Down 17 points in the second quarter, the 11th-ranked Oklahoma women stormed back on the road to beat No. 22 Louisville 78-72 in the SEC/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge on Wednesday.
If the name sounds familiar, it should. The Sooner men defeated Louisville 69-64 in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament last week.
Payton Verhulst scored 21 points against her former team. Verhulst was fouled with 2:21 remaining and sank both free throws, giving the Sooners their first lead in the game since 14-13 in the first quarter at 70-68, and the Sooners held off the Cardinals from there for win No. 7 on the season with a single loss.
Verhulst is in her second season at Oklahoma after two seasons at Louisville. She averaged 13.5 at Louisville, but she is averaging 20.5 points per game this season for the Sooners. Verhulst was one of three Sooners in double figures in scoring for the game. Sahara Williams added 15, with eight coming in the third quarter, and Oregon State transfer Raegan Beers contributed 11.
It was the largest come-from-behind win by the Lady Sooners since fighting back from 19 down to defeat Utah in December 2021.
The Sooners escaped with the win despite committing 27 turnovers that were turned into 28 Louisville points.
Oklahoma led for just five minutes in the game and never led by more than seven points, while the Lady Cardinals controlled the game for 30 minutes.
Oklahoma head coach Jennie Barancyzk recorded her 12th top-25 win in four seasons as the Sooners' head coach.