Oklahoma
Controversial ending makes loss to Oklahoma even harder for Texas women’s basketball
NORMAN, Okla. — Following a 71-70 loss to Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center on Wednesday evening, the Texas Longhorns chose to blame themselves.
Referees make for good scapegoats, though, and it’s unlikely that many Texas fans would have minded if some burnt-orange ire was directed toward the officials. But that wasn’t the tactic Madison Booker used when she was asked if she was fouled on the game’s final play.
“Did I get fouled? I really don’t know,” the freshman guard said.
“That’s a good answer,” said UT coach Vic Schaefer, who was seated to Booker’s right at the postgame press conference.
What about the controversial traveling call on Booker that set up the game-winning sequence for Oklahoma?
“We can say ‘the refs’ all we want, but I think we kind of got riled up at the end when those two calls happened,” Booker said. “I think we were just thinking about other things than just getting a rebound. A lot of factors was affecting us and our mental.”
In the end, Texas wasn’t beaten by the officiating crew. The Longhorns were done in by Sooners Lexy Keys, Skylar Vann and Payton Verhulst.
Keys hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to lift Oklahoma to a one-point victory that secured the Big 12’s outright championship. The Sooners split last year’s conference championship with Texas, but they had last finished a season alone atop the Big 12 standings in 2009.
“First, just congratulate Oklahoma on winning the championship,” Schaefer said. “It’s awfully hard to do and coach (Jennie) Baranczyk and her team played really hard tonight and made one more play than we did.”
A wild ending to a wild game
Oklahoma was playing catch-up for much of Wednesday’s game, but Texas failed to take advantage of a 15-point lead that it built in the first half and the nine-point edge it held with 8:56 remaining. And Texas still led by three points before the wild sequence that ended the game.
With 26 seconds left, Vann made one of two free throws. The miss came on Vann’s second attempt and that set off a wild scramble for the ball. Oklahoma point guard Nevaeh Tot eventually got her hands on it, but her subsequent layup attempt missed and Booker grabbed the rebound. Booker, however, was called for traveling as she tried to scoot upcourt even though replays suggested that she may not have had possession of the ball in the first place.
“I’ll have to go back and look at it, but I’m really disappointed that something like that happens in a game of this magnitude from the vantage point that was made from,” Schaefer said. “I can’t really comment on that.”
Following the turnover, Vann missed twice. But after her second miss, Vann beat UT guard Shaylee Gonzales to the loose ball and was able to save it from going out of bounds with a pass to an open Keys, who then nailed the decisive 3-pointer.
“We had the opportunity to grab the rebound, it fumbled,” Gonzales said. “It’s just very unfortunate. We worked super hard to prepare for this game and we thought we had it. Unfortunately, we just didn’t end with the win.”
Sooners made the most of their second chances
Oklahoma finished with a 21-5 edge in offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points. Oklahoma shot just 35.7% from the field.
“Twenty-one offensive boards was our Achilles,” Schaefer said.
After Keys knocked down her big shot, Texas called a timeout and drew up one last play. Booker drove to the basket after the inbounds pass, but Vann collapsed defensively and Texas was unable to get off a good look.
Booker finished with a game-high 26 points and also contributed seven assists and eight rebounds. Gonzales and Jones each added 10 points, but the two veterans combined to attempt just two shots in the second half.
Verhulst led the Sooners with 18 points while Keys scored 16. Despite being the shortest player on the court on Wednesday, the 5-foot-3 Tot led all players with her 10 rebounds and she also distributed eight assists.
Oklahoma, which recorded a 91-87 win over UT in Austin last month, will close out its regular season at Kansas on Saturday. Texas can secure the second seed in the Big 12 tournament by beating BYU this weekend.
“There’s still so much in front of us,” Texas guard Shay Holle said. “We’ve got to learn from it, but we can’t mope. Got to put our head down and go to work.”
NORMAN — Cord Rager’s return comes at a pivotal time for Skip Johnson’s Oklahoma Sooners. Not only do they get their day three starter back in time for big road matchups against Auburn and Arkansas on the horizon, but the Sooners pitching strength, their rotational depth, is primed and ready for the test.
The freshman lefty finished with eight strikeouts and only gave up one hit in only 65 pitches before his day ended in the sixth.
No. 14 Oklahoma earn its first conference sweep of the season, defeating Missouri 8-4. It was OU’s fourth conference series win.
Oklahoma (27-12, 10-8) put their best foot forward as they turn the page to the meat of their schedule where they will do battle against No. 13, No. 20 and No. 16 over the next three weeks — two of those series’ on the road.
Four runs in five hits in the second got things rolling for the Sooners.
Camden Johnson continued his brilliant play of late with a triple in the second. This came after a Brenden Brock solo home run to put OU up 1-0. Deiten LaChance grounded out to short but scored Johnson. Dasan Harris and and Nolan Stevens each found home before the inning ended.
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OU found fortune from the plate again in the fourth. Four runs off of four hits highlighted by a three-run home run by Johnson put Oklahoma up 8-0. It was Johnson’s seventh home run of the season, second on the team behind Brock’s nine.
Trent Collier got the nod in the sixth to relieve Rager.
In the seventh, Missouri finally got on the board for the first time since the ninth inning of Friday night’s Sooner victory. Cam Durnin hit a solo shot — his fourht of the season — to make the score 8-1 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers got their third hit of the game shortly after. From there, Collier’s short day was done. Gavyn Jones came on to relieve
LaChance missed a home run by inches when Tiger center fielder Kaden Peer made a leaping catch, jumping into the fence.
In the eighth, the Tigers continued to chip away. With bases loaded, Blaze Ward hit a basehit to score two Missouri base runners. OU led 8-3 heading into the final inning.
Harris led the Sooners with three hits. His day was accented by an RBI, stolen base and a run.
Oklahoma will travel to Auburn to take on the No. 13 Tigers for a three game series starting on Friday. Before that, they will host Oral Roberts for a midweek game at Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman. The Sooners won 4-0 against ORU earlier this season.
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New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
New Iowa State wrestling coach Brent Metcalf outlines vision for team
Iowa State wrestling’s first commitment of the Brent Metcalf era will be a transfer portal addition.
The Cyclones added Oklahoma State transfer Brayden Thompson, who announced his commitment on April 18 via Instagram. Thompson is a one-time NCAA qualifier at the 2024 NCAA Championships, doing so as a true freshman. He redshirted in 2024-25, but competed in open tournaments at 184 pounds and was 9-0. He did not wrestle a match in 2025-26 and will have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Out of high school, Thompson was ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound wrestler and No. 1 at 182 pounds in the 2023 recruiting class by Flowrestling. He also won Powerade and Ironman titles, two of the more prestigious high school tournaments in the nation. Assuming Thompson returns to 184 pounds where he last wrestled, he should fill in nicely as a potential replacement for Isaac Dean after his graduation.
Thompson is Iowa State’s first transfer portal addition after several departures, including Anthony Echemendia and Christian Castillo, who also entered the portal.
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
NORMAN — The Oklahoma Sooners liked their wide receiver room a year ago. They want 2026 to be even better.
Isaiah Sategna’s return helps that desire. Earning experienced pass catchers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone via the transfer portal gives you added play makers. But after the Sooners Spring Game on Saturday, an unlikely hero emerged.
When Jahsiear Rogers flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma last December, he drew the usual excitement that comes with a new commitment. But few expected him to climb the depth chart this quickly, even with the injuries that hit Emmett Jones’ room.
Rogers did just that and more on Saturday. He led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White game.
“I knew it was time to showcase,” Rogers said after the game. “It was amazing to see the fans and get used to the OU way. I’m a playmaker. They really want to put the ball in playmakers hands. I pretty much knew I had to lead the white team.”
Rogers got the ball rolling early. On the second offensive play for the white team, backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer rolled to his right wide, then stopped and looked towards the middle of the field where he saw Rogers running open. Newbauer connected with Rogers for a 39-yard gain.
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With Rogers on the white team, he is running against (most of) Oklahoma’s starting defense. As fate would have it, on that 39-yard reception, Rogers beat his favorite teammate to compete against — Reggie Powers.
“He is just a leader, good guy,” Rogers said of Powers. “Me and him go after it every day in practice. Reggie is strong. When I come at him, I have to really come at him.”
Rogers’ big play over Powers was the second-longest catch of the spring game — Sategna’s 50-yard reception that appeared to be a touchdown before coaches pulled it back to set up a red-zone rep. The other four catches weren’t flashy, but they were important in their own way, and Rogers looked like he belonged on the field.
“I love it. As long as I can get the ball, I can be me. I love it,” Rogers said. “When I am on the field, I am ready to go. I am ready to be a playmaker.”
The season is still months away, and Rogers hasn’t earned a spot high on the depth chart yet. A strong spring and an encouraging Red/White Game can only lead to early playing time if he carries that momentum into summer and fall camp.
More experienced players will return from injury and receivers who’ve been in the program for a few years will have an extra leg-up.
But Rogers is taking everything in stride and leaving no stone unturned in his development.
“Just learning from the older guys,” Rogers said. “Manny Choice, Isaiah Sategna, Trell Harris, Mackenzie Alleyne. Really all of them. We lean on each other, learn from each other. That is kind of how our room is.”
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