Oklahoma Wakes up, Cruises to NCAA Tournament win Over Idaho

NORMAN — Early on in Friday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Idaho, Oklahoma looked like it was just waking up from a lengthy nap as the Sooners waited for their late-night start at Lloyd Noble Center.

But once they came alive, No. 4 seed Oklahoma was dominant, burying the Vandals with a steady diet of Payton Verhulst, Raegan Beers, Sahara Williams and Aaliyah Chavez in an 89-59 win.

"I thought you saw a team that was hungry to go out and play, got excited to play," Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "They honestly didn't care who they were playing with."

The Sooners (25-7) will take on Michigan State at 7 p.m. Sunday. The fifth-seeded Spartans held off No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the earlier game at LNC.

Oklahoma went 4 of 10 to start the game as Idaho led 11-9 a little past the midpoint of the first quarter.

But then the Sooners turned up the heat on the offensive end, making 9 of their next 12 and locking down on the defensive end.

Oklahoma didn’t force a lot of turnovers early, but made it difficult for the Vandals to get good looks.

Idaho was just 2 for 25 from the field during a nearly 10-minute stretch that started late in the first quarter.

The Sooners outscored the Vandals 24-8 during that stretch to virtually put the game away by halftime.

Oklahoma advanced to the second round for the fifth consecutive season.

Beers finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Williams added 17 and 10, Chavez had 15 points, six rebounds and dive assists and Verhulst scored 14.

The Sooners held Idaho to just 24.7% from the floor.

Here are three more takeaways from Oklahoma’s dominant win:

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Payton Verhulst Sets Tone Early

The day before the opener, Baranczyk said she expected a strong performance from redshirt senior Payton Verhulst.

Verhulst came through.

In her next-to-last game at LNC, Verhulst drove to the basket hard on the game's first possession, stopped on a dime to shake a Vandals' defender under the basket and then hit a point-blank shot.

Verhulst scored half of her 14 points in the first quarter and finished 5 of 9 from the floor with seven rebounds.

"Payton has been our steady person," Beers said. "It's defensively, offensively, all those things. And when she communicates for us, and she leads with her voice, we're a really good team. And she did that tonight. She did a phenomenal job of that tonight."

Oklahoma Sooners, Payton Verhulst — Oklahoma senior Payton Verhulst pressures the ball against Idaho in the First Round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Lloyd Noble Center. | Carson Field / Sooners on SI

Aaliyah Chavez’s Free-Throw Streak Ends

Chavez came into the game having made 62 consecutive free-throw attempts.

Chavez hadn’t missed a free throw since the Jan. 22 win over South Carolina, and was just 13 away from tying the NCAA record for consecutive makes held by North Dakota State’s Michelle Gaislerova from 2018-20.

About midway through the second quarter, Chavez was fouled by Idaho’s Hope Hassman, and stepped to the line with a chance to extend the streak.

But Chavez’s first attempt bounced off the rim and away, ending her streak.

Her second shot did the same, giving her two misses in a game for the first time since Dec. 3 against North Carolina State.

Chavez didn't get back to the free-throw line until the fourth quarter, when she drained back-to-back free throws. Chavez is now 92.4% from the line this season.

Oklahoma Sooners, Aaliyah Chavez — Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez drives against Idaho in the First Round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament at the Lloyd Noble Center. | Carson Field / Sooners on SI

Sooners Don't Let up in Third Quarter

After taking a 57-35 lead into the break, it would've been easy for Oklahoma to let up a bit.

And while the offensive numbers might not've been as scorching hot as they were in the first half, the Sooners still pulled away even further in the third quarter, holding Idaho to just three points in the frame on 1-of-18 shooting.

"I loved the way that we adjusted in the third quarter," Baranczyk said. "I loved how we were able to come out, and I thought we switched when we needed to switch, stayed when we needed to stay."

After being outrebounded 28-25 in the first half, Oklahoma outrebounded the Vandals 18-9 in the third.

The Vandals' three third-quarter points were the fewest allowed by the Sooners in a quarter in NCAA Tournament play.

Purdue scored five points in the second quarter against the Sooners in the 2016 first round, the first year women's college basketball moved from halves to quarters.

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