Sooners Fall to UConn in Sweet 16

Saturday, March 29

Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena • Spokane, Wash.

4:30 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

27-8,11-5SEC

UConn

34-3,18-0Big East

Oklahoma

UConn

Photo by: Johnny Smiley/University of Oklahoma

March 29, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats Photo Gallery

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored a career-high 40 points, rescuing UConn from its first-half doldrums and single-handedly turning a tight game against Oklahoma into an 82-59 win on Saturday that sent the Huskies to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Bueckers had 29 points after halftime for the Huskies, who trailed 36-32 at the break. The likely No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft eclipsed her previous career best of 34 points, set Monday in UConn's second-round victory over South Dakota State, her final home final game at Gampel Pavilion.

The electrifying senior guard matched her career high with six 3-pointers before checking out of the game with 3:06 left and UConn ahead 80-51.

The second-seeded Huskies (34-3), winners of 13 straight, will face the winner of Saturday's late game between Southern California and Kanas State in a regional final on Monday.

Ashlyn Shade added 12 points and Sarah Strong had 11 points and 11 rebounds for UConn, which is seeking to extend its record by winning a 12th national title. The Huskies reached their fourth Elite Eight in the past five years, but coach Geno Auriemma's team hasn't won it all since 2016.

Payton Verhulst scored 16 points for third-seeded Oklahoma (27-8), which was playing its first Sweet 16 game since 2013. The Sooners have never beaten the Huskies in a series that includes the 2002 national title game.

Bueckers took UConn to the Final Four last season, where it lost to eventual champion South Carolina.

POSTGAME NOTES

• No. 11 Oklahoma (27-8) saw its season come to an end on Saturday evening in the Sweet 16, falling to No. 3 UConn in Spokane, 82-59.

• Oklahoma led 36-32 at the half, but the Huskies (34-3) outpaced the Sooners by 27 points in the second half. UConn held Oklahoma to a season-low 59 points as OU lost its first game this season (22-1) when leading at halftime.

• Payton Verhulst was one of three Sooners to score in double figures and led the way with 16 points and three rebounds. Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers both added 10 points, while Beers pulled down 10 rebounds to notch her 15^th double-double of the season, the most for a Sooner since Amanda Thompson's 16 in 38 games in 2009-10.

• Oklahoma's 27 wins were the most for the program since the 2010 season when OU also won 27 games. The Sooners went 11-5 in their first season in the SEC, finishing in a tie for fourth in the regular season and advancing to the league tournament's semifinal.

• The Sooners advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013, and fourth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk has taken OU to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of her first four seasons.

• OU remained in the AP Top 25 all season, closing the season ranked No. 11, its highest placement in the final AP poll since 2009 (No. 4).

• Oklahoma set multiple program records this season, including points per game (84.7; previous: 84.5 in 1985), rebounds per game (47.74; previous: 46.94 in 2006), assists per game (21.7; previous: 20.8 in 2023) and field goals made (1,091; previous: 1,086 in 1984).

• The Sooners played 18 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament, including seven against teams in the Sweet 16 and five vs. teams in the Elite Eight.

• Five Oklahoma seniors played their final games in an Oklahoma uniform on Saturday: Aubrey Joens, Lexy Keys, Liz Scott, Nevaeh Tot and Skylar Vann. All five leave Oklahoma with bachelor's degree and are pursuing master's degrees.

• Vann leaves Oklahoma 10^th on the program's all-time scoring list (1,798), seventh in rebounding (924) and 15^th in career assists (298). She is one of two players in Oklahoma history (Madi Williams, 2019-23) to eclipse 1,750 points, 900 rebounds and 275 assists in their OU career. She ranks second in program history in games played with 157 and tied for second with teammate Nevaeh Tot in career wins (112), one behind Courtney and Ashley Paris' school record 113.

• Next season, Oklahoma is set to return four of its top-five scorers: Raegan Beers (17.3 ppg), Payton Verhulst (14.9 ppg), Sahara Williams (10.6 ppg) and Zya Vann (6.9 ppg). That core will welcome the nation's No. 15 recruiting class per ESPN to Norman this summer.

• Beers, OU's junior All-American center, averaged 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds in her first season as a Sooner. She set a program record by shooting 63.3% on the season, breaking Molly McGuire's previous mark of 61.5% in 1981. Her 309 total rebounds made her the first Sooner since Joanna McFarland in 2012-13 to eclipse 300 rebounds in a season.