Historic Defensive Effort Powers Sooners Past BYU in Provo

Wednesday, January 3

Provo, Utah

8 PM CT

University of Oklahoma

8-5,2-0Big 12

BYU

10-5,0-2Big 12

Oklahoma

BYU

Historic Defensive Effort Powers Sooners Past BYU in Provo

January 03, 2024 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Game Book Highlights

By: OU Athletics Communications

PROVO, Utah – Skylar Vann scored 19 points, Aubrey Joens and Payton Verhulst notched double-doubles, and Oklahoma held off BYU 75-63 in Provo on Wednesday night to notch the program's first 2-0 conference start since 2016-17.

The Sooners (8-5, 2-0 Big 12) jumped out to an early lead and withstood numerous BYU (10-5, 0-2 Big 12) runs to secure the wire-to-wire victory and move to 3-0 in true road games this season. OU shot 39% but held BYU to just 29%, the lowest field-goal percentage for a Big 12 opponent in the Baranczyk era.

"I thought we really did a nice job of handling their runs," head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. "They're a very, very good shooting basketball team and they rebound the ball so well. I'm really proud of how we handled the pressure in a tough environment and we're happy to get another good road win."

Oklahoma outscored the Cougars 40-23 in the first half, and BYU's 23 first-half points were the second-fewest for an OU opponent this season. A pair of BYU second-half runs cut the OU advantage to seven in the third and 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Sooners' strong defensive effort kept the Cougars at bay to hold on for the 75-63 win.

Vann's 19 points were paired with six rebounds and two assists to power the OU attack. Joens tallied 12 points and 10 boards to notch her sixth career double-double, while Payton Verhulst posted 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Lexy Keys poured in 12 points with five boards and four assists, notching three steals as the guard leads the league with 5.0 steals per game in conference play.

The Sooners shot 92% from the free throw line, a season-high by five percentage points. OU posted 55 rebounds, crossing the 50-board threshold for the fifth time this season and improving to 17-0 under Baranczyk. The Sooners outrebounded BYU on the glass by 12.

The Sooners return to Norman on Saturday, Jan. 6, when Cincinnati (8-5, 0-2 Big 12) comes to Lloyd Noble Center for a noon tip on ESPN+.