Three Takeaways From No. 5 Oklahoma's Loss to No. 18 Ole Miss

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s rally came up short on Thursday night.

The No. 5 Sooners hosted No. 18 Ole Miss, but OU quickly fell behind at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma spent the entire night clawing back, and the hosts finally took the lead for the first time with 6:19 remaining, but the Rebels had another charge.

Ole Miss extended the lead back out to five, but OU freshman star Aaliyah Chavez erased the deficit with a 5-0 run to tie the game back up with 1:55 remaining.

The Rebels outscored Oklahoma the rest of the way to win 74-69.

"I think they were physical and they punched us, and we just backed down. We really did," OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said after the loss.

The Sooners fell to 14-2 on the year and 2-1 in SEC play, and the loss snapped a 13-game winning streak.

Ole Miss improved to 15-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play with the win.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss.

Final Box Score Oklahoma Sooners vs. Ole Miss Rebels — Final Box Score | OU Stats

OU Digs Early Hole

It’s hard to imagine the first five minutes of Thursday’s contest going much worse for the Sooners.

The Rebels started the game on a 7-0 run, aided by three OU turnovers, and Baranczyk had to burn an early timeout with her team down 15-3 midway through the quarter.

"I don’t think that we came in ready. I’m really disappointed in myself," Baranczyk said. "I didn’t have us ready. I really didn’t, and you could tell."

Oklahoma’s defense held Texas A&M and Mississippi State to a combined 22.8 percent shooting through its first two SEC contests, but Ole Miss was able to knock down 11-of-14 shots in the first 10 minutes to build a 12-point lead.

The OU defense woke up in the second quarter.

Oklahoma cut the Ole Miss lead down to one point, but Latasha Lattimore’s jumper at the buzzer meant the Sooners went to the locker room down three.

Both teams were still firmly in the game entering the third quarter, but OU had to expend a bunch of energy just to battle back into the contest.

"We just weren’t ready and we weren’t a team — either end," Baranczyk said. "When we were, we turned them over. When we were, really good things happened. But they disrupted us and they kept punching. ... They controlled the tempo. They controlled the pace. They controlled the whole game."

Chavez’s Heater Not Enough

Oklahoma’s freshman phenom came alive in the second half.

Her 15-point outburst in the third quarter led OU’s charge, and she stayed hot in the fourth quarter.

Chavez drilled a 3, her fifth of the night, with 6:52 left to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip.

Then on OU’s next possession, Payton Verhulst ended her 0-for-12 shooting start to put the Sooners on top.

After the Rebels retook the lead, Chavez got to the free-throw line for two shots, which she made, then she hit another 3 to tie the game again, but her 26-point effort was not enough.

The Sooners fell despite Chavez knocking down 7-of-22 shots, including 6-of-14 from deep.

Verhulst’s Tough Night Proves Costly

OU veterans Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams enjoyed solid nights, but Verhulst was unable to find any rhythm.

Her lone bucket in the lane didn’t spark an improved showing over the final five minutes.

Verhulst missed one other field goal attempt, a straightaway 3 with OU down 69-66 with 1:23 remaining.

She shot 1-for-14 from the floor and 0-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Baranczyk said she won't have to say anything specifically to Verhulst to lift her up, but that her redshirt senior will have to dig deep to bounce back.

"Sometimes you’ve got to fall on your face," Baranczyk said. "... Sometimes you have to have a really rough night and instead of you tanking and blaming, that can really help you go forward. We’ve all been there. We’ve all had those moments. That builds resiliency, that builds grit. That’s what I hope she takes from it.

"I don’t need her to come prove herself. I think she’s really, really good. You think she’s good. Most people think she’s really good. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t. It doesn’t matter what she thinks anyone else thinks. She has to step on that floor and she has to be able to play how she wants to play… I don’t think any of us played well. I don’t think any of us played to serve one of our teammates. I don’t think we did that tonight."

Beers finished the game with 15 points and 20 rebounds, and Williams added 12 points, two rebounds and two assists.

The Sooners will be back in action at 3 p.m. on Sunday at No. 6 Kentucky.