Five Sooners Reach Double Figures in Rout of Texas A&M

Thursday, January 29

Norman, Okla.

6 PM

University of Oklahoma

17-4,5-3SEC

Texas A&M

8-9,1-7SEC

Texas A&M

Oklahoma

Five Sooners Reach Double Figures in Rout of Texas A&M

January 29, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats

By: OU Athletics Communications

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Payton Verhulst scored 16 points and Aaliyah Chavez added 14 to help No. 10 Oklahoma defeat Texas A&M 85-58 on Thursday night.

Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams each added 12 points for the Sooners (17-4, 5-3 Southeastern Conference), who made 12 of 23 3-pointers and had assists on 25 of their 30 field goals.

It was Oklahoma's third straight victory, a streak that started last Thursday with an overtime win over then-No. 2 South Carolina. The Sooners visit No. 4 Texas on Sunday.

Lauren Ware had 15 points and Ny'Ceara Pryor added 12 for Texas A&M (8-9, 1-7). The Aggies have lost five straight, with four of them by at least 25 points to top-10 opponents Vanderbilt, Texas, LSU and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma won the previous meeting with the Aggies 72-50 on the road on Jan. 1.

New Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny addressed the crowd during an early timeout, telling the fans to keep showing up to help throw "gasoline on the fire" coach Jennie Baranczyk has started.

Texas A&M scored the game's first five points and was competitive early, but Oklahoma rallied to lead 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second, Verhulst made a 3-pointer and was fouled. Her free throw gave the Sooners a 44-20 lead and closed out a 19-0 run. The Aggies went more than seven minutes without scoring.

Oklahoma led 46-27 at halftime. The Sooners forced nine turnovers in the second quarter while holding the Aggies to 3-of-9 shooting.

Oklahoma pushed its advantage to 31 points in the third quarter.

POSTGAME NOTES
• No. 10 Oklahoma (17-4, 5-3 SEC) rolled past Texas A&M, 85-58, on Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center to win its third straight game and extend its streak to 24 consecutive wins against unranked opponents.

• After the Aggies (8-9, 1-7 SEC) opened the game on a 5-0 run and held an early 12-8 lead, the Sooners responded with a dominant 33-8 surge over the next nearly 13 minutes to build a 24-point advantage. OU led by 19 at the break and continued to pull away in the third quarter, jumping out to a 57-30 lead to force a Texas A&M timeout. The Sooners outscored the Aggies by nine in the third quarter to help secure the 27-point win, their second-largest margin in SEC play this season.

• Five Sooners scored in double figures as OU improved to 9-0 this season when at least five players reach 10+ points. Payton Verhulst led the way with 16 points, followed by Aaliyah Chavez with 14. Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams added 12 apiece, while Caya Smith chipped in 11 off the bench.

• Oklahoma's defense was strong all night, holding the Aggies to 58 points on 35.6% shooting and just 21.0% from 3-point range. The Sooners have now won 70 straight games when holding opponents under 60 points, including a 9-0 mark this season.

• On the offensive end, OU caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down 12 of its 23 3-point attempts (52.2%). It marked the first time the Sooners made at least 12 threes while shooting 50% or better from deep since hitting 13 at a 62% clip against West Virginia on Feb. 17, 2024.

• Verhulst's 16 points led all scorers as the redshirt senior connected on a season-high five three-pointers. She added four assists, two rebounds and a steal while posting a team-best +35 plus-minus in 28 minutes.

• Williams finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. The forward entered the night averaging a team-high 4.3 assists per game in conference play.

• Chavez, Williams and Beers each recorded five assists as the Sooners totaled 25 assists on 30 made field goals. Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally in assists per game (21.0) and sixth in the country with four games of 25 assists or more this season.

• OU's bench outscored the Aggie reserves 25-4, its largest positive margin in conference play. Caya Smith led the unit with 11 points, while Brooklyn Stewart added six, Keziah Lofton scored four, and Beatrice Culliton chipped in four points in her return after missing the previous three games.

• Oklahoma travels to face No. 4 Texas in a top-10 matchup on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in Austin. The game will air nationally on ABC, with ESPN's Women's Basketball College GameDay providing live pregame coverage beginning at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.