A Recap of the Sooner’s Women’s Basketball Season
As the Sooner women’s basketball season came to a close, it was easier to put aside any frustration thanks to the incredible excitement for what lay ahead. Under the strong leadership of head coach Jennie Baranczyk, the future remains bright for this flourishing program.
The Sooners wrapped up the season winning 11 of their last 13 games, capping off with a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. The only two losses during the final stretch came at the hands of the eventual National Champion and runner-up.
Oklahoma earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest since its Final Four run in 2010 and had the Lloyd Noble Center rocking during its 34-point win over Iowa. In their first season in the most challenging conference in women’s college basketball, the Sooners shined brightly and set an incredible tone for the future.
“The end of the season isn’t the end of the season anymore,” Baranczyk said. “You try to debrief as much as you can. You try to meet with everybody. You have the transfer portal going on, and you’ve got all these other things, too.
“But, you know what’s really neat is to be able to catch each player in raw emotion (to ask) what do you need to get better and what do we need to do better? How do we improve? I have been really impressed with our insight… to be able to really develop these plans for everybody.”
Part of this offseason’s craziness is the unknowns regarding the future of college athletics. With the looming house proposal, revenue sharing, and a potential NIL clearinghouse, the rules are about to change… again.
“I think that has been one of the biggest challenges for us. It’s not what it used to be,” Baranczyk said. “I love the basketball part. I love the player development, the individualized performance plans, and I’m trying to learn even more every day. Now you’ve got portal recruiting visits, and you’ve got to still try to manage the high school recruiting. There really is not a moment to take a breath.”
Despite the immediacy of the offseason, it is hard not to look back at the special season with pride and excitement. In its first season in the SEC, the Sooners battled against the nation’s elite week in and week out. They finished the regular season ranked 13th while maintaining a spot in the top 20 since the first ranking was released in December.
OU was battle-tested against elite competition since six of its seven losses came against the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Aside from two losses to South Carolina and its season-ending loss to UCONN, every OU defeat was by 10 points or fewer.
The addition of All-American Raegan Beers and the improved play of Payton Verhulst helped elevate the Sooners, but the willingness of players like Skylar Vann to take on new roles and contribute at a high level made this team special both on and off the court.
After earning Big 12 Co-Player of the Year honors last season and leading the Sooners in scoring (15.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.0), Vann’s role changed drastically this season. With OU adding Beers, Vann was no longer tasked with playing in the post.
“It was hard but what kept me going was (my desire to) be a great teammate, to be a great person,” Vann said. “The fact that I was able to help (Verhulst) get through whatever and Raegan and my teammates in general, that they didn’t feel like I was shutting them out because of what I was going through means a lot because in that moment it felt like I was just on a struggle.”
Through the struggles, Vann did not waver with her focus and confidence. In the first 23 games of the season, Vann averaged 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 42.1%.
“Going from player of the year in your conference the year before to struggling to buy a layup was really difficult because I didn’t really change anything,” Vann said.
“Coming home from practice, coming home from games, I could still talk to her about things that I was struggling with, and she would listen,” Payton Verhulst said. “I think that says a lot about her character and who she is as a person because, at the end of the day, she cares about other people. I think that’s why she stayed here at Oklahoma. That’s the culture that Jennie’s built.”
Despite the change in responsibilities, Vann excelled as the season progressed and saved her best for last, scoring a season-high 24 points in the first-round win over Florida Gulf Coast. Two days later, in her last career game at Lloyd Noble Center, she scored 17 in the win over Iowa.
“It’s really hard because you don’t want to leave it,” Vann said. “You’ve just built so many memories and so many connections and friendships. It’s hard to say bye to it. Now I’m just playing with joy, having fun. That has helped me and kind of break down those doors where I’m playing for everyone around me and I think that’s just made me feel super fluid in what I do.”
As the Sooners point towards the future, the commitment, sacrifice and hard work from Vann is something Baranczyk wishes she could get a few years more of.
“Skylar is one of those players that you wish you could coach forever,” she said. “I loved sitting with her the first time in a press conference to the last time. She exudes this amazing presence and light. She stretched me as a coach. She just makes you keep raising the bar.”
As the Sooners prepare for the game without Vann, they will do so with a solid returning frontcourt revolving around Raegan Beers. Beers made a massive impact in her first season in Norman. An All-SEC First Teamer and AP/USBWA All-America honoree, the dominant center averages 17.5 points on 64.5% shooting and adds 9.3 rebounds per game. She secured 14 double-doubles and has scored 10-plus points 28 times this season, posting 20-plus in 13 games.
Her tearful press conference after the Sooners were eliminated told the story of how much it meant to her to be a Sooner.
“I have a phenomenal support system at home. That just makes the game of basketball so much easier,” Beers said, her eyes tearing up for the first time during the press conference. “I know my brothers were watching. And they’re probably yelling at me through the TV, I can guarantee it. My grandparents have come to so many games. My dad was also here, you probably heard his whistle that’s going viral. When you have that and they pour into you, the Lord has truly given me a gift to play basketball with people that I love, surrounded by so many people that I love. And I cannot be more thankful for them.”
Beers’ ability to succeed goes back to Baranczyk’s foundation and a locker room that embraced her and the challenges around them like family.
“It’s always interesting when you’re in the portal season because you really want to gatekeep character, that has to be the number one thing,” Baranczyk said. “But you want to make sure that we still understand that this is collegiate athletics. You have to make sure that they still really want to earn that degree, be part of a team and what that team looks like.
“We’re in this incredibly chaotic time that you want to be surrounded by people that you really love, respect and care about, and that’s who our women are. I love when they get to talk about their faith and what that means to them, because that’s really what the program is.”
While Beers prepares for a return to Norman next season, the Sooner roster continues to add talent. Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 girls high school basketball recruit in the nation, is headed to Oklahoma.
“They match how I want to play; I want to play fast,” said Chavez of Oklahoma’s up-tempo guard play. She finished her high school career with 4,796 points,1,279 rebounds and 771 assists. Chavez was named a McDonald’s All-American, Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year for a second time.
In total, the Sooners will have five McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster for year two in the SEC.
The Sooners are hungry to take it to the next level.
“There’s players in the gym right now which I love. We’re stuck in this phase of let’s get better today,” Baranczyk said. “I am so hungry right now because you don’t want to end the way that you ended and that fuels you. You get this new sense of energy that is going to drive you to be able to put together a team, to keep together a team, that you want to compete for the University of Oklahoma.”
In addition to the growing talent in the Sooner roster, the sport continues to grow in popularity. The Sooners appeared in a program-record 17 games on national television, including a record 11 broadcasts on ESPN or ESPN2. OU’s Sweet 16 matchup against eventual national champion UConn drew 1.9 million viewers, making it the ninth most-watched women’s Sweet 16 game ever on an ESPN platform.
In the stands, Oklahoma averaged 5,450 fans per game at Lloyd Noble Center – the program’s highest mark since the 2012-13 season. The Sooners ranked 17th nationally and fifth in the SEC in average attendance.
“That gave you more hope seeing that crowd in the Iowa game and people saying this team is really a special team,” Baranczyk said. “I felt so great about the intensity and the passion for Oklahoma in that arena. I loved the way that our players came out. I thought that was so incredible.
The upward trajectory of Oklahoma women’s basketball is undeniable. The passion is evident, the growth is steady, and the momentum is building. For Baranczyk and her talented squad, the start of next season can’t come soon enough as they look to turn the page and leave behind the frustration of how this past season ended.– BSM
By Chris Plank
