In a game where 55 total field goals were made and 54 fouls were called on the floor, the waters were choppy in No. 5 Texas women’s basketball’s 80-73 victory over No. 9 Oklahoma. But turbulence is expected in any Red River rivalry.
The epitome of both squad’s first-ever Southeastern Championship conference game came with 41.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Trailing by one, Longhorn junior center Kyla Oldacre got caught in a mob.
While grabbing the board, Oldacre knocked Oklahoma’s junior center Beatrice Culliton to the ground, resulting in a sea of players from both sides getting in a scuffle. Personal fouls were called between Texas’ sophomore forward Madison Booker and Oklahoma’s senior guard Payton Verhulst as well as another foul on Oldacre. It was Booker’s fourth foul of the game.
The hectics of the scuffle is a mere allusion to the speed of Oklahoma basketball.
All season long, head coach Vic Schaefer has talked about how fast players have to play in the SEC compared to the Big 12. The Sooners match that play style by holding the ball for at least 11.2 seconds each trip down the court. Each of their possessions is, on average, faster than any team in the nation.
Despite the Sooner’s quick gameplay style, the Longhorns prevailed in Norman by forcing the Sooners to turn the basketball over. For a team that normally averages 17 turnovers a game, Oklahoma gave the ball up 27 times.
At the end of the first quarter, Oklahoma led by nine, but by the half, Texas caught back up, leading by one point.
“The hard thing is, in that first quarter, I thought we did a great job of moving the ball,” Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “We completed our cuts and we were on the same page. In that second quarter … we just got on our heels … but maybe that is credit to (Texas’) pressure.”
That pressure was pushed to the near maximum, with four Longhorn players picking up at least four fouls by the end of regulation. However, Texas made it out on top, opening its SEC career undefeated.
Schaefer and his squad will turn to the Razorbacks of Arkansas on Sunday, Jan. 5 for its first home game of SEC play, with tip-off set for 2 p.m.
