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Aaliyah Chavez didn't score a career high on Thursday. She didn't make more shots than she ever had. She didn't make more 3-pointers. And she has come closer to triple-doubles in her young career.
But in Oklahoma's 94-82 win over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, Chavez showed the women's college basketball world that she and the Sooners are officially in the top tier of the sport.
OU had been a solid, NCAA Tournament-type of team for the better part of the last 25 years. Former coach Sherri Coale led the Sooners to the Dance from 2000-2018. After struggles hit in her final three years, Jennie Baranczyk came on and has taken Oklahoma back to the Tournament for each of the last four seasons. It's just that the team hadn't made it past the Sweet 16 since 2010.
That drought appears closer to changing than it has in the last 15 years now after Chavez led the Sooners to victory against a team that has won two national championships in the last four seasons, made the Final Four each time and has only lost four Southeastern Conference games since 2019.
Chavez, a freshman, scored 26 points, went 5-for-10 from 3-point range and doled out eight assists in the win. Fifteen of those points came in overtime when she buried four 3-pointers to put away the Gamecocks. The performance, especially in the final five minutes, was the stuff of legend.
And Oklahoma needed it. The Sooners have largely been considered one of the better programs in college basketball the last couple seasons, but clearly weren't among the Connecticuts, the UCLAs and the South Carolinas. They should be now.
OU entered the game as the No. 16 team in the country after suffering through a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU. All of those teams also rank in the Top 25 and sent the Sooners falling from No. 6 . The losses suggest Oklahoma took a step back, but after beating perhaps the powerhouse program in the sport, OU has shown it's fully capable of beating any team it goes up against.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma freshman Aaliyah Chavez breaks out in win over South Carolina
Continue reading...
But in Oklahoma's 94-82 win over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, Chavez showed the women's college basketball world that she and the Sooners are officially in the top tier of the sport.
OU had been a solid, NCAA Tournament-type of team for the better part of the last 25 years. Former coach Sherri Coale led the Sooners to the Dance from 2000-2018. After struggles hit in her final three years, Jennie Baranczyk came on and has taken Oklahoma back to the Tournament for each of the last four seasons. It's just that the team hadn't made it past the Sweet 16 since 2010.
That drought appears closer to changing than it has in the last 15 years now after Chavez led the Sooners to victory against a team that has won two national championships in the last four seasons, made the Final Four each time and has only lost four Southeastern Conference games since 2019.
Chavez, a freshman, scored 26 points, went 5-for-10 from 3-point range and doled out eight assists in the win. Fifteen of those points came in overtime when she buried four 3-pointers to put away the Gamecocks. The performance, especially in the final five minutes, was the stuff of legend.
And Oklahoma needed it. The Sooners have largely been considered one of the better programs in college basketball the last couple seasons, but clearly weren't among the Connecticuts, the UCLAs and the South Carolinas. They should be now.
OU entered the game as the No. 16 team in the country after suffering through a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU. All of those teams also rank in the Top 25 and sent the Sooners falling from No. 6 . The losses suggest Oklahoma took a step back, but after beating perhaps the powerhouse program in the sport, OU has shown it's fully capable of beating any team it goes up against.
This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma freshman Aaliyah Chavez breaks out in win over South Carolina
Continue reading...
