Bedlam win Another Sign of Oklahoma's Progress as Attentions Start to Turn to SEC Slate

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma women’s basketball still has one more non-conference game remaining.

But Saturday’s Bedlam contest in Oklahoma City effectively wrapped up the most difficult part of the ninth-ranked Sooners’ pre-SEC schedule.

OU left the Paycom Center with a 92-60 win over No. 23 Oklahoma State, another sign that the Sooners have made progress since their loss to UCLA on Nov. 10.

Raegan Beers was her dominant self, with 22 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. She was 10 of 12 from inside the arc.

Sahara Williams continued to show the strides she’s made from a very good sophomore season with 18 points and seven assists on 9-of-15 shooting.

Oklahoma has won 10 consecutive games, its longest winning streak of Jennie Baranczyk’s term.

The Sooners had won nine consecutive games three times under Baranczyk before breaking through Saturday to extend the streak further.

The streak is OU’s longest since a 20-game winning streak in 2008-09.

Read More Oklahoma Sooners

Baranczyk laughed a bit when asked what she’d learned about her team thus far.

“I keep yelling at them, is really what I’ve learned, and then they respond when I’m really not very nice,” Baranczyk said. “... I think they respond. I think they’re a team that wants to play for each other. Of course they want to win, but who doesn’t want to win? It’s more than that. I think they want to mentor young people. This is their passion in life.”

The Sooners brought back plenty of experience this season, with starters Beers, Williams and Payton Verhulst returning.

But OU added five-star prospect Aaliyah Chavez to the fold, Zya Vann elevated from the bench to the starting lineup as a sophomore, and Caya Smith has earned a role off the bench after playing less than three minutes a game last season.

“They’re OK falling down, they’re OK failing, they’re OK getting up,” Baranczyk said. “I think we have to find creative ways to continue to help and develop our team, get more experience together.”

The team continues to keep Baranczyk on her toes.

“It’s like parenting. Once you think you’ve got it, you don’t,” Baranczyk said. “It’s like the kid that you feed — they like chicken one day and they like it for a week and then they never want to touch it again. That’s our team. It’s fun to be able to coach that.”

The Sooners have been tested at times during their non-conference schedule, even though five of their wins during the current streak have come by 50 or more points.

Since falling to the Bruins in the second game of the season, 73-59, OU’s wins included a fast-paced neutral-site 109-91 win over Florida State on Nov. 30 and a 103-98 overtime victory over North Carolina State on Dec. 3.

Saturday’s Bedlam contest, though, was the Sooners’ first against a ranked opponent since UCLA.

It certainly wasn’t perfect, as Oklahoma had 19 turnovers and missed 13 layup tries.

But Chavez was able to be effective even on an off shooting night, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists though she was held to 6 of 14 beyond the arc.

And Vann continued to show significant growth after averaging a bit more than 15 minutes per game as a freshman last year.

Oklahoma Sooners, Zya Vann — Oklahoma guard Zya Vann attempts a layup against Oklahoma State | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

She finished with 15 points with three 3-pointers and four steals Saturday.

Nine of those points and two of those steals came in the first quarter.

“Zya just did Zya things,” Baranczyk said. “She’s so fun to coach. She’s so fun to watch, she’s so smooth. There’s times when you don’t think she can do something and she just finds a way. It’s fun to watch her too because they love playing with her.”

Williams has been a big piece of bringing Vann along, serving as a mentor.

“It’s just been fun seeing her get confident and just be a sponge to the game,” Williams said. “Every day she learns. She’s just so fun. She just shows up and works hard. It’s just been fun to have her bubbly energy around and her competitiveness. She’s kind of on the quiet side so you wouldn’t expect it but she really has been fun to watch.”

Baranczyk pulled back the rotation some Saturday, showing what SEC play could be like.

All five starters played 28 or more minutes with only Smith (18 minutes) and Brooklyn Stewart (13) seeing significant time off the bench.

So it figures that OU must remain mostly healthy to make a deep run into March.

It won’t be easy, with seven games coming up against no-ranked opponents during SEC play including four in a row in January, but the Sooners are looking like a team capable of doing big things.

Cowgirls coach Jacie Hoyt doesn’t have to be convinced, calling OU a “potential Final Four team” and Chavez “potentially a generational talent” after the Sooners’ win.