Now that they got the first win out of the way, the Oklahoma Sooners can start a run in the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament.
The fifth-seeded Sooners beat 12 seed Georgia 70-52 on Thursday in the second round of OU's first-ever appearance in the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament. As the 5 seed, OU got a first-round bye and got to rest Wednesday while Georgia edged past Arkansas, 79-74.
Junior center Raegan Beers led the Sooners with 22 points and eight rebounds. She's led OU in scoring all season, averaging 17.6 points a game while earning First Team All-SEC honors.
Freshman Zya Vann, in her first postseason action, came off the bench and scored 10. Liz Scott also added 11 points from the bench.
It wasn't individual performances that made OU look so dominant, though, but its chemistry as an entire team. The Sooners assisted on 27 of their 29 field goals in the game. According to SEC Network, that 93% assistant percentage was the second-highest by an SEC team this season.
OU also still survived while second-leading scorer Payton Verhulst had an off day with just two points while going 0-for-6 from 3-point range. That likely won't happen again, as Verhulst averages 15.3 points a game.
The Sooners are one of the hottest teams in the country at just the right time, continuing what's now an eight-game winning streak into March Madness. They haven't lost since a 95-86 deficit to Kentucky over a month ago.
The 4 seed Wildcats now await OU in the quarterfinals after getting to rest the first two rounds. The Sooners and Kentucky will square off at 1:30 p.m. CT Friday on ESPN. The victor will play the winner of 1 seed South Carolina and 8 seed Vanderbilt in the semifinals on Saturday.