Oklahoma Smothers Mississippi State to Stay Perfect in SEC Play

The Sooners put the clamps on the Bulldogs to notch their first SEC home victory of the season on Sunday.

Oklahoma forward Sahara Williams | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Oklahoma’s defense picked up right where it left off in its SEC opener. 

The No. 8 Sooners stifled Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon to extend their winning streak to 13 games. 

OU held the Bulldogs to 20 percent shooting from the field to fuel a 95-47 victory. 

Freshman star Aaliyah Chavez led Oklahoma with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, and center Raegan Beers added 15 points and 11 rebounds. 

Here are three takeaways from the OU (14-1, 2-0 SEC) win: 

Oklahoma Blankets the Bulldogs

From the opening tip, Jennie Baranczyk’s team dominated on the defensive end of the floor. 

Mississippi State (14-2, 1-1) was unable to attack Beers down low, and the Bulldogs’ efforts to crash the offensive glass backfired. 

OU was able to handle their business on the boards, which led to easy runouts in transition. 

Oklahoma outscored Mississippi State 12-2 in the first half, and the Sooners turned seven Bulldog turnovers into 14 points before halftime. 

Things didn’t slow down in the second half, either. 

Mississippi State shot 22 percent from the field after the intermission, and OU forced seven turnovers in the second half.

The Bulldogs’ 20 percent effort from the floor for the game was the lowest shooting percentage the Sooners have held an opponent to all year.

Group Effort

Oklahoma’s depth was on full display on the offensive end of the floor on Sunday. 

Six different Sooners scored in double figures.

Chavez led the way in the first quarter and Beers came alive in the second. Then, Sahara Williams and Keziah Lofton came alive in the third quarter.

Williams finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, Lofton added eight points and Cya Smith finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Zya Vann added 16 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five steals as well in the blowout victory.

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Final Tuneup 

Sunday’s contest was OU’s final matchup before it enters a season-defining stretch. 

Oklahoma’s next four games all come against opposition currently ranked in the AP Top 15.

Thursday, the Sooners will host No. 14 Ole Miss (6 p.m., SEC Network+) before Baranczyk’s team hits the road to take on No. 12 Kentucky on Jan. 11.

Then things crank up another level. 

OU will host back-to-back games against No. 5 LSU and No. 3 South Carolina on Jan. 18 and Jan. 22 before the Sooners can catch a small breather. 

Three ranked matchups still remain on the schedule (No. 2 Texas, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 17 Tennessee), though plenty can change throughout the year in the SEC.