Women's Hoops Faces No. 5 South Carolina in SEC Semifinal

NORMAN – No. 10 Oklahoma (25-6, 11-5 SEC) looks to secure a spot in the SEC championship on Saturday, facing top-seeded No. 5 South Carolina (28-3, 15-1 SEC) in the semifinal in Greenville, S.C. The Sooners earned their place in the matchup with a 69-65 win over fourth-seeded No. 12 Kentucky on Friday afternoon.

The winner would take on No. 1 Texas or No. 9 LSU in the final on Sunday. All four teams in the SEC semifinals are ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll.

Tip at Bon Secours Wellness Arena is set for 3:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2, with Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter) on the call. Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) and Tyler Neal (analyst) will call the action on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (107.7 FM The Franchise Varsity Radio App).

No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 South Carolina
Date: Saturday, March 8
Tip Time: 3:30 p.m. CT
Location: Greenville, S.C.
Arena: Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,000)

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NOTES TO KNOW

• Oklahoma's active nine-game winning streak is tied for the longest of the Baranczyk era and the program's best since the 2008-09 team won a school-record 20 straight en route to the Final Four. During this stretch, the Sooners have secured two ranked wins, including Friday's victory over No. 12 Kentucky, while outscoring opponents by 15.7 points per game. All-SEC honorees Raegan Beers and Payton Verhulst have led the charge over the last nine games, with Beers averaging a team-high 20.9 points on 71.8% shooting and 9.3 rebounds per game, while Verhulst paces Oklahoma in assists (3.7 APG), blocks (1.0 BPG), and steals (2.1 SPG). As a team, the Sooners are scoring 81.7 points per game over their last nine and dishing out an impressive 21.6 assists per contest.

• In their debut SEC season, the Sooners have reached their fourth consecutive conference semifinal after making the Big 12 semis the past three years. With two wins in the 2025 SEC Tournament, OU has secured its most conference tourney victories since going 2-1 in 2010. The active four-year streak of semifinal appearances is the second longest in program history, trailing only the 2009-13 Sooners, who made five straight.

• Oklahoma had two players named to the All-SEC teams, as selected by the league's 16 coaches. Junior center Raegan Beers earned All-SEC first-team honors, while Payton Verhulst was named to the All-SEC Second Team. The Sooners' two selections tied for the second most in the conference, trailing only LSU's three honorees. Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma has now produced 13 All-Conference honors in the past four seasons – the program's highest four-year total since earning 16 from 2006-09.

•Oklahoma is positioned to host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games for the second time in four seasons, ranking as the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA selection committee's latest reveal on Feb. 27. The Sooners sit at 13th in the NET rankings, boast six Quad 1 wins – the eighth most nationally – and own the highest-ranked Quad 2 win in the country, a 30-point road victory over UNLV (46th in the NET). Entering the SEC Tournament, Oklahoma was projected as a No. 3 seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology.

A WIN WOULD...

• Send Oklahoma to its first conference tournament championship game since 2010. Oklahoma has won four postseason conference championships in program history (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007) but are in the first season in the SEC.

• Give the Sooners their first top-10 win of the season and sixth under Baranczyk (2021-present).

• Mark Oklahoma's 10 straight win, breaking a tie with two other streaks for the longest of the Baranczyk era and making it the longest winning streak since a 20-game surge in 2008-09.

• Secure OU's eighth Quad 1 win of the season and sixth top-25 victory.

• Mark Baranczyk's 100th win as head coach at Oklahoma as she would reach 100 victories faster than any other Sooner coach.

LAST TIME OUT

• 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. Oklahoma has now won 25 games in three of the last four seasons. 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 10th time in program history.