Oklahoma Laid Out its Blueprint for March Success Against Idaho

NORMAN — Beatrice Culliton was happy to wait on Friday night.

The senior had Oklahoma’s placard in hand, surrounded by her teammates next to the official March Madness bracket in the underbelly of the Lloyd Noble Center.

After the 4-seeded Sooners’ 89-59 win over 13-seed Idaho, all that was left was for Culliton to slap OU onto the bracket in the Second Round.

But she waited. And waited.

Junior Sahara Williams was held up signing autographs and taking pictures back on the court. Once Williams arrived, the party started in the same manner that the Sooners played — together.

The dancing continues 💃 @OU_WBBall

📺 ESPN#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/hS9UuG0QPx
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 21, 2026

“When we have fun,” said Williams, “I wouldn't say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball.

“So it was just important setting the tone for going the rest of the way in the tournament.”

Oklahoma took the floor with smiles and the Sooners’ joy was infectious throughout the Lloyd Noble Center.

The Sooners have won every First Round contest in the NCAA Tournament under coach Jennie Baranczyk, so the victory wasn’t unexpected, but the way OU played laid out the blueprint for success in the Big Dance.

OU brings plenty of star power to the table, but Friday was all about balance.

The starters scored 73 of the 89 points, but there wasn’t one single overpowering performance.

All-American Raegan Beers led the Sooners with 18 points, and her presence helped OU assert control at the end of the first quarter.

Williams poured in 10 points in the second quarter and finished with 17, adding 10 rebounds and two assists.

Payton Verhulst started hot and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, and both Aaliyah Chavez and Zya Vann controlled a pace that ultimately ran Idaho out of the Lloyd Noble Center.

Vann was the only starter who didn’t finish scoring in double figures, though she added eight points to the cause, but the ball never stuck at any point throughout the victory.

For Beers, she felt Williams set that tone.

“Sahara does a phenomenal job of setting that tone for our team,” Beers said. “Passing the ball, getting open, knowing where people want. … That's what Sahara does. She knows where people want it and knows where people's advantages are.

“… When we have a team like that who passes the ball and finds joy in that, it's a really hard team to defend because we're going to keep passing when people are open.”

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Once the Sooners got rolling, they were tough to slow down.

“It's really hard,” Idaho coach Arthur Moriera said, “because usually on teams like that you need to find a weak link that maybe you don't have to guard or you can help out of. Today with tried, but they were all draining on us.”

Oklahoma can lean on Beers and Chavez to get through 5-seeded Michigan State on Sunday following the Spartans’ uninspiring performance against Colorado State, but if the Sooners want to do real damage in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, they’ll need more balanced performances like Friday’s showing.

“I think we're setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said. “Just coming out and having fun was a big thing.”