No. 10 Oklahoma Pulls Away Late, Tops No. 23 Alabama 79–71

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Raegan Beers scored 21 points and Payton Verhulst added 17 to help No. 10 Oklahoma beat 23rd-ranked Alabama 79-71 on Sunday.

Oklahoma led by double digits on three separate occasions, but each time Alabama cut the deficit down to four points or less.

The Sooners (19-6, 7-5 SEC) rallied behind freshman Aaliyah Chavez's nine points in the fourth quarter to win the game, she finished with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Oklahoma had its struggles offensively- — missing five of its first six shots from the field and only shooting 23% from 3-point range and 58% from the free throw line for the game. Turnovers were also an issue with 19 which resulted in 15 Alabama points.

Alabama (20-6, 6-6) was led by Ta'Mia Scott's 17 points and 11 apiece by Jessica Timmons and Ace Austin.

The Crimson Tide featured a more balanced scoring attack with six players with at least eight points, but couldn't hold off the Sooners down the stretch to secure a second win over a top 10 team this season.

Alabama rallied to take a 57-54 lead in the third quarter by using an 18-4 run — its first advantage since early in the opening quarter. However the Crimson Tide only made three of 15 shots the rest of the way and were outscored 21-11 in the final quarter.

Oklahoma had 14 offensive rebounds which led to 19 second chance points and was plus-20 on the boards for the game.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma travels to Georgia on Thursday to face the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. CT.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Oklahoma (19-6, 7-5 SEC) won its third top-25 game of the season, defeating No. 23 Alabama, 79-71, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sunday afternoon. The Sooners have now won six straight against teams ranked Nos. 20-25 in the AP poll.

• The Sooners built an early lead, as large as 13 in the second quarter as they led by eight at halftime. The OU lead ballooned to 14 after a 6-0 run to open the third quarter, before OU senior guard Payton Verhulst left the game with a lower-leg injury. With the guard out, the Crimson Tide stormed back into the game, using a 21-7 run over the next 5:30 to take a 57-54 lead. Verhulst checked back in with 54 seconds left in the third quarter and spurred a 15-7 sprint that saw Oklahoma take a six-point lead with 3:21 remaining in the contest. Over the final three minutes, OU freshman Aaliyah Chavez wouldn't be denied, scoring six points and giving OU the 79-71 win.

• Raegan Beers led the way with 21 points on 10 of 12 shooting and added nine rebounds along with three assists in the win. The center hit OU's first 3-pointer of the game after the Sooners started 0-8 from deep.

• Verhulst made eight of her 14 shots, scoring 17 points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out one assist. The redshirt senior was a +26 in her 29 minutes played.

• Chavez finished with 15 points, while posting six rebounds and a team-high six assists. The freshman has posted double-digit points in 24 of OU's 25 games this season.

• Sahara Williams, who joined the 1,000-point club in Thursday's win over Florida, finished with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.

• Freshman Keziah Lofton scored a conference-high nine points in 24 minutes off the bench. The freshman played critical second-half minutes with Verhulst out and pulled down four rebounds and had three assists.

• Oklahoma shot 54.0% from the floor, the team's highest FG% in conference play this season and its highest in a conference game since it shot 54.7% against LSU last season in a loss. The Sooners are now 14-1 this season when shooting 45% or better.

• Oklahoma travels to Georgia on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. CT tip on SEC Network. The Bulldogs knocked off No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon in Athens.

- OU -