1st Place Sooner Women BB hosts Texas Tonight at 6 PM at LNC!

[OUBeliever56A]

The Oklahoma Sooners Women's Basketball Team under the guidance of Coach Baranczyk has simply outplayed their respect this season and have built themselves into the 1st Place Team in the Big 12 with their 14-2 record in conference and their 20-7 overall record. While talented, the Sooners are simply playing better than the parts add up to. That is the ultimate goal of any team, to be better as a group than they are individually. Their 9-game winning streak in conference play during the middle of the conference season has propelled the Sooners to where they are currently. Texas is ranked as the #3

They host Texas tonight, the second place team in the Big 12 as the former #1 Bug 12 team, Kansas State, has lost four of their last 6 games me to Oklahoma, Texas, I-State and Kansas to fall into third place in the Big 12. Texas is 13-3. With a win tonight, the Sooners will clinch the outright Big 12 Championship Banner for 2024. If Texas wins, the last Big 12 games with OU playing at Kansas (6-1 in their last 7 games) and Texas hosting BYU will determine if their is an outright winner or co-champs of the Big 12.

To me, there are a couple/three of keys into the game. Here they are:

1. Can either Sahara Williams or Payton Verhulst can guard Booker of Texas and minimize her production as a point guard or down low inside?
2. Can Skylar Vann, Beatrice Culliton, Kiersten Johnson and maybe Landry Can Allen minimize the play of Jones inside for Texas?
3. Can Neveah Tot, Lexis Keys and Tucker Kennedy handle Holly and Gonzales on the perimeter.
4. Lastly, can OU keep Moore and the other big subs for Texas from being a factor in the game.

Inside the paint, Texas is a bit of a bully with their play. They are big and just rough and like it if it gets rougher. Oklahoma, inside, is more of a finesse team and movement team that rebounds surprisingly well. If Oklahoma can stay out of foul trouble, they will be in the game and in a position to win. But as in Austin, if Oklahoma can really just run the Longhorns off the court, OU can put the game away with good shooting. Oklahoma must handle the ball well as they did in Austin also.

Oklahoma won the previous game in Austin 91-87 with two great middle quarters where the Sooners outscored Texas 54-38 to propel the Sooners to the win. The five starters, Vann, Williams, Verhulst, Keys and Tot played 163 minutes of the 200 possible minutes, and all five scored at least 13 points in the game with Vann leading the way with 19. I think that is a pretty good blue-print for the win tonight over Texas.

The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Chad McKee and Whitney Hand Jones on the call, and will air on the Sooner Radio Network (1520 AM KOKC; Varsity Radio App) with Brian Brinkley (pxp) and Tyler Neal (analyst).

Here is the Sooner staff writers article about the Sooners game tonight.

https://soonersports.com/news/2024/2/27 ... p-at-stake

I really hope that the LNC is filled with a great crowd tonight to show the appreciation for this team in 2024 has played. They need a big, loud crowd to be their sixth woman tonight to help spur them to the Big 12 Title at home. I would love to see the girls celebrating after the game with an undisputed conference championship. It would be a very good Boomer Sooner night if they can do that! I am wishing the women the best of luck tonight!

Boomer Sooner!