No. 3 seed Oklahoma surged into the Sweet 16 Monday, cruising to a 96-62 win over No. 6 seed Iowa Monday in the second round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners dominated the second half to make it out of the second round for the first time in 12 years and for the first time under fourth-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk.
Oklahoma had five players reach double figures in scoring against the Hawkeyes and turned an 11-point halftime lead into a 34-point blowout. Senior forward Skylar Vann led the way with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while shooting 6-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Sooners were coming off of a first-round win against No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast. Oklahoma’s 81-58 victory was by a significantly greater margin than their last clash with FGCU: a 73-70 win almost exactly one year ago in the first round of last year’s tournament. Junior center and Oregon State transfer Raegan Beers scored 25 points and tallied 18 rebounds in her first tournament game with the Sooners.
Iowa got off to a hot start in its first-round game as well. The Hawkeyes dropped 92 points and held No. 11 Murray State to 57 in their first NCAA Tournament game in the post-Caitlin Clark era. Senior guard and Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen finished the matchup with a double-double (12 points and 12 assists).
Final: Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62
After a slow start, in which Iowa jumped out to a 10-4 lead, Oklahoma found its groove midway through the first quarter before taking a 20-11 lead into the second. While the Hawkeyes battled valiantly in the second quarter, the Sooners kept control before dominating the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Beers put together her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four blocks and two steals, despite getting hit in the face in the third quarter and getting tended to by Oklahoma’s medical staff. Payton Verhulst tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, Sahara Williams had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Liz Scott came off the bench to add 11 points and seven rebounds.
Olson led Iowa for the second consecutive game, recording 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while draining four 3-pointers. Kylie Feuerbach added 14 points and six rebounds and made four of her six 3-point attempts.
Oklahoma vs. Iowa highlights
Oklahoma’s Sahara Williams lands awkwardly
Something to monitor: Oklahoma’s Sahara Williams landed awkwardly after attempting to block a shot with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter. She limped over to the bench, where team personnel checked out her knee. Williams heads to the bench with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
Raegan Beers heads back to locker room after elbow to face
Oklahoma center Reagan Beers checked out of the game in the third quarter and retreated to the locker room after taking an elbow to the face from Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke. The incident happened under the basket as Beers attempted to defend Stuelke’s layup with 8:52 remaining in the third. Beers immediately went down holding her face and was helped to the bench, before heading to the locker room. Beers returned and checked back into the game with 6:40 remaining.
Halftime: Oklahoma 38, Iowa 27
The Sooners have a double-digit lead heading into halftime, thanks to leading scorer Sahara Williams, who is flirting with a double-double with 13 points, eight rebounds, 2 blocks and one steal. Despite scoring 38 first-half points, Oklahoma is only shooting 36.2% from the field and 2-of-18 from three. Iowa is shooting 32.3% from the field and 5-of-11 from three, but are getting outscored 26-8 in the paint. Lucy Olsen has 15 of the Hawkeyes 27 points.
Where to watch Oklahoma vs. Iowa: Time, TV channel
Game Day: Monday, March 24
Game Time: 4 p.m. ET
Location: Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma
TV Channel: ESPN
Live Stream: Fubo – Watch Now!
Watch Oklahoma vs. Iowa on Fubo (free trial)
Oklahoma vs. Iowa odds
Odds via BetMGM as of Sunday, March 23.
Spread: Oklahoma -4.5
Moneyline Favorite: Oklahoma -200
Moneyline Underdog: Iowa +165
O/U: 158.5 points