It's been 17 years since Oklahoma last appeared in the top 5 of the women's college basketball rankings. The Sooners were up three spots this week to No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 to be inside the top 5 for the first time since 2009.
The Sooners moved up three spots from their No. 8 ranking a week ago. Fresh off a record-setting 95-47 home win over Mississippi State on Saturday, OU is off to a 14-1 start. It was just the second loss this season by the Bulldogs (14-2).
Sooners crack top 5 in latest rankings
UConn (15-0), Texas (17-0), South Carolina (15-1) and UCLA (14-1) ranked ahead of the Sooners, respectively, this week, with two other SEC teams, No. 6 Kentucky (15-1) and No. 7 Vanderbilt (15-0), included in the top 10.
Oklahoma began the season at No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25, but after a 73-59 loss to then-No. 3 UCLA, the Sooners dropped to No. 9 in the national rankings. Since the loss to UCLA, OU has posted 13 consecutive wins, the second-longest in program history. The 2008-09 team won 20 in a row and advanced to the Final Four that season.
Led by All-American center Raegan Beers and true freshman standout Aaliyah Chavez, the Oklahoma women rank No. 1 in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, allowing opponents just 29.8%, and rebounding, averaging 53.1 per game. The Sooners rank second nationally averaging 94.5 points per game. OU held Mississippi State to a record-low 20% shooting from the field in the win on Saturday.
Beers is the Sooners' second leading scorer with a 17.4 average. She also leads the country with 12 double-doubles in 15 games. Chavez leads the Sooners and all true freshmen nationwide with an 18.9 scoring average.
Oklahoma's next four games are against ranked opponents, beginning Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center versus No. 18 Ole Miss. After that, the Sooners will be at No. 6 Kentucky on Sunday, then back home to face No. 12 LSU on Jan. 18 and No. 3 South Carolina on Jan. 22.