No. 2 Gamecocks fall to No. 16 Sooners on the road in OT
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 of her 26 points in overtime, and No. 16 Oklahoma stunned No. 2 South Carolina 94-82 on Thursday night.
The freshman guard made 4 of 14 field goals in regulation before hitting 5 of 5 shots in overtime.
Payton Verhulst scored 19 points and Raegan Beers had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Sooners (15-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), who had lost three straight to ranked opponents Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU since rising to No. 5 in the AP Top 25.
It matched the highest-ranked opponent Oklahoma has ever beaten. Most recently, the Sooners beat No. 2 Kansas State in 2024.
Tessa Johnson scored 19 points and Raven Johnson added 16 for South Carolina (19-2, 5-1), which had its 12-game win streak snapped. Joyce Edwards, who had averaged 20.6 points, finished with 12 on 3-for-12 shooting. The Gamecocks shot just 37% from the field.
Oklahoma’s Kaya Smith fouled Ta’Niya Latson on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first half, and Latson made all three free throws to give the Gamecocks a 43-36 lead at the break.
Oklahoma opened the second half on an 8-0 run that included a three-point play and a 3-pointer by Chavez to give the Sooners a 44-43 lead. Oklahoma took a 61-59 lead into the fourth quarter.
Oklahoma led 73-67 with just under four minutes remaining before South Carolina went on a 6-0 run to tie the score. Edwards made two free throws with 42 seconds remaining to give South Carolina a 75-73 lead. Beers tied the score on a putback with 18.4 seconds to play, then the Sooners got a stop to force overtime.
Gamecock Notables
- Tessa Johnson led the team in scoring for the second time this season, dropping 19 points with half coming as part of the Gamecocks’ first 10 points in the first quarter.
- Raven Johnson finished with 16 points for her 15th game this season with 10+, adding a team-high five assists and four steals along the way.
- Joyce Edwards netted 12 points for her 21st consecutive game in double-digit scoring, with half coming on perfect 6-for-6 shooting at the free throw line.
- Alicia Tournebize had an efficient second quarter, scoring seven of her eight points in just as many minutes on the floor, including the first 3 of her Gamecock career.
