Sooners Dispatch Idaho, Advance to Second Round

Friday, March 20

9 PM

University of Oklahoma

25-7,11-5SEC

Idaho

29-6,17-1Big Sky

Idaho

Oklahoma

Sooners Dispatch Idaho, Advance to Second Round

March 21, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Postgame Press Conference Final Stats

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams tallied double-doubles and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn't lost since Jan. 10.

Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.

Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6).

Oklahoma played one of its most efficient halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. The Sooners held Idaho to 25.5% shooting. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.

The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.

Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Fourth-seeded No. 10 Oklahoma (25-7) improved to 5-0 in NCAA Tournament first-round games under fifth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk with an 89-59 win over Idaho on Friday night at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners have now won 25 games in four of Baranczyk's five seasons.

• Oklahoma will face No. 20 Michigan State in the second round on Sunday in Norman. A win would send the Sooners to their 12th Sweet 16 in program history and second in as many seasons under Baranczyk.

• The 30-point victory marked Oklahoma's sixth win by 30 or more in NCAA Tournament history and the second-largest margin of victory under Baranczyk, trailing only last season's 34-point second-round win over Iowa.

• Oklahoma held Idaho to 24.7% shooting, OU's lowest opponent field goal percentage in the NCAA Tournament since holding FGCU to 23.6% in last year's first round. OU shot 50.7% from the field and 59.5% in the first half, its highest field goal percentage in a tournament game since shooting 55.6% against Quinnipiac in 2015. Idaho's three points in the third quarter were the fewest ever scored against Oklahoma in a tournament quarter.

• Idaho attempted 46 3-pointers, the most ever by an OU opponent in the NCAA Tournament, but made just 10 (21.7%). Oklahoma went 7-of-22 from deep, with Sahara Williams, Payton Verhulst and Aaliyah Chavez each connecting from beyond the arc.

• The win extended Oklahoma's streak to 31 consecutive victories against unranked opponents. The Sooners are now 19-0 against teams outside the AP Top 25 this season and have not lost to an unranked team since Jan. 9, 2025, at Mississippi State. The victory was a Quad 2 win, and OU has now won 39 straight Quad 2-4 games.

• Oklahoma was led by Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams, who each recorded double-doubles. Four Sooners scored in double figures, including Aaliyah Chavez (15) and Payton Verhulst (14). Williams and Beers are the first OU duo to each have at least 15 points and 10 rebounds in a tournament game since 1999-00.

• Williams made her 100th consecutive start, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists while shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range. She logged a +17 plus-minus in just 22 minutes.

• Beers, a third-team All-American, recorded her 21st double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. She now has 66 career double-doubles, the most among active players, and has posted a double-double in all four of her NCAA Tournament games at Oklahoma.

• Chavez scored 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting in her NCAA Tournament debut, adding six rebounds and a team-high five assists. She went 2-of-4 from the free throw line, snapping her school-record streak of 62 consecutive makes.

• Oklahoma dominated statistically, outrebounding Idaho 55-44 and outscoring the Vandals 38-14 in the paint. The Sooners recorded 18 assists to 14 turnovers and tallied nine blocks, their second most in a tournament game.