Vann's 18 Points Leads OU Rally Past Florida

Thursday, February 12

Norman, Okla.

6 PM

University of Oklahoma

18-6,6-5SEC

Florida

15-12,3-9SEC

Florida

Oklahoma

Vann's 18 Points Leads OU Rally Past Florida

February 12, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Zya Vann scored 18 points and Peyton Verhulst had 16 points and nine rebounds as No. 10 Oklahoma rallied to beat Florida 81-74 on Thursday night.

Aaliyah Chavez added 16 points and seven assists and made all 10 of her free throws for Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 Southeastern Conference), which overcame poor shooting in the first half.

Liv McGill had 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Florida (15-12, 3-9), which held the Sooners scoreless for four minutes in the second quarter and led 37-26 at halftime. Me'Arah O'Neal scored 14 points and Jade Weathersby added 11 for the Gators.

Oklahoma played a forgettable first half. The Sooners made 10 of 36 shots (28%) and were one of nine from behind the arc while the Sooners' two highest-scoring players — Chavez and Raegan Beers, struggled.

But Oklahoma found its touch after the break, outscoring the Gators 28-20 in the third quarter to pull within 57-54. Chavez had five assists, including two that resulted in layups by Verhulst and Sahara Williams to end the quarter.

Williams, who finished with eight points, reached 1,000 points for her career on a first-quarter layup.

A three-point play by Verhulst with 5:59 left in the game tied the score at 64-all, then Chavez found Williams for a layup to give Oklahoma a 66-64 lead, it's first since it led 8-6 in the first quarter.

Oklahoma got a jumper from Verhulst, a 3-pointer from Vann and a pair of free throws from Chavez to extend the margin to 73-66.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Oklahoma (18-6, 6-5 SEC) recorded its 19th double-digit comeback under fifth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, rallying to defeat Florida, 81-74, Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center.

• The Sooners snapped a two-game skid and extended their home dominance over unranked opponents, winning their 31st straight in Norman, including 19 against unranked conference foes. The victory marked OU's 12th home win of 2025-26 and secured the program's fifth consecutive season with at least 12 home wins — the longest such streak in program history.

• Oklahoma opened the game on a 6-0 run before Florida led 19-15 after the first quarter. After OU tied the game at 19, the Gators responded with a 13-0 run to build a game-high 13-point lead (32-19). The Sooners trimmed the deficit to 11 at halftime. Florida led 48-35 midway through the third quarter before a 14-2 OU run cut the margin to one late in the period. OU trailed 57-54 entering the fourth before a Payton Verhulst and-1 tied the game at 64 with 5:59 remaining. The Sooners closed on a 17-10 run over the final six minutes to secure the comeback win.

• The 13-point deficit was Oklahoma's largest overcome in a win this season and marked the program's biggest comeback in conference play since erasing a 15-point deficit vs. Texas (Feb. 28, 2024). The Sooners entered the night 1-6 when trailing after three quarters and secured their second fourth-quarter comeback win this season.

• Sophomore Zya Vann led OU with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including four made 3-pointers. She added four steals, three assists and two rebounds. The performance marked a career high vs. a conference opponent and was three shy of her career best (21 vs. NC Central).

• Aaliyah Chavez went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and finished with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. She is the first OU freshman in at least 15 seasons to record a 16-7-5-3 stat line and the first Power Five freshman to do so in a conference game since Texas' Madison Booker vs. Oklahoma in 2024.

• Payton Verhulst scored 16 points and added nine rebounds and three assists, reaching double figures for the seventh time in the last eight games.

• Sahara Williams finished with eight points and five rebounds and became the 40th Sooner to reach 1,000 career points. She joins Raegan Beers and Verhulst — both transfers — as active OU players with 1,000 career points. Oklahoma is one of seven SEC programs with three active 1,000-point scorers.

• Oklahoma shot 27.8% (10-36) in the first half before shooting 70.4% (19-27) in the second half. OU finished at 46% for the game and improved to 13-1 when shooting 45% or better this season. Florida shot 49.2%.

• After committing 13 first-half turnovers, OU had just four in the second half. The Sooners finished with 19 assists and forced 23 Florida turnovers.

• Oklahoma travels to Tuscaloosa on Sunday to face No. 23 Alabama in its ninth ranked matchup of the season. Tip is set for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.