The Oklahoma Sooners traveled to the West Coast for a top-10 showdown with the No. 4 UCLA Bruins in Sacramento on Monday night. The Sooners battled in the first half, but the more experienced Bruins took over in the second 20 minutes, securing a 73-59 victory.
Oklahoma struggled with UCLA’s interior presence as OU forward Raegan Beers found it difficult to get going against Bruins forward Lauren Betts. Beers, an All-SEC selection, was just 2 of 7 from the field for seven points but did grab an impressive 14 rebounds in the game.
The Sooners were only outscored by two points in the paint, but UCLA held a plus-7 margin in second-chance points. Combined with a tough shooting night for Oklahoma, this led to the Sooners’ first loss of the season.
Oklahoma shot just 31% from the field and 25% from three-point range, while the Bruins made 40% of their field goal attempts and shot 36% from beyond the arc. Although Oklahoma trailed by only five at halftime, the second half proved challenging as they shot just 24.3% from the field and went 1 of 8 from three-point range.
True freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez continues to get significant playing time as head coach Jennie Baranczyk focuses on developing Oklahoma’s depth. Chavez finished with 11 points on 4 of 16 shooting and contributed three assists without a turnover in 32 minutes on the court.
The Sooners were led in scoring by Payton Verhulst, who posted 16 points on 7 of 17 shooting, along with three rebounds and four assists.
Oklahoma will look to learn and grow from this loss as they prepare to bounce back on Wednesday when they welcome Kansas City to town.
https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/sooners/womens-basketball/2025/11/11/oklahoma-sooners-wbb-ucla-bruins-aaliyah-chavez-lauren-betts/87207310007/
