,” head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “We definitely have some things we need to clean up, but this team just have a knack for staying together and finding a way to win games. I’m really proud of the way that we finished the game after a tough stretch there.”
The Sooners (5-0, 0-0 Big 12) came out firing, outscoring the Cavaliers 24-18 in the first frame after jumping out to an 18-7 lead late in the first. More of the same came in the second quarter when they used a 17-7 run to take a 44-27 lead into the break. OU held UVA to just nine points on 21% shooting in the second, which marked the second-straight contest that OU held its opponent to single digits in at least one quarter. The Wahoos made their run in the third quarter, where they outpaced the Sooners 21-13 and cut the OU lead to just five with 7:46 left in the game, but Oklahoma closed the road game on a 22-12 run to put it away and secure the 15-point win.
Skylar Vann’s 20 points and eight rebounds led the way, while freshman Sahara Williams posted an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double to power OU past UVA (3-1, 0-0 ACC). Payton Verhulst made four of her six 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, adding a career-high seven assists and six boards. Aubrey Joens added 12 points, and Lexy Keys poured in 11 points for the Sooners.
The Sooners shot 48% (30-of-62) as a team and outrebounded Virginia 49-43, improving to 5-0 this year when winning the rebounding battle. OU held its opponent to below 32% shooting for the first time in 2023-24, as UVA shot just 31.3% on the day.
