Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez during the game against LSU on Jan. 18.
Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez during the game against LSU on Jan. 18.
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No. 10 OU women’s basketball (17-6, 5-5 SEC) dropped its second game in a row in a 102-86 loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt (23-2, 9-2 SEC) on Monday, marking the team’s second-longest losing streak of the season.
The Sooners have struggled significantly against AP Top 25 opponents this season with a record of 2-6 in ranked matchups and average point differential of -4.3 compared to their season differential heading into Monday’s matchup of +24.1 points per game.
Vanderbilt got off to a hot start in the first half, scoring 59 first-half points on 63% shooting to claim a 59-40 advantage heading into the break. The first half looked similar to OU’s matchup against No. 4 Texas (23-2, 8-2 SEC), where the Longhorns built an early and insurmountable lead that allowed them to control the game before a 78-70 Sooner loss.
Vanderbilt sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes, the nation’s second best scorer with 25.6 points per game, went on an early tear for the Commodores, putting up 23 first-half points to give the Commodores’ their early lead. Blakes wasn’t alone in her scoring rampage as she was joined by freshman guard Aubrey Galvan, who poured in 17 points to put the backcourt duo at a combined 40 points that matched OU’s first-half scoring. Blakes and Galvan also scored nine fastbreak points and contributed to the team’s 16 in the first half after 12 early Sooner turnovers.
OU’s duo of freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez and senior center Raegan Beers couldn’t find as much success as the Commodores’ leading two, with the two Sooners combining for 18 points. Chavez struggled once again from deep, going 0 for 7 in the first half after her 1-for-6 outing from behind the arc against Texas. Beers entered the break with a strong showing of eight points and seven rebounds, but her efforts weren’t enough.
Blakes and Galvan picked up right where they left off with 24 second-half points to bring the duo’s total to 64 for the game. Vanderbilt had a field day with OU’s defense that played passive in the half court rather than applying constant pressure to make the Commodores’ offensive possessions uncomfortable. The Sooners surrendered their highest point total of the season due to Blakes and Galvan’s contributions and OU’s inability to win the turnover margin, which was 22-10.
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Chavez’s nightmare day from the field continued in the second half, where she went 0 for 4 from long range and scored four points to put her at 14 points on 7-of-19 shooting and 0 of 11 from 3-point. Beers fell into foul trouble early in the second half and fouled out in the fourth quarter despite finishing as the Sooners’ leading scorer with 19 points.
OU’s offense nearly played on pace with its season average of 88 points, but the difference maker proved to be its woeful 3-point shooting of 8%. The Sooners shot 47% from the field to Vanderbilt’s 45% with four more makes on five shot attempts, but the Commodores decimated OU in points per possession with a 1.259-1.036 margin aided by a 11-2 3-point margin.
While the Sooners still remain in serious NCAA Tournament contention with a No. 4 seed in ESPN’s latest bracketology, they will have to win games against tournament-caliber teams to have a real shot of making a deep run. OU still has two current AP Top 25 opponents, No. 23 Alabama (20-5, 6-5 SEC) and No. 22 Tennessee (15-6, 7-2 SEC), remaining in its schedule and will need to capitalize on those matchups heading into March.
Next, OU will have the opportunity to bounce back against Florida (15-11, 3-8 SEC) at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Lloyd Noble Center on the SEC Network.
This story was edited by Joshua McDaniel.
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