Oklahoma Notches Another Ranked Road Victory at Georgia

Oklahoma led wire-to-wire, but was pushed for 40 minutes on Thursday night at No. 24 Georgia.

The Bulldogs shook off a slow start at Stegeman Coliseum and fought back against the No. 11 Sooners.

Georgia cut OU’s lead to two points with 5:28 remaining to set up a tight fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs pulled within two points twice in the final two minutes, but Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers made big buckets late for Oklahoma to hang on and win 71-67.

Aaliyah Chavez led the way for the Sooners, including eight points in the fourth quarter, to help OU improve to 20-6 on the year and 8-5 in SEC play while Georgia fell to 20-7 overall and 6-7 in league play.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s victory.

Early Control

The Sooners set the tone on Thursday night.

OU raced out to an early 14-2 lead, fueled by nine first-quarter points from Chavez, the freshman sensation.

Georgia started to turn the Sooners over in the second quarter, but Oklahoma was able to withstand a handful of mistakes and foul trouble for Beers.

Beers was subbed out of the game with 7:40 left in the second quarter, but OU kept the Bulldogs at arm’s length without its dominant post player on the floor.

The Sooners took a 10-point lead into halftime, but Georgia immediately got back into the game.

The Bulldogs started the third quarter on a 7-0 run, and Beers picked up her third personal foul less than three minutes into the quarter to set up a tight second-half battle.

Chavez Leads

Oklahoma Sooners, Aaliyah Chavez — Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

With Verhulst hobbled and Beers having to watch most of the game from the sideline, Chavez took over.

She set the pace for OU’s offense, especially late, and finished with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Chavez also dished out five assists, pulled down four rebounds, added one block and only turned the ball over once.

Chavez was especially lethal when she was able to attack the lane.

The freshman got to the free-throw line eight times, sinking every attempt, and she was often the Sooner who stepped up and snapped a Georgia run late in the second half.

Chavez and sophomore Zya Vann endured some growing pains early in SEC play, but the duo provided key minutes in both of Oklahoma’s road wins over the past seven days — victories that will go a long way toward OU hosting the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Norman.

Second Time’s the Charm

The Sooners didn’t exactly shoot the lights out — OU hit 37 percent of its attempts from the field and went 4-for-16 from deep — but Baranczyk’s team made the most of their rebounding advantage.

Oklahoma pulled down 15 offensive rebounds that were converted into 15 second-chance points. In comparison, Georgia only converted seven offensive boards into two points.

The Sooners won the rebounding battle 39-31, and won the turnover battle 15-13.

OU will return to action at the Lloyd Noble Center on Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 21 Tennessee.