Aaliyah Chavez Helping Oklahoma in Major Ways Even if Shot Isn't Falling

NORMAN — Aaliyah Chavez doesn’t have a lot of NCAA Tournament experience under her belt quite yet.

But on her biggest stage yet Sunday night in the second round against Michigan State at Lloyd Noble Center, Oklahoma’s freshman phenom came up big when it mattered most, hitting a big 3-pointer with less than three minutes remaining to deliver the dagger in the Sooners’ 77-71 win over the Spartans.

“There’s no amount of experience that can prepare you for that exact moment,” Oklahoma’s Sahara Williams said of Chavez’s big late shot.

Chavez’s shooting hasn’t exactly been at its best lately.

Through the first two rounds of the tournament, the guard from Lubbock, Texas, is just 11 of 31 from the floor.

But she continues to find ways to be impactful even when the shots aren’t falling, with 11 assists and just one turnover in wins over Idaho and Michigan State.

“I feel like I’m growing each and every game, each and every practice,” Chavez said. “It’s been a huge adjustment, but I’m getting the grip of it.”

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Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk could see the learning taking place over the course of Sunday’s win.

““I think she came out to try to will her team,” Baranczyk said. “... You could see her come out and press a little bit, and then you saw her settle in and be able to get the ball, to a point that she’s — what you guys don’t see is she’s play-calling for other people. For her to be able to do that was really good.”

Even through her shooting struggles of late — in the last seven games she’s shooting just 35.4% from the field — Chavez hasn’t backed down from taking shots.

So when Williams found her wide open late in the fourth quarter when the Sooners and Spartans were still trading blows, Chavez wasted no time pulling the trigger on a shot that all but ended any chance of a Michigan State upset.

“Obviously they passed me the ball to make the shot, having the confidence in me to shoot it” Chavez said. “So to me, I know how much hours I put in the gym, and I know that if I’m wide open, I’m going to take the shot no matter what.”

Baranczyk said she could sense Chavez pressing a bit early in Sunday’s game, especially as she fired up a couple of quick shots early in the shot clock.

“She’s going to continue to get better and read and put her team in really good positions,” Baranczyk said. “There’s time and place that she’s going to have to continue to make plays, and she’s learning that.

“Tonight there were some times it was really good, and sometimes the ball didn’t go in, and sometimes maybe the decision needed to be different, but she’s learning, and I’m just really impressed with how much she wants to learn.”

For Chavez, the biggest lesson has been simple.

“Don’t try to prove anything to anybody,” she said. “That’s not what my team needs from me. That’s not what my coaches need from me. They need me to make the best decisions for the team, so I think that’s what I want to do.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Aaliyah Chavez — Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez drives against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. | Carson Field, Sooners On SI