NCAAW: Chavez’s OT outburst leads shocking OU upset of S. Carolina

Write off No. 16 Oklahoma at your own risk.

The Sooners snapped their three-game skid in statement-making fashion on Thursday night, upsetting No. 2 South Carolina, 94-82, in overtime.

After the game, head coach Jennie Baranczyk exclaimed to her team, “We’re f***ing back!,” a well-earned expression of relief and resiliency after the Sooners righted their teetering season against the most fearsome SEC opponent.

Observers, however, would have been excused for expecting South Carolina to send Oklahoma into a further spiral. At halftime, the Gamecocks had a seven-point lead, 43-36. Surely, in signature South Carolina form, the Gamecocks would turn what was an ostensibly close game into another dominant win.

Oklahoma didn’t just have other ideas, but they also executed them. And outexecuted South Carolina.

Less than three minutes into the third period, the Sooners’ had sliced the Gamecocks’ advantage to a single point, setting the stage for a back-and-forth second half. Midway through the fourth quarter, Oklahoma had established a six-point lead, 71-65. After a scoreless stretch by both sides, Oklahoma maintained that margin as the game clocked ticked under four minutes, with Aaliyah Chavez following up a Tessa Johnson layup with a midrange make.

But it then seemed like clutch time was going to belong to South Carolina, with the Gamecocks charging back to close out the Sooners. After back-to-back buckets from Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson put South Carolina down by just two points, Johnson stole the ball and converted the layup, knotting the score at 73 with just over a minute remaining.

After another South Carolina steal, this one by Laston, returned possession to the Gamecocks, Joyce Edwards was fouled, sending the 67 percent free throw shooter to the line. She nailed them both to give the Gamecocks a two-point advantage.

But on Oklahoma’s subsequent offensive possession, South Carolina didn’t do something they traditionally do so well: rebound. Sahara Williams missed a driving layup, only for Raegan Beers to grab the offensive board and put it back in to tie the game at 75. An empty final possession for South Carolina then sent the game into overtime.

In the extra five minutes, Oklahoma extinguished South Carolina, thanks to an absolutely on-fire Chavez.

The freshman guard showed off the fearlessness that make her special, opening the overtime by draining a 3-pointer—and then hitting three more before time expired. Chavez’s four triples powered her to 15 points in overtime, which then powered Oklahoma to the 12-point win.

Chavez finished the night with a game-high 26 points, making five totals 3s while also dishing a game-best eight assists. Beers totaled an 18-point and 14-rebound double-double. The Sooners three other starters—Williams, Zya Vann and Payton Verhulst—also finished in double-figures.

That offensive output helped Oklahoma hang 94 points on South Carolina, the most the Gamecocks had allowed since 2019. The Sooners also outrebounded the Gamecocks, 54-39, and scored 10 more points in the paint, turning traditional South Carolina strengths into Oklahoma advantages.

An off night from South Carolina’s best scorers prevented the Gamecocks from compensating for those weakness. While Edwards was 6-for-6 from the foul line, she finished 3-for-12 from the field, scoring 12 points. Latson had an even rougher time finding the bottom of the net, finishing 1-for-10 from the field and scoring six points. The Johnsons were the Gamecocks’ most impactful offensive players, as Tessa led the team with 19 points and Raven added 16 points.

Head coach Dawn Staley was unenthused by her team’s effort, saying after the game:

We ran into a team that actually wanted to win more, and they made winning plays. And we didn’t. We didn’t do enough to win, and when you do that in our league, especially on the road, you pay for it. It’s not familiar territory for us, but our goals are still in front of us, every single one of them. We’ll live, we’ll learn, we’ll move on.

In her postgame presser, Barancyzk expanded on her profane proclamation as she showered more praise on her team:

What I meant by that was not, “We’re back, take notice,” but that we’re back to who we are. This has been a hard, hard, hard two weeks that has felt like two months. It’s been challenging, and we’ve had hard conversations and way more tears than ever. So when I say, “We’re back!”… that’s what I mean.

Weather permitting, Oklahoma will aim to continue to be the best version of themselves by taking care of a friendlier SEC foe, Auburn, on the road on Sunday. South Carolina can respond by ruining No. 5 Vanderbilt’s undefeated season on Sunday afternoon in Columbia. The Commodores are now 20-0 after beating aforementioned Auburn on Thursday.