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Is No. 5 Oklahoma women’s college basketball’s forgotten contender?
The Sooners lost their second game of the season, unable to keep up with No. 4 UCLA in what became a 14-point loss. Since then, Oklahoma has reeled off 13-straight wins, including opening SEC play with a comfortable road win at Texas A&M before taking care of Mississippi State at home.
With a more challenging set of conference contests on schedule this week, the Sooners have the opportunity to make a statement, inserting themselves into the sport’s very top tier with two wins over top-20 ranked teams. The big one is on Sunday afternoon, when Oklahoma visits No. 6 Kentucky (4 p.m. ET, SECN).
First, the Sooners must get past No. 18 Ole Miss on Thursday (7 p.m. ET, SECN+). With a combination of style and substance, Oklahoma should earn their 14th-straight win.
Aaliyah Chavez’s sizzle raises the Sooners’ ceiling
Oklahoma’s fortunes, against Ole Miss and throughout the rest of their SEC slate, are in the hands of their freshman point guard.
Head coach Jennie Baranczyk has not hesitated to empower Aaliyah Chavez—and for good reason. Playing a team-high 30.5 minutes per game, Chavez, recently named SEC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season, leads the Sooners in shots (16.7), points (18.9) and assists (4.4) per game, making a positive impact despite some shooting inefficiencies and too-frequent turnovers.
Although Chavez’s aggression and eagerness, both in terms of shot selection and passing decisions, produce a fair amount of frustrating plays, the benefits of her confidence more than compensate for those foibles.
Chavez is the perfect conductor for the offensive system preferred by Baranczyk. In her minutes, the Sooners are a transition (Conestoga) wagon, scoring frequently and effectively off changes in possession. Against an offensively inconsistent team like Ole Miss, Chavez and Oklahoma should have tons of opportunities to turn defensive stops in quick offensive scores.
In the halfcourt, Chavez’s lack of shyness as a shooter is an asset, as she has two games with seven made 3s. But her off-the-dribble jumpers and isolation attacks—aspiring-star skills that, one day, could become weapons—are the weakest aspects of her offensive repertoire, especially when compared to her effectiveness shooting off the catch, scoring off cuts or even finishing in the post. While those sizzle, star-level plays make Chavez exciting, titling towards seeking more substantive offensive outcomes will be necessary in conference play, where putting any kind of points on the board, rather than style points, must be the priority on every possession.
How Baranczyk balances taking full advantage of Chavez’s upside, all while limiting the negative effects of the inevitable miscues that will come with her youthful vigor, will be worth monitoring. If the coach and player strike the right balance, the Sooners soon will not be overlooked, in the SEC or nationally.
Raegan Beers is a steady force for the Sooners
Fortunately for Baranczyk and the Sooners, they have a player whose production almost perfectly contrasts with, and therefore perfectly complements, that of Chavez.
Senior center Raegan Beers can be described as a boring, traditional post-up big—but that’s a good thing!
Beers expertly and efficiently fulfills her role, and the Sooners are better for it. Beers is one of the best in the nation when it comes to scoring in the post, putting back offensive rebounds or rolling to the basket for a bucket. She averages a 17.4-point and 10.8-rebound double-double for the Sooners, shooting almost 65 percent on 2-pointers. Beers also has tapped into more playmaking, averaging a career-high 2.3 assists per game in part due to her proficiency as a big-to-big passer or as hub who can hit a cutting guard or wing.
Ole Miss, which, once again, has embraced a physical, defensive-first mentality under head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, surely will try to crowd and contain Beers. The Rebels, however, are weak on the defensive glass, suggesting Beers and junior forward Sahara Williams could find crucial second-chance points that give the Sooners another edge.
Add in a couple of timely 3s from senior guard Payton Verhiulst and sophomore guard Zya Vann, and Oklahoma should outlast Ole Miss, setting up the opportunity to make an even louder statement in their top-six showdown in Lexington on Sunday.
