University of Oklahoma Athletics

Friday, November 8
Norman, Okla.
8 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

vs

Virginia

Sahara Williams, WBB, lead, defense

Oklahoma Hosts Virginia Friday for Military Appreciation Night

November 07, 2024 | Women's Basketball

NORMAN  Oklahoma Women's Basketball continues its season on Friday night with a matchup against Virginia at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network with Brenda Van Lengen and Andrea Lloyd calling the action.

The 10th-ranked Sooners (1-0) face a Virginia team featuring one of the ACC's most experienced rosters. Virginia opened its season with a decisive 104-68 win over American.

The game will be aired on 107.7 The Franchise with Chad McKee and Kevin Henry on the call.

FAN INFO

Oklahoma will celebrate Military Appreciation Night before and during the game and encourages active military and veterans to claim donated tickets through VetTix to cheer on the Sooners. 

Tickets for the general public are on sale for as little as $10 and season ticket holders can pick up their free Watch More OU Women's Basketball shirts on the south concourse before the game. Select concessions (popcorn, soda and beer) will be on sale for $2. 

The game is Oklahoma's first on SEC Network as a member of the Southeastern Conference. For more information on how to access the broadcast, please visit our How To Watch page

Doors to the arena open one hour before tip, and the Lloyd Noble Center's clear-bag policy is in effect. 

THE STARTING FIVE

  • The Sooners opened the 2024-25 season ranked 10th in both the AP and WBCA Coaches polls, marking the team's highest preseason ranking since 2010. This is also Oklahoma's first top-10 appearance in the AP poll since Nov. 18, 2013, when the team was similarly ranked at No. 10.
      
  • Transfer center Raegan Beers needs 26 points to eclipse 1,000 career points. She scored 21 points in her Oklahoma debut on Monday. Beers, along with Skylar Vann, were named to the Wooden Award watch list, an accolade given out to the nation's best women's basketball player. 
         
  • Oklahoma was picked to finish fourth in both the SEC media and coaches' preseason polls. Notably, in Coach Baranczyk's three previous seasons at OU, her teams have outperformed their preseason projections. Across her 12-year head coaching career (nine seasons at Drake and three at OU), Baranczyk's teams have met or exceeded preseason expectations in 10 seasons.
         
  • In the preseason ESPN bracketology, Oklahoma was tabbed as a No. 3 seed, which would provide hosting duties in the tournament for the second time of the Baranczyk era (2022).
        
  • Oklahoma doesn't just return talent - it returns experience talent. The Sooners have combined to play over 960 games in their careers. The 14-player roster has amassed 436 combined starts. The Sooners' projected starting five boasts 251 starts, led by Nevaeh Tot's 106 career starts as the guard has started 85 straight games for Baranczyk.

LAST TIME OUT

Transfer center Raegan Beers had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Sahara Williams added 19 points to help No. 10 Oklahoma rout Southern 76-44 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams. Beers, a third-team Associated Press All-American for Oregon State last season, made 8 of 11 field goals for the Sooners. Skylar Vann added 12 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma in its first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference.

SERIES HISTORY

Friday's showdown is the second all-time meeting between the Sooners and Cavaliers with OU taking the only tilt thus far, an 82-67 win last season at Virginia. Sahara Williams notched a double-double in the win, and Oklahoma held UVA to 1-of-23 from deep to seal the victory. 

Oklahoma is 26-27 all-time vs. ACC foes. 

UP NEXT

The Sooners play their last home game in November when they host Western Carolina on Nov. 13 at 10:30 a.m. CT in the program's annual Field Trip Day game. 

The contest is Oklahoma's last home game for 24 days, the longest streak in the country without a home game for a Power Five opponent. In between home showdowns, OU takes on Wichita State, UNLV  and Louisville on the road, and takes on DePaul and Duke/K-State in neutral site matchups. 
FOLLOW OKLAHOMA BASKETBALL
For updates, follow @OU_WBBall on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Women's Basketball on Facebook.

Players Mentioned

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