Women's Hoops Faces No. 13 Duke in Top-15 Showdown

NORMAN – No. 8 Oklahoma will look to hoist its first trophy of the season on Wednesday when it takes on No. 13 Duke in the Ball Dawgs Classic championship game in a top-15 showdown. In its highest place in the AP Poll since March 2009, the Sooners are off to one of the best starts in program history, winning their first six games for the first time since 2010-11 and securing 30-point wins in all but one contest.

The Blue Devils (6-1) defeated No. 9 Kansas State 73-62 in Monday's semifinal to punch their ticket to the championship game. Duke's lone loss of the season came to then-No. 10 Maryland.

The game will be broadcast on FloCollege, which requires a subscription and will also air on the Sooner Radio Network (1520 KOKC) with Andrew Himes calling the action.

THE STARTING FIVE

Four Sooners score in double figures as OU pours in 90.8 points per game, good for eighth nationally. All-American Raegan Beers (18.7 PPG) leads the way on the offensive front, followed by Skylar Vann (11.3 PPG), Sahara Williams (11.0 PPG) and Payton Verhulst (10.8 PPG). Three more Sooners average 5.0 points per game or more (Liz Scott, Lexy Keys and Zya Vann).
In Oklahoma's win vs. DePaul (Nov. 25) Beers became the first Sooner and third player in the country since 1999 to post 15+ points, 8+ rebounds and shoot 100% from the floor with six FGM in less than 15 minutes of action.
In the latest ESPN bracketology, Oklahoma was tabbed as a No. 2 seed, which would provide hosting duties in the tournament for the second time of the Baranczyk era (2022).
Oklahoma is off to one of its best starts in program history, excelling on both ends of the court. Defensively, the Sooners have held all six opponents to 31% or less shooting, a feat that hasn't been accomplished in at least 35 seasons by the Sooners. The Sooners rank 2nd nationally in opponent FG% (28.0%). Offensively, OU's 90.8 PPG rank seventh in the country.
Oklahoma is the No. 8 team in the AP Poll. The Sooners' rise to eighth marks the program's highest placement in the poll since March 2009. Oklahoma was tabbed in the No. 8 spot in the WBCA Coaches Poll, as well.

LAST TIME OUT

Payton Verhulst had 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and No. 8 Oklahoma defeated DePaul 85-62 on Monday afternoon in the second semifinal of the Ball Dawgs Classic. The Sooners (6-0) led wire-to-wire as they continued their dominant start to the season. Oklahoma has won all six games by at least 23 points and has outscored the opposition by an average of 37.5 points per game.

SERIES HISTORY

Wednesday's meeting between the Sooners and Blue Devils is the fourth ever and first in nearly a decade. Duke leads the all-time series, 2-1, winning in Norman in 2013 and Durham in 2014.

The Sooners' only win in the series came in the national semifinal at the 2002 Final Four. Oklahoma won by 15 and went on to play for the national title. Oklahoma is 26-27 all-time vs. teams from the ACC.

UP NEXT

The Sooners' stretch away from home continues next week when they travel to Louisville to take on No. 24 Louisville on Dec. 4 on ESPN2 as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.

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