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Three Takeaways from Oklahoma’s Loss to UCLA

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Three Takeaways from Oklahoma’s Loss to UCLA


Despite two of its best players struggling with foul trouble, Oklahoma was right there with UCLA well into the third quarter.

But the No. 3-ranked Bruins took over from there, pulling away for a 73-59 win over the No. 6 Sooners in an early season showdown between two of women’s college basketball’s top teams in Sacramento, CA.

Starting in that decisive third quarter, UCLA ripped off a 16-3 run to stretch a one-point lead into a 59-45 advantage.

OU never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

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Payton Verhulst led the Sooners with 16 points while Zya Vann added 13, playing a big role early when Aaliyah Chavez went to the bench with foul trouble. Raegan Beers also found foul trouble early.

Vann scored seven of her points in the first quarter, including hitting a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Oklahoma shot just 30.7 percent from the field.

Gianna Kneepkens led the Bruins with 20 points, while Angela Dugalic added 16 points and 15 rebounds.

The Sooners (1-1) return to action against Kansas City at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Lloyd Noble Center.

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Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ loss:

Less than four minutes into the game, Oklahoma freshman point guard Aaliyah Chavez was already heading to the bench.

The 5-star phenom picked up a pair of fouls less than 40 seconds apart to limit her time on the floor in the first quarter.

The Sooners were up 9-7 when Chavez headed to the bench, and UCLA took advantage without her on the floor, outscoring OU 17-7 during that span.

Whether it was due to Jennie Baranczyk’s trust in her, or necessity with the game in danger of slipping away early, Chavez didn’t stay on the bench long.

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She re-entered the game with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter and remained in the game for all but a few seconds of the second quarter.

Chavez never did pick up a third foul.

But though she was able to fight through the foul trouble, Chavez struggled with her shot against the Bruins.

She finished 4-of-16 from the floor, though she didn’t have a turnover in 32 minutes. Chavez had 11 points and three assists.

Chavez still flashed the skill that made her the top player in the 2025 class.

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In the closing seconds of the first quarter, Chavez drove baseline, flipping it to Sahara Williams through traffic for a midrange jumper.

Williams’ shot, though, was released just after time expired, giving UCLA a 24-22 lead after one.

The matchup between former middle school teammates and high school competitors Raegan Beers of OU and Lauren Betts of UCLA was front and center going into the game.

Both had their moments, but ultimately Betts won out, as the reigning national defensive player of the year finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

She also blocked four shots, though also finished with a career-high seven turnovers.

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Early in the fourth quarter, there was a scary moment when Beers crumpled to the floor with an apparent non-contact knee injury.

But after being checked out on the bench, Beers was back less than two minutes later.

Beers finished with seven points and 14 rebounds on 2-of-7 shooting with two steals.

While OU’s offense has been a strength under Baranczyk, the Sooners have often struggled to limit turnovers in their free-wheeling offensive system.

But with Chavez helping direct the offense Monday, OU finished with just nine turnovers while forcing 16. The Sooners outscored UCLA 16-9 off turnovers.

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The turnover numbers were OU’s lowest since late January 2024.

The Sooners turned the ball over 18 times in their season-opening 84-67 win over Belmont.



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Texas Softball Avoids the Sweep vs. Oklahoma in Walk-Off Fashion

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Texas Softball Avoids the Sweep vs. Oklahoma in Walk-Off Fashion


The Texas Longhorns headed into Sunday looking for anything with the Red River Rivalry series already lost, as the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners headed to Austin and took the first two games of the series.

The Longhorns would be shut out for the first time since 2024, dropping the first game of the series on Friday, 3-0, and dropping the series in a frustrating 4-3 loss on Saturday. Looking to avoid the sweep, headed to the diamond looking to beat both the rain and Oklahoma to salvage some momentum.

And Texas would get exactly what it needed on Sunday, getting one back on Oklahoma, taking game three in a back-and-forth 8-6 affair.

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Texas Comes Up with the Clutch Hits when Needed

Texas Longhorns utility Katie Stewart celebrates after hitting a home run in the fourth inning of a Women’s College World Series game. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Longhorns, while dropping back-to-back series this season, have put an end to a four-game losing streak.

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“We lost the series, but anytime you beat an Oklahoma team, you’ve done something,” head coach Mike White said. “I think, look at the volume of the work in the three games over the weekend, I thought we played very well.”

For the second straight day, the Longhorns would strike first against the Sooners, with Texas this time flexing its power as junior Kayden Henry got the day started for the Longhorns with a three-run home run, giving Texas its biggest lead of the series.

However, the Sooners would not go away quietly as they looked to sweep their rival on their home field, with Oklahoma battling throughout the middle innings, making the Longhorns lead 3-0 to a minimal 3-2 in the top of the fifth inning.

The Longhorns hung onto a lead through the back half of the game until the seventh inning, in which Texas held a 5-3 lead. However, needing just three outs to steal the win, the lead would evaporate quickly with Oklahoma blasting a two-run home run to even things out at five, forcing extra innings.

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In extras, the Sooners would flip the script of the ballgame, scoring a run and taking their first lead of the game. The Sooners are forcing the Longhorns to respond, trailing 6-5 and down to their last three outs.

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And in a weekend when the Longhorns were unable to come up with the big hit, they found them on Sunday. As the rain threatened to pour down in Austin, the home runs poured at Red and Charline McCombs Field with Texas winning a slugfest that featured seven home runs, five of which came from batters in burnt orange.

“I thought that our resiliency today, after two tough losses,” White said. “It could’ve been easy just to say you know we were close, but we couldn’t have done it.”

In that eighth inning, Texas found two home runs to steal game three of the series. The first homer was brought by freshman Hannah Wells, who came into the ballgame as a pinch hitter in the crucial moment and managed to get a ball to fall right over the left field fence to even up the game at six.

Making herself the hero of the game was junior Katie Stewart. She settled into the batter’s box with a runner on base and on the third pitch of the at-bat crushed a pitch for the walk-off two-run bomb to seal the ballgame.

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“I just knew it off the bat,” Stewart said. “And so knowing that the game was over and that we had won, just like a wave of emotions came over.”

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The Longhorns will head back on the road, making their way up to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in their next action. The three-game tilt is set to start on Saturday April, 18 at 3:00 p.m. CT.

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Oklahoma’s Transfer Players Reviews Are In — ‘This is a Real Team, Real Brotherhood’

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Oklahoma’s Transfer Players Reviews Are In — ‘This is a Real Team, Real Brotherhood’


NORMAN — The transfer portal has given players a clearer view of what truly separates programs.

Even better, it lets outsiders like us — beyond the fortified walls of the sport’s football factories — gain real insight when players leave one school for another.

When players transfer away, you hope they have nothing but nice things to say following their exits. The last thing you want to hear is that the grass was in fact greener on the other side.

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With Oklahoma’s new faces, the reviews thus far have been golden.

“This is the first time I’ve been in a tight end room where it’s straight family,” Hayden Hansen said on Thursday. “It’s a straight brotherhood in there. We all care about each other.”

It would be naive to hear Hansen say that and assume his three seasons at Florida were miserable. Yes, he chose to enter the transfer portal and leave the Gators — and yes, he’s thriving as a Sooner so far. Sometimes, things don’t work out.

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That doesn’t mean Florida was inherently worse, just that Hansen’s found a better fit for what makes him thrive in Norman.

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But it does stoke the fire of Brent Venables’ program. A head coach whose passion burns bright is building an organization that self-sustains, and gives a true sense of belonging to a generation of players more geared to the lifestyle of the wanderer.

For Hansen, he became enticed with Oklahoma while the Sooners played their way into the College Football Playoff last season.

As he sat on the couch following the end of Florida’s season, he looked at OU and thought something most players would think — why are they there and we aren’t? He found his answer quickly upon arriving in Norman.

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Oklahoma tight end Hayden Hansen catches a pass during a spring practice. | Ryan Chapman / Sooners on SI

“And in probably about one week (after arriving) it was clear to me why they were there and we weren’t,” Hansen said. “This is a real team, a real brotherhood in the locker room. These guys go out there, and they die for each other.

All these guys, they hang out outside the game, they learn together, they suffer together—it’s a true brotherhood,” Hansen added.

Cole Sullivan can attest to the locker room vibe under Venables.

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Coming from a blue-blood power himself, Sullivan already knew the aura of Owen Field from the opposite side. During Michigan’s 24-13 loss last season, Sullivan understood the Big House wasn’t the only football cathedral in college football.

“It’s a great atmosphere to be here, I love it here, but when you’re playing, for me at least, it’s just put the ball down and play,” Sullivan said on Thursday. “It could be in the parking lot, it could be here in one of the greatest stadiums in the country, but for me it’s just all about zoning in and locking into ball.”

It doesn’t hurt to have great first impressions. Nor is it a negative to be proud of building something that people feel connected to. So far, even with two bad seasons under his belt, Venables has slowly built Oklahoma as a place that attracts players from across the country.

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Both from the high school ranks and from the blue bloods.



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182 inmates relocated after issue at Oklahoma prison

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182 inmates relocated after issue at Oklahoma prison


TAFT, Okla. –

A total of 182 inmates were relocated early Saturday morning after a structural issue was identified inside a housing unit at the Jess Dunn Correctional Center in Taft.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said inmates housed in the D East unit were moved to other facilities as a precaution after a compromised area was discovered on the second floor. Officials said at no point were the inmates in danger.

Officials said the issue was discovered early April 11, prompting an immediate decision to relocate inmates.

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The affected unit, originally built in 1935, is among the older structures on the facility’s campus.

The Oklahoma Department of Corrections said a structural engineer will inspect the building to determine whether repairs are possible and to guide next steps.

Inmates who were moved will be placed in more permanent housing as space becomes available across the prison system.

The agency said safety and security remain its top priority and that updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

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Officials also noted they appreciated the cooperation of the inmates during the relocation process.





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