All Sooners

Oklahoma Wins Again, Tops Kansas to Set Up Big 12 Showdown

Skylar Vann continued her hot streak with 21 points as the Sooners came to life in the second half and beat the Jayhawks in Norman.
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma Wins Again, Tops Kansas to Set Up Big 12 Showdown
Oklahoma Wins Again, Tops Kansas to Set Up Big 12 Showdown

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

Skylar Vann had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead Oklahoma to a 60-55 victory over Kansas Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.

Payton Verhulst added 12 points and six boards as the Sooners won their fourth in a row and seventh out of their last eight.

OU (13-6 overall, 7-1 Big 12) maintained sole possession of second place in the Big 12 standings and now faces a showdown with first-place and No. 4-ranked Kansas State (20-1, 9-0) next Wednesday in Norman.

Just days after hanging 91 points on No. 10-ranked Texas in Austin, the Sooners posted their fewest point total in a victory since scoring 52 against Texas State on Dec. 13, 2020, and their fewest in a Big 12 win since scoring 57 against West Virginia exactly eight years ago.

OU is 7-1 in league play for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Nevaeh Tot dished out six assists with six points and five rebounds, while Verhulst had four to go with one block and one steal. Lexi Keys had five points and five rebounds with two steals and an assist. Reyna Scott had three steals and a block, and Kiersten Johnson blocked two shots with an assist and four rebounds.

The Sooners overcame 4-of-21 shooting from 3-point range — two by Vann and two by Verhulst — to top the Jayhawks. KU shot just 5-of-19 from the perimeter and committed 12 turnovers. OU outrebounded KU 46-34.

The Sooners led most of the way but there were nine ties and 11 lead changes. KU led 28-27 at half after OU shot just 28 percent from the floor — just 2-of-16 from 3-point range — but the Sooners got better shots in the second half and shot 38 percent. KU was 1-of-9 from range after halftime.

Kansas got 21 points from Wyvette Mayberry and 15 from S’Mya Nichols, while Taiyanna Jackson pulled down 14 rebounds.

OU and K-State tip off at 6 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN+.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

Share on XFollow johnehoover