Defense Leads Sooners to Dominant Win over Maryland Eastern Shore

Sunday, December 7

Norman, Okla.

1 PM

University of Oklahoma

9-1,0-0SEC

Maryland Eastern Shore

6-6,0-0MEAC

UMES

Oklahoma

Defense Leads Sooners to Dominant Win over Maryland Eastern Shore

December 07, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Payton Verhulst scored 16 points and No. 9 Oklahoma took control early to beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 90-37 on Sunday.

Freshman standout Aaliyah Chavez scored 14 points, and Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers each scored 13 for the Sooners (9-1), who won their eighth straight since losing their second game of the season to UCLA.

Chavez, who scored a season-high 33 points in a 103-98 overtime win over North Carolina State on Wednesday, also added four assists and five rebounds on Sunday.

Six players players scored in double figures for Oklahoma, which made 29 of 65 shots (45%) and 24 of 34 free throws.

Ashanti Lynch scored nine points before fouling out, and Lainey Allen had eight points and seven rebounds for Maryland Eastern Shore (6-6) of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Hawks made just 10 of 56 shots (18%) and committed 28 turnovers.

Oklahoma led 45-18 at halftime, holding the Hawks to 4-of-26 shooting (15.4%) and forcing 15 turnovers. The Sooners extended the lead to 57-22 on a 3-point shot by Chavez early in the third quarter.

The Sooners host Little Rock on Thursday Dec. 11 at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.

Postgame Notes

• No. 9/9 Oklahoma dominated at home on Sunday, defeating Maryland Eastern Shore 90-37 in Norman. The Sooners have now won eight straight games, one win shy of the longest winning streak under head coach Jennie Baranczyk. The Sooners scored first and never trailed, earning their fourth wire-to-wire victory this season.

• Oklahoma held UMES to a Baranczyk-era low 17.9% shooting (10 of 56 FG), the second-lowest opponent field goal percentage in program history, trailing only a 17.8% performance by Henderson State in 2004. The Hawks' 10 made field goals are tied for the fewest by a Sooner opponent this season (Western Carolina also had 10) and mark the second-fewest allowed in a game in OU history.

• OU's 53-point win marked its fourth 50-point win of the season, good for third most in the country and tops in the SEC.

• The Sooners scored 90 points, snapping their program-record-setting streak of 100 point games at four. During its active eight-game winning streak, OU is scoring 98.4 points per game with a margin of victory of 37.8. Oklahoma has now scored 90 or more six times this season and on 17 occasions since the start of last season, the second most in the country.

• Six different Sooners scored in double figures for the second time this season (also vs. Florida State): Payton Verhulst (16), Aaliyah Chavez (14), Sahara Williams (13), Raegan Beers (13), Caya Smith (12), and Brooklyn Stewart (10).

• In addition to her 13 points, Beers grabbed seven rebounds in just under 19 minutes, snapping her double-double streak at six. Her run made her one of two Sooners (Courtney Paris) to record six straight double-doubles.

• Williams delivered a career-high eight assists with four rebounds and two blocks to go with her 13 points.

• OU, who entered the day allowing the fewest paint points in the nation, dominated down low, outscoring UMES 38-8 in the paint. The Sooners held a 26-0 edge in fast break points and scored 31 points off UMES' 28 turnovers, while allowing zero points off their own 14 turnovers. It marked the first time in at least a decade that an OU opponent did not score off a takeaway.

• OU recorded 17 steals and now ranks second in the SEC with four games of 15 or more steals this season.