Sooner Magic Leads Oklahoma Past Kentucky as OU Advances to SEC Semis

Friday, March 7

Bon Secours Wellness Arena • Greenville, S.C.

1:30 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

25-6,11-5SEC

Kentucky

22-7,11-5SEC

Oklahoma

Kentucky

Sooner Magic Leads Oklahoma Past Kentucky as OU Advances to SEC Semis

March 07, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats Photo Gallery

By: OU Athletics Communications

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Payton Verhulst added 16 points and No. 10 Oklahoma battled back from a 10-point second-half deficit to beat No. 12 Kentucky 69-65 on Friday and advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Sahara Williams chipped in with 13 points for Oklahoma, which has won nine straight.

The Sooners (25-6) will face two-time defending Southeastern Conference champion and fifth-ranked South Carolina, an 84-63 winner over Vanderbilt, on Saturday.

Georgia Amoore scored 29 points and Clara Strack added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead Kentucky (22-7).

The teams finished tied for fourth in the SEC, but the Wildcats beat the Sooners 95-86 to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker and a double bye in the tournament. In that game Amoore had a career-high 43 points on seven 3-pointers, so finding a way to stop Kentucky's point guard was a point of emphasis for Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk.

Amoore was 12 of 27 from the field.

Neither team led by more than five in the first half, but Amoore's first 3-pointer of the game midway through the third quarter gave Kentucky a 10-point lead. Verhulst's back-to-back 3s from the top of the key allowed the Sooners to take a 50-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

TAKEAWAYS

Oklahoma: Despite playing their second game in two days, the Sooners looked stronger down the stretch than the more well-rested Wildcats.

Kentucky: Finished 4 of 23 from 3-point range. Amoore was just 3 of 8, with two of those coming in the final minute.

KEY MOMENT

Skylar Vann's cutting layup gave Oklahoma a 64-59 lead with 1:32 left.

POSTGAME NOTES

• No. 10 Oklahoma won its ninth straight game by defeating No. 12 Kentucky, 69-65, to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Sooners now have seven "Quad 1" wins this season (5-5 vs. AP Top 25), good for the fifth most in the country. Entering the tournament, Oklahoma was tabbed as No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as was Kentucky.

• The nine-game winning streak is tied for the longest of the Baranczyk era (2021-present) and the lengthiest since a school record 20 straight wins in the 2008-09 season that saw OU advance to the Final Four. Oklahoma has now won 25 games for the third time in four seasons under Baranczyk and the 10^th time in program history.

• The fifth-seeded Sooners will take on No. 5 and top-seeded South Carolina on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN 2. The winner will advance to the SEC championship game on Sunday.

• The Sooners have now won two games at a conference tournament for the first time since the 2010 Big 12 Championship where OU fell in the final. The victory marked head coach Jennie Baranczyk's 99^th win at Oklahoma and 15^th over a ranked opponent.

• All-SEC first-team selection Raegan Beers, who was named a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award on Friday, finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, notching her 12^th double-double of the season. Her dozen double-doubles are the most for a Sooner in a single season since Joanna McFarland's 14 in 2012-13.

• Payton Verhulst finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks as she has scored in double figures in 11 of her last 12 games. Sahara Williams, who was blanked in the scoring column on Thursday against Georgia, added 13 points and tied her career high with three 3-pointers.

• Landry Allen tied played 10 minutes in the win, contributing five points (2 of 4), two rebounds and two assists. The Tuttle, Okla., product was +7 (fourth best among Sooners) on the day.

• Oklahoma shot just 30.6%, its lowest shooting percentage of the season by nearly five percentage points. The Sooners' 30.6% on Friday marked the program's lowest FG% in a win since at least the 1996-97 season. Oklahoma's 69 points were its third lowest of the season, but OU improved to 2-1 in 2025 when scoring less than 70 (66 at Ole Miss). Additionally, the Sooners are 22-0 this season when their opponent is held under 80 points.

• The Sooners dished out 19 assists (just 13 turnovers) on 22 makes. In two games in Greenville, Oklahoma has 46 assists on 51 made field goals (90.2% assist rate).