OU Basketball: Oklahoma Ousts Florida Gulf Coast to Set Up Date With Iowa

They each scored seven in the first quarter, outscoring the Eagles 14-12 by themselves through the first 10 minutes. 

Oklahoma looked to deliver an early knockout punch in the second quarter. 

The Sooners scored the first seven points of the period, which formed a 9-0 run when paired with Beatrice Culliton’s layup at the end of the first, to put OU on top 31-12. 

But the scoring run made way for a big drought. 

As the crowd roared the team on, Oklahoma began to settle for long jump shots early in the shot clock instead of feeding Beers, who had seven points in the first. The Sooners missed 11-straight shots, and Florida Gulf Coast took the invitation to work itself back into the game. 

The Eagles endeavored to get out and run as opposed to settled for so many 3’s after hitting just 3-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc in the first quarter, and Emani Jefferson’s layup with 2:59 on the clock punctuated an 11-0 run for the 14-seed. 

Oklahoma ultimately took a 36-26 lead into the locker room, which gave Baranczyk time to settle her team down. 

Vann took over the early stages of the second half. 

She chipped in nine points in the third, but Florida Gulf Coast forward Skyler Gill starters to pound the paint.

Gill only went 2-of-2 from the floor, but she got to the free throw line six times as the Sooners struggled to stay in front of her. The contribution was necessary for the Eagles to stay in the game, as Florida Gulf Coast played a majority of the second half without Jefferson, its leading scorer, who picked up her fourth foul just 49 seconds into the second half. 

Just as OU struggled to knock anything down before halftime, Oklahoma missed its last six field goals of the third quarter to carry a seven-point lead into the final 10 minutes of the game. 

Jefferson, back on the floor to try and cut the deficit, pulled the Eagles within eight off a tip-in with 6:07 remaining, but on the ensuing possession, Payton Verhulst was able to corral the ball in the lane, absorb contact and lay it in. She was fouled, and though she missed the free throw, Beer was able to grab the rebound. 

After a brief reset, OU funneled the ball back to their center, and Beers cooly finished with her left hand to push the lead back to 12. 

It was just the start of a 7-0 run by Beers herself in which the Sooners fully asserted themselves and took a 71-54 lead with under four minutes remaining. 

As the Eagles sped up to try and stave off elimination, Oklahoma’s defense forced a pair of turnovers to effectively end the game. 

Vann finished with nine rebounds and four assists to go along with her season-best scoring output, and Verhulst also scored double figures, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists. 

The victory sets up a matchup with 6-seeded Iowa on Monday at the Lloyd Noble Center with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. 

Oklahoma hasn’t made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2013, and Baranczyk will have to go through her alma mater to take the Sooners to Spokane.