Oklahoma
OU Basketball: Three Takeaways From No. 13 Oklahoma’s Win Over Missouri
NORMAN — Oklahoma successfully protected its home floor thanks to an incredible night from guard Payton Verhulst on Thursday.
She poured in 38 points to help power the No. 13-ranked Sooners past Missouri 80-63 at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Her performance tied Phylesha Whaley for the fifth-most points in a single game ever by a Sooner.
Madi Williams set the program record on Jan. 3, 2021 when she dropped 45 on West Virginia in Norman.
With the win, Jennie Baranczyk’s team moved to 15-3 overall and 3-2 in SEC contests, while the Tigers fell to 11-9 and 0-5 in league play.
Verhulst has had a lot of nice offensive nights in her career.
None were better than Thursday.
The senior guard scored her 38 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the floor and 6-of-9 from 3-point land.
“I have such incredibly high expectations for her that I feel like there are just so many things that she can do,” Baranczyk said of Verhulst. And it’s not always scoring, and today it was, but I think she’s just an incredible versatile player. And when she lets the game come to her like this, really special things happen.”
Incredibly, 20 of those points came in the third quarter alone.
She shot a perfect 6-for-6 in the third, knocking down a pair of triples and getting to the free throw line six times.
Verhulst didn’t have to hunt her shot, either.
Missouri had no answer for the dynamic scorer, and she did all of her damage within the normal flow of the offense.
“Credit to everybody because I wouldn’t have gotten those shots or looks without the passes,” Verhulst said.
After the game, Verhulst pointed to some work she did with OU associate head coach Jonas Chatterton to help unlock things on Thursday.
“He had reached out to me yesterday,” Verhulst said, “just looking back on some film and trying to give me some pointers on shots and what I Can do to just continue to be more efficient. And I think that was really helpful for me. When I have simple things to work on in a game, I think that’s good for me.”
Her previous career-high was a 32-point showing against Oral Roberts last year.
The big concern coming out of Sunday’s win over Texas A&M was the health of Raegan Beers.
Yesterday, Baranczyk was uncertain if the OU center would be cleared for action, but she started on Thursday against the Tigers
Beers didn’t look to be in any extra discomfort in the first half, but she didn’t start the second half for the Sooners.
On Wednesday, Baranczyk said Beers would start if she was cleared to play, but she might carry a minutes restriction.
“I know she tried it today, obviously. You got to see her kind of try and we couldn’t have her in the second half,” Baranczyk said of Beers.
She entered the night averaging 21.7 minutes per game, but her night was done after playing 10 minutes in the first half.
Beers wasn’t needed in the second half, largely due to Verhulst’s heroics, but she’ll at least be an option on Sunday barring a setback.
The Sooners never lost control in the first half, but the second quarter was sloppy.
OU turned the ball over eight times in the second frame, allowing the Tigers to slightly cut into the lead.
Any doubts about a slugging performance ahead of Sunday’s showdown with No. 2 South Carolina were immediately put to bed, however.
Fueled by nine quick points from Verhulst, Oklahoma sprinted out to an 11-0 run to start the second half, extending its lead to 18 points.
And while the Tigers were unable to do anything against Verhulst, the Sooners only turned the ball over three times in the third quarter, allowing the team to win the quarter 24-15.
OU did lose center Liz Scott to a collision in the second half, which meant Verhulst’s work was even more important to keep the offense moving.
“She did a really nice job of being able to get some paint production for us,” Baranczyk said. “And I thought our whole team did.”
The hosts continued to take care of the basketball in the fourth quarter, a welcome sign from a team that has struggled to limit turnovers this season.
Now, the Sooners will head to take on South Carolina on Sunday at 2 p.m.
NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
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