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.