Oklahoma
Johnson scores career-high 20, Verhulst dominates, No. 23 Oklahoma women top No. 21 Baylor 84-73
NORMAN, Okla. — Sophomore Kiersten Johnson had a career-high 20 points off the bench, Payton Verhulst had a double-double and No. 23 Oklahoma pulled away from No. 21 Baylor in the fourth quarter to win its ninth straight, 84-73 on Wednesday night.
The Bears scored nine-straight points to pull within 72-68 midway through the fourth but Skylar Vann hit two baskets and Johnson made a layup to quickly push the lead back to 10. Baylor committed three-straight turnovers, which offset a string of six-straight baskets.
The last Baylor basket was a 3-pointer by Jana Van Gytenbeek that made it 80-73 with 2:12 to play but the Bears missed their last three shots.
Verhulst had 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for the Sooners (18-6, 12-1 Big 12 Conference), who are 4-3 against ranked teams. Nevaeh Tott and Sahara Williams both had 14 points and Vann had 10.
The last time the Sooners were 12-1 in league play was the 2008-09 season when they finished 15-1 and made the Final Four.
Sarah Andrews had 14 points for Baylor (18-6, 7-6), which is 5-3 in top-25 games. Dre’una Edwards and Van Gytenbeek both had 13 points.
Five different players scored when Oklahoma ran off 11-straight points to take at 13-3 lead but Yaya Felder and Edwards combined for nine points to get Baylor back within 13-12. Johnson, whose previous career high was 12, scored Oklahoma’s last 10 points of the first quarter to take a 21-19 lead.
Edwards hit a 3-pointer that put Baylor up 24-21 but the Sooners had a 10-2 run and ended up on top 35-29 at the half.
Oklahoma had a 24-14 rebounding advantage at the break but also had 10 turnovers. The Sooners were 1 of 12 from 3-point range but had 20 points in the paint. Baylor was 4 of 12 from 3 but 7 of 20 inside the arc.
The Sooners found the range from long distance in the third quarter, going 5 of 10 on 3s, and 5 of 10 inside the arc and stretched the lead to 64-51. Baylor only shot 6 of 21 by made 8 of 8 from the foul line.
Oklahoma is at No. 24 West Virginia on Saturday, Texas Tech is at Baylor on Sunday when the Bears will retire former star Brittney Griner’s number.
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Oklahoma
Crews respond after fireworks stand catches fire in Broken Arrow, no injuries reported
Crews responded to a fireworks stand after it caught fire in Broken Arrow Saturday night.
Authorities urged people to avoid E. Kanosha Street near S. 236th E. Avenue as the road is closed and fireworks could spread in the area due to the fire.
Broken Arrow Fire Department released a statement confirming no injuries were sustained as a result of the explosions or fire.
Fire crews quickly controlled the fire in about 20 minutes according to Broken Arrow Fire Department.
The initial cause of the fire is under investigation.
Viewer Leslie Maxey, who lives close to the fireworks stand, sent in video of the ongoing fire.
“We were putting our daughter to bed with a book when we heard an explosion that was gradually getting louder and louder,” Maxey said.
This is a developing story.
Oklahoma
Scouting the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of UNC matchup
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Football Target Israel Hammons Commits to Cowboys
It was a Friday Night Lights in June kind of moment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys as Israel “Izzy” Hammons made his commitment announcement.
The Choctaw, Okla., rising senior announced his decision to commit to Oklahoma State on Friday during an Instagram Live session. The Cowboys beat out a roster of schools vying for the linebacker, most notably Texas.
Hammons made just two official visits — one to OSU and one to Texas last week.
His commitment pushed the Cowboys’ 2027 recruiting class back to nine players after the defection of Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) offensive lineman Chase Clark to Purdue.
Commitments are non-binding. The earliest that Hammons can sign with OSU is in December.
Izzy Hammons to OSU
Hammons is the first four-star player to commit to the Cowboys this cycle. Their previous commitments all came from three-star players. The 6-3, 225-pound linebacker was considered a Top 200 player in the country by both On3/Rivals and 247Sports. Both services had him ranked as a Top 10 player in the state of Oklahoma at any position. He’s also considered the No. 1 linebacker in the state.
He also runs track and field, competing in the high jump and the 100-meter days, with a personal best of 11.30 seconds in the latter.
The Longhorns came in hot at the end but already had linebackers committed to the program this cycle. For the Cowboys getting a pledge from a player like Hammons is key to shore up a position where they didn’t have a commitment and where they plan to use senior transfers as starters in 2026. That means OSU and head coach Eric Morris must start building a pipeline now.
OSU’s Class of 2027
After Clark’s decommitment the Cowboys were down to eight recruits for 2027 entering Friday, most of which were on the offensive side of the ball and starting with Iowa Colony (Texas) quarterback Carson White, who was the cycle’s first commitment in April.
Up front, OSU has two offensive line commitments Jake Baker of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn., and Sonny Mullen of Troy, Texas. When it comes to skill positions players the Cowboys have three commitments as well, including two wide receivers — Cooper Hooker of Pryor (Quapaw, Okla.) High School and Ake O’Neal of Argyle, Texas. Oklahoma State also has a pledge from tight end Talan Scott of Queen City, Ariz.
Defensively, the Cowboys have commitments from safeties Chayce Davis of Euless (Texas) Trinity High School and Bryson Brown of Broken Bow, Okla.
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