Raegan Beers and Aliyah Chavez ignite Oklahoma's offense as a dominant rebounding performance secures their sixth straight victory
COLUMBIA, Mo. - No. 7 Oklahoma women's basketball team closed out their regular season in impressive fashion on Sunday, defeating Missouri 84-78 on the road at Mizzou Arena. This victory marked the Sooners' sixth straight win, solidifying their strong finish to the 2025-26 campaign and positioning them well for the upcoming SEC Tournament and NCAA postseason.
Led by a dominant performance from senior center Raegan Beers, who poured in a team-high 23 points on efficient 11-of-17 shooting while adding nine rebounds and two assists, Oklahoma showcased their balanced attack and interior prowess. Beers has been a consistent force this season, recording nine games with 20 or more points.
Freshman standout Aaliyah Chavez, named SEC Freshman of the Week seven times, contributed 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Chavez has emerged as one of the nation's top rookies, leading all SEC freshmen in scoring average and becoming only the second freshman since 2009—joining UConn's Paige Bueckers in 2021—to average at least 18.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game while keeping turnovers to 3.0 or fewer.
Payton Verhulst delivered a standout double-double with 16 points and a season-best 12 rebounds, along with four assists, highlighting her versatility. Sahara Williams chipped in 13 points and nine boards, helping Oklahoma control the glass decisively.
The Sooners outrebounded Missouri 54-35, including a massive edge on the offensive end with 20 offensive rebounds converted into 19 second-chance points. Despite shooting 42.1% from the field, this rebounding dominance proved crucial in securing the win.
For Missouri (16-15, 4-12 SEC), the game served as their senior night, but they couldn't overcome a six-game losing streak. Shannon Dowell delivered a career- and season-high 33 points with 10 rebounds in a valiant effort, while Grace Slaughter added 15 points. The Tigers fought hard, particularly in the fourth quarter where they outscored Oklahoma 28-17, but it wasn't enough to erase the deficit.The game featured momentum swings throughout.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 25-16 lead after the first quarter, but Missouri battled back, trimming the halftime margin to 40-34 thanks in part to five Sooner turnovers. Early in the third, Chloe Sotel's 3-pointer brought Missouri within 46-43 with 6:26 left in the period.
However, Oklahoma responded with a decisive 14-0 run over the next four minutes, pulling away and leading wire-to-wire for their ninth such victory this season and third in SEC play.
This win extended Oklahoma's dominance over Missouri to nine straight victories, matching their longest active streak against any Division I opponent. The Sooners haven't lost to the Tigers since March 11, 2008, and hold an 18-2 record in the last 20 meetings dating back to 2000. It also marked their 28th consecutive victory against unranked opponents, dating to last season, and improved their record to 17-0 against teams outside the AP Top 25 this year.
The victory was classified as a Quad 3 win, underscoring Oklahoma's perfect record (36 straight) in Quad 2-4 games since the women's quadrant system began.Under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, now in her fifth season at Oklahoma, the Sooners (23-6, 11-5 SEC) were picked fifth in the preseason SEC media poll and have met or exceeded expectations for the 12th time in Baranczyk's 14 seasons as a head coach.
Notably, Oklahoma used the same starting five—Chavez, Skylar Vann, Verhulst, Williams, and Beers—in every regular-season game, one of only 12 teams nationally to do so. This unit ranks as the second-highest scoring starting five in the country, behind only South Carolina.
UP NEXT: With the regular season complete, Oklahoma earned the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. They open play on Thursday against the winner of the 12th-seeded Florida vs. 13th-seeded Mississippi State matchup at 12:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network. A win would set up a Friday quarterfinal against No. 4-seeded LSU at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Additionally, the NCAA selection committee's final in-season top-16 reveal positioned Oklahoma as the No. 12 overall team, making them the lowest No. 3 seed in current projections. If the tournament began today, the Sooners would host first- and second-round games at Lloyd Noble Center for the second straight year.
This road victory against a scrappy Missouri squad not only capped a solid regular season but reinforced Oklahoma's credentials as a legitimate contender in the SEC and beyond, with their depth, rebounding, and key performers ready to make noise in the postseason.