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Women's Fastbreak On SI

Oklahoma Standout Says This Prepped Team for Paige Bueckers, UConn in NCAA Tournament

An Oklahoma Sooners guard conveyed a clear reason for her confidence against Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies.
Grant Young|
Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) on the court against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 24, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) on the court against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the second half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The No. 2-seeded UConn Huskies women's basketball team faces off against the No. 3-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on March 29.

While the Sooners women's basketball team might not have a ton of historical renown (at least compared to UConn), the fact that they dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes by a score of 96-62 in the NCAA Tournament's second round proves that this team deserves a ton of respect.

Not to mention that Oklahoma finished tied for fourth in the SEC Conference (with a 11-5 conference record) this season, only behind the No. 1 seeded Texas Longhorns, South Carolina Gamecocks, and the No. 3 seeded LSU Tigers.

This success in their first SEC season after being in the Big 12 Conference is the basis of why Sooners standout guard Payton Verhulst's confidence ahead of their team's Sweet Sixteen showdown against UConn.

"You look at UConn, and they've been a dominant program for years, and they still are. I think just looking at Paige Bueckers, obviously she's a great player. I do think that the SEC has gotten us ready for really good guards," Verhulst said, per an X post from SNY.

"I mean, you look at Georgia Amoore, we got to play Kentucky twice, so I think just learning from things like that will definitely benefit us in this game."

There's no doubt that the SEC Conference is among the most dominant in women's basketball, and the experience Oklahoma gleaned while playing against Amoore and other top SEC guards should help them against the Huskies.

But only time will tell whether that's enough to send them to the Elite Eight.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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