Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 points and the Sooners outscored Auburn 13-6 over the final five minutes for a 72-65 road win on Sunday.
The 16th-ranked Sooners improved to 16-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Playing three days after a huge overtime win at home over No. 2 South Carolina, OU was able to avoid what could have been a natural letdown coming off of such a big win earlier in the week and hold off a feisty Auburn team that refused to lose without a fight.
Oklahoma women edge Auburn to complete giant 2-game sweep for the week
Oklahoma threatened to pull away several times in the game, only to have the Lady Tigers claw their way back in. There were two lead changes in the game and a couple of ties, including at 59-59 with 4:50 to go. The Sooners executed a 6-0 run after that to take final control of the game while holding Auburn to 3-of-9 shooting over the closing minutes. A 3-point shot by OU's Zya Vann sealed the victory for the Sooners.
Raegan Beers and Sahara Williams contributed 13 points each to the OU offense, and freshman Brooklyn Stewart added a huge boost off the bench with a dozen points on 5-of-9 shooting. Twelve of super freshman Chavez's 18 points came on four long-range buckets. She went 4-of-9 from behind the 3-point line.
A'riel Jackson had a game-high 19 points to lead the Tigers' offense, including seven points early in the fourth quarter to help Auburn draw even with the Sooners. Three other Auburn starters scored in double digits.
Oklahoma entered last week on the heels of three consecutive losses. Before then, the two Sooner teams (men and women) had combined for eight straight losses. The OU men lost their sixth game in a row on Saturday, a victim of back-to-back buzzer-beating shots at the end of regulation and again in overtime.
The Sooner women have taken over centerstage this season from their struggling male counterparts and are projected as a No. 4 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament by Charlie Creme, the ESPN bracketology expert for women's basketball.
Next up for the OU women is a home date at Lloyd Noble Center on Thursday against Texas A&M, followed by a serious road challenge against Red River rival No. 4 Texas on Sunday.
3 observation that tell the saga of OU's game in wintry Auburn
Second-chance points may have been the difference
Oklahoma won the rebounding battle 39-31, but more importantly, the Sooners' 13 offensive rebounds led to 19 second-chance points That compared with just four second-chance points by Auburn.
OU extends long win streak vs. unranked opponents
The Sooners' win over Auburn extends OU's win streak against unranked opponents to 23 in a row. They'll have the opportunity to make it 24 in a row when they host Texas A&M on Thursday.
Sooner turnovers kept Auburn in the game
Sixteen Oklahoma turnovers, including six by Raegan Beers, led to 17 Auburn points.