Women's Hoops Hosts Cincinnati Saturday in Big 12 Contest

NORMAN – Oklahoma will put its unbeaten conference record on the line Saturday when it hosts league newcomer Cincinnati at Lloyd Noble Center.

Tip is set for noon on ESPN+ with Chad McKee and former OU women's basketball standout Whitney Hand Jones on the call. A win on Saturday would mark the Sooners (8-5, 2-0 Big 12) first 3-0 start in conference play since 2016-17.

Doors to the arena open one hour before tip and the Lloyd Noble Center's clear-bag policy is in effect. Fans can purchase tickets for as little as $5 and those that have purchased tickets to Saturday's 5 p.m. men's basketball game vs. Iowa State will receive free admission to the women's game.

The contest marks OU's annual Mental Health Awareness Game and a limited number of journals and mental health bracelets will be handed out at entrances. Additionally, mental health videos will play on the jumbotron with messages of encouragement from women's basketball players.

THE STARTING FIVE

The Sooners standout nationally in the transition game. OU scores 25% of its points from fast breaks (4th NCAA), and average over 10 steals per game. As a result, the Sooners join three other teams - No. 1 South Carolina, No. 7 LSU and No. 16 Notre Dame - in reaching those marks. Aubrey Joens and Lexy Keys are pivotal in OU's transition game with Joens averaging 4.1 fast break points per game and Keys just behind at 4.0. Additionally, Keys leads the Big 12 in steals per game during league play at 5.0 SPG.
Last season, Oklahoma went 14-4 in conference play and secured a share of the program's first Big 12 regular season title since 2009. The 2023-24 Sooners replace four of that team's starting five, with Nevaeh Tot the only returning starter, as Liz Scott will miss the season due to injury. Two-time Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year Skylar Vann has stepped into a starting role and is joined by transfers Payton Verhulst (Louisville), Lexy Keys (Oklahoma State), and freshman Sahara Williams in the starting five.
In the win over BYU on Wednesday, Aubrey Joens and Payton Verhulst became the first Oklahoma guard pair to post double-doubles in the same game since Gabbi Ortiz and Sharane Campbell-Olds did so in 2014. Joens posted 12 points and 10 boards, while Verhulst poured in 11 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and four assists in the effort.
In program history, OU has won 896 games and made 23 NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Final Four three times and winning 12 conference championships. In Oklahoma's 50 years of basketball, the program has produced 49 All-America honors and 15 WNBA Draft picks.
Five Sooners - Aubrey Joens (107), Lexy Keys (101), Nevaeh Tot (103), Kennady Tucker (117) and Skylar Vann (102) - have played in over 100 games. Tot and Keys have each started 80+ games in their careers.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday's meeting is the first all-time between Oklahoma and Cincinnati. Oklahoma has a 354-265 (.571) record in games vs. Big 12 opponents, including postseason matchups. The now 14-team league welcomes new members UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston this season and Oklahoma owns a 11-3 combined record vs. the four (8-1 vs. BYU, 2-2 vs. UH, 1-0 vs. UCF). OU's first three games of Big 12 play come vs. teams that are new to the league.

LAST TIME OUT

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.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma hits the road for its toughest test yet next Wednesday (Jan. 10) as it faces No. 11 Kansas State (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) in Manhattan at 6 p.m. The game will air nationally on ESPNU and marks OU's third of six scheduled nationally-televised contests this season.