Oklahoma's Run Ends at Sweet Sixteen

Saturday, March 28

Golden 1 Center • Sacramento, Calif.

4 PM

University of Oklahoma

26-8,11-5SEC

South Carolina

34-3,15-1SEC

Oklahoma

South Carolina

March 28, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Final Stats

SACRAMENTO – Oklahoma's season came to a close on Saturday in Sacramento as the 10th-ranked Sooners fell to top-seeded South Carolina, 64 - 94, in the Sweet 16.

The Sooners (26-8) got down early to the Gamecocks and couldn't mount a comeback against the SEC champions. OU won 25 games for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Jennie Baranczyk and advanced to the program's fifth straight NCAA Tournament and second consecutive Sweet 16 (12th all-time).

True freshman Aaliyah Chavez led the way with 21 points and 3 assists, her 12th 20-point game of the season. Senior Raegan Beers added 14 points and eight rebounds and redshirt senior Payton Verhulst posted 12 points in the effort.

Those two seniors, along with OU's lone four-year player Beatrice Culliton, played their final games as Sooners on Saturday. Culliton won 102 games in the crimson and cream and helped the team to four straight NCAA Tournaments. Beers and Verhulst were each named All-SEC selections in their time at OU, with Beers additionally earning All-America honors in each of her two seasons in Norman. Culliton's 131 career games played rank in the top 15 all-time at Oklahoma.

South Carolina led 23-12 after the first and took a 47-28 lead into the break. The Gamecocks, who OU defeated in overtime on January 22, were matched by the Sooners in the third quarter with 21 apiece, but Oklahoma couldn't erase the deficit in the fourth.

OU is set to return three of its starters in junior Sahara Williams and sophomore Zya Vann who both averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists, as well as freshman Aaliyah Chavez who led OU with 18.4 points per game and finished second in OU's record book for points per game and total assists from a freshman.

POSTGAME NOTES

• No. 10 Oklahoma (26-8) saw its season came to an end on Saturday in the Sweet 16, falling to top-seeded and No. 4 South Carolina, 94-68, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.

• The Sooners won 25+ games for the fourth time in five seasons under head coach Jennie Baranczyk and advanced to the program's fifth straight NCAA Tournament and second consecutive Sweet 16 (12^th all-time).

• Three Sooners – Raegan Beers, Beatrice Culliton and Payton Verhulst – played their last game for Oklahoma on Saturday. Culliton, Oklahoma's lone four-year player, won 102 games as a Sooner and helped OU to a 57-8 record at the Lloyd Noble Center. Beers and Verhulst were each All-SEC selections, with Beers additionally earning All-America honors in each of her two seasons in Norman. Culliton's 131 career games played rank in the top 15 all-time at Oklahoma.

• OU freshman Aaliyah Chavez led the way with 21 points, her 12^th 20-point game of the season, and added three assists in the loss. She made both of her free throws on the day to finish the season with a 92.9% mark at the line, tying the OU overall record and the NCAA's freshman record.

• Beers and Verhulst both reached double figures in the effort, with Beers adding 14 points and eight rebounds and Verhulst tallying 12 points and three boards.

• Oklahoma set multiple program records this season, including points per game (85.9; previous: 84.7 in 2025), scoring margin (+17.3; previous: 17.0 in 1985), 100-point games (7; previous: 5 in 2025) and 90-point games (12; previous: 12 in 2023).

• Beers finishes her college career as the third Sooner ever with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds, joining Courtney Paris and Molly McGuire. The three-time All-American and two-time All-SEC honoree, Beers tallied 67 double-doubles in her career are the 23^rd most in NCAA history and her 37 in two seasons at OU rank third all-time OU's annals.

• True freshman Aaliyah Chavez wrapped up her first season as OU's second-leading freshman scorer (18.4 PPG), trailing only Courtney Paris's 21.9 in 2006. Chavez shot 92.8% from the free throw line, tying the NCAA freshman record and setting the OU mark for a first-year player. The guard's 80 3-pointers made are the third most ever by a Sooner freshman and her 140 assists rank second behind Stacey Dales' 150 in 1999. Chavez closes year one as the second freshman since 2009 (joining Paige Bueckers) to average 18.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 turnovers or less per game.