Women's Hoops Meets Mississippi State on Thursday

NORMAN – No. 10 Oklahoma looks to move to 2-1 in SEC play on Thursday night when it travels to Starkville to face Mississippi State. The Sooners (13-2, 1-1 SEC) are fresh off a top-15 win at Tennessee, while the Bulldogs (13-3, 0-2 SEC) enter the night after back-to-back losses to ranked teams.

Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+, and Brian Brinkley will call the action on 107.7 FM The Franchise.

The Sooners enter Sunday's contest ranked No. 11 in the latest NET rankings, with Mississippi State checking in at No. 33.

THE STARTING FIVE

The Sooners are a perfect 4-0 on the road this season, highlighted by a ranked win over then-No. 22 Louisville and last week at #15 Tennessee. Their four-game road winning streak is the 10th longest in the nation. Under fourth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma has posted a strong 29-11 record in true road games.
Oklahoma is 4-2 in Quad 1/2 games, including top-25 victories over Michigan, Louisville and Tennessee, plus a road win at UNLV. They've dominated Quad 3/4 games, going 9-0 with an average margin of victory of 38.2 points. Ten of OU's final 14 conference games are against Quad 1/2 teams.
Oklahoma's 90.1 points per game in 2024-25 rank fifth nationally and the Sooners' FG% of 48.5% is the 12th highest in Division I. Additionally, OU's 22.6 assists per game rank second in Division I.
While Oklahoma's offense often steals the spotlight, the Sooners' defense is equally impressive. Ranked 19th nationally in defensive rating, it allows just 79.3 points per 100 possessions. Oklahoma has held 14 of its 15 opponents below their season averages in both points and shooting percentage. On average, the Sooners limit opponents to 9.0 fewer points per game and force them to shoot 6.0% worse from the field.
A win would secure the Sooners' 13th straight win over unranked opponents, a streak that dates back to last season.

LAST TIME OUT

Payton Verhulst scored 16 points including two free throws with 50 seconds left in the game to help No. 9 Oklahoma hold on for an 87-86 win over No. 15 Tennessee on Sunday. The Volunteers (13-1, 1-1 in Southeastern Conference) rallied from a 19-point third-quarter deficit. They scored eight points in the final 1:15 of the game, led by two 3-pointers from Jewel Spear, who finished with 28 points. Sara Puckett's 3-point attempt with five seconds left that would have won the game for Tennessee missed.

SERIES HISTORY

Thursday is the third meeting between Oklahoma and Mississippi State, with the Sooners holding a 2-0 series advantage. OU defeated Mississippi State by 31 in Jennie Baranczyk's eighth game as the Oklahoma head coach. Skylar Vann, Liz Scott and Nevaeh Tot all played in the 2021 win over State.

The teams have never met in Starkville.

UP NEXT

The Sooners return to Norman on Sunday to face Texas A&M at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN2. The meeting is the 49th between the former Big 12 foes.

FOLLOW OKLAHOMA BASKETBALL
For updates, follow @OU_WBBall on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma W omen's Basketball on Facebook.