Oklahoma Struggles From Distance in Loss to Vanderbilt – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt got out to a hot offensive start and by the time Oklahoma found its footing.
The 10th-ranked Sooners fell to the No. 5 Commodores 102-86 on Monday at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.
Oklahoma (17-6, 5-5 SEC) has dropped back-to-back games.
Vanderbilt was hot offensively from the jump, starting a blistering 17 of 23 from the field. The Commodores hit nine consecutive shots to end that stretch.
The Commodores took control with a 16-6 first-quarter run to go up 21-11. After that, the Sooners were never closer than eight points.
Oklahoma was ice cold from beyond the arc, going just 2 for 24 (8.3%) on 3-pointers.
It was the Sooners' worst shooting percentage from deep since going 1 of 26 from beyond the arc in a loss to North Carolina in December 2023.
Vanderbilt hit 11 3-pointers, three each from Mikayla Blakes and Aubrey Galvan.
Oklahoma outscored the Commodores 46-43 in the second half but the early deficit was far too much to overcome.
The good news for the Sooners?
The schedule lightens up considerably from here.
OU has played five top-10 opponents in its last seven games.
The Sooners have six games remaining in the regular season, only two against ranked opponents and none against teams in the top 20.
Oklahoma takes on Florida at 6 p.m. Thursday at Lloyd Noble Center.
Here are three takeaways from the Sooners' loss:
For the first time this season, OU freshman Aaliyah Chavez was held without a 3-pointer.
Chavez went 0 of 11 from beyond the arc, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.
She was 7 of 8 from inside the arc but didn't get to the free-throw line either. The Sooners attempted just 14 free throws, 17 fewer than the Commodores.
Raegan Beers' raw numbers at the end were far from bad.
The Sooners' center finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, going 9 of 10 from the floor.
But the Commodores did a solid job of keeping the ball out of Beers' hands for long stretches, then attacking her on the other end.
Beers tied her season high with six turnovers, and fouled out with 4:26 to go on the last of those when she was called for an offensive foul.
Oklahoma finished with 22 turnovers, leading to 26 points on the other end.
There's no shame in giving up points to Vanderbilt sophomore sensation Mikayla Blakes.
Blakes came in as the second-leading scorer in the country, averaging 25.6 points per game.
The 5-foot-8 guard was fairly quiet early as the Commodores built a double-digit lead less than seven minutes in.
But then Blakes took over, scoring 16 points in Vanderbilt's 28-point second quarter.
She finished with 34 points, going 13 of 23 from the field. Blakes was 10 of 13 from inside the arc. She didn't miss a two-point shot until early in the fourth quarter.
It was Blakes' third consecutive game with 30 or more points and her eighth of the season.
Last season, Blakes scored 34 points against the Sooners, hitting seven 3-pointers, though Oklahoma won that game 101-81.
Galvan had a big game as well, scoring a career-high 30 points.
Ryan Aber has been covering Oklahoma football for more than a decade continuously and since 1999 overall. Ryan was the OU beat writer for The Oklahoman from 2013-2025, covering the transition from Bob Stoops to Lincoln Riley to Brent Venables. He covered OU men's basketball's run to the Final Four in 2016 and numerous national championships for the Sooners' women's gymnastics and softball programs. Prior to taking on the Sooners beat, Ryan covered high schools, the Oklahoma City RedHawks and Oklahoma City Barons for the newspaper from 2006-13. He spent two seasons covering Arkansas football for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas before returning to his hometown of Oklahoma City. Ryan also worked at the Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and the Muskogee Phoenix. At the Phoenix, he covered OU's national championship run in 2000. Ryan is a graduate of Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah.
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