Double-digit underdog Oklahoma was David to UConn's Goliath halfway through the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 battle between the 3-seed Sooners and 2-seed Huskies at Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday, but UConn ultimately prevailed 82-59.
The Sooners overcame a five-point first-quarter deficit, outscoring the heavily favored Huskies 24-15 in the second period behind 13 points from Payton Verhulst to take a 36-32 advantage to the locker room at halftime. That raised some eyebrows around the college basketball world, but was short-lived and proved to be Oklahoma's highlight reel from this game.
Oklahoma played one of its best quarters of basketball all season in the second 10 minutes against the 11-time national champions Huskies, making 10 of 16 field goal attempts, including five of seven by Verhulst, and shooting a blistering 63%.
The second-half and game highlight reel undeniably belonged to UConn superstar Paige Bueckers, arguably the best player remaining in the NCAA Tournament, if not all of women's college basketball. The senior All-American totaled 29 of her game- and career-high 40 points in the second half and 19 in the final quarter when practically every shot she took from anywhere on the court swished cleanly through the net.
Bueckers was a one-woman wrecking crew. She outscored Oklahoma all by herself, 29-23, in the second half. While the UConn superstar was going wild in single handedly leading her team to victory, the Sooners came out in the second half and couldn't buy a basket.
OU shot 29% in the third quarter (4 of 14) and just 21% (3 of 14)over the final 10 minutes. Credit the UConn defensive intensity for a good part of that. The Sooners were clearly flustered after the Huskies ratcheted up the defensive pressure after halftime.
UConn outscored Oklahoma 50-27 in the second half, and that pretty succinctly tells the story of the game.
OU finished the season with a record of 27-8, the most wins since 2010. The Sooners went 11-5 in their first season in the SEC and finished in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings. They reached the semifinals of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Jennie Baranczyk and for the first time since 2013.
Three things that stood out like a sore thumb from UConn's second-half Sweet 16 domination of Oklahoma:
1. UConn defense holds Sooners to a season-low point total
Oklahoma scored a season-low 59 points against UConn. That's almost 15 points below the Sooners' season average (84.6). The Sooners' previous low-water mark this season was 60 points in a 101-60 loss to reigning national champion South Carolina in January.
The Sooners' 23 second-half points was also a season-low. The Sooners led 36-32 at halftime. Before Saturday, Oklahoma was a perfect 22-0 when leading at halftime
2. All-American Bueckers almost beat Oklahoma by herself
UConn's Paige Bueckers, who many believe will be the first player taken in the WNBA Draft, literally took over the game for the Huskies in the second half against Oklahoma on Saturday. She scored 29 of her game-high 40 points, including five of her six 3-pointers, in the second half. She made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts after halftime before leaving the game with a little over three minutes remaining.
The 40-point performance by Bueckers was a career-high. Her previous best was 34 points on Monday in the NCAA Tournament second-round win over South Dakota State that sent the Huskies to the Sweet 16.
The consensus All-American's 29 second-half points were six more than the Oklahoma team (23) in the second half.
3. Same old song. ... Turnovers once again cost the Sooners greatly
Not taking care of the basketball has been the Achilles heel of Oklahoma all season long. The Sooners' 18.7 turnovers per game ranked 320th out of 353 Division-I teams this season. Oklahoma's 23 turnovers against UConn, which led to 18 Huskies points, may not have been the reason the Sooners lost, but it certainly was a prime contributor to the manner in which they lost. Ironically, OU lost by 23 points.