Sooners Struggle to Contain Vanderbilt Backcourt in High-Scoring Loss
No. 10 Oklahoma women’s basketball ran into a buzzsaw Monday night, falling 102-86 to No.
5 Vanderbilt in a game that exposed some of the Sooners’ biggest vulnerabilities-again. It was OU’s second straight loss, and at 5-5 in SEC play, the team now finds itself at a bit of a crossroads.
Let’s start with the obvious: Vanderbilt’s backcourt was unstoppable. Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes, the nation’s second-leading scorer, looked every bit the part.
She dropped 23 in the first half alone and finished with 64 combined points alongside freshman guard Aubrey Galvan. That’s not a typo-64 points between the two of them.
OU simply had no answer, especially in transition, where the duo combined for nine of Vanderbilt’s 16 first-half fastbreak points.
The Sooners, meanwhile, couldn’t keep up. Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez and senior center Raegan Beers, typically a reliable one-two punch, were held in check.
Chavez, in particular, had a rough night from deep-0-for-11 from three, and just 7-of-19 overall. That’s now two straight games where she’s struggled to find her rhythm from beyond the arc.
Beers brought her usual energy in the first half with eight points and seven boards, but foul trouble in the second half limited her impact. She still led OU with 19 points before fouling out in the fourth.
OU’s defense, which has been solid for much of the season, couldn’t slow Vanderbilt down. The Commodores shot 63% in the first half and finished with 11 threes to OU’s two.
That 11-2 gap from deep is a killer, especially when you consider that OU actually shot better overall from the field-47% to Vanderbilt’s 45%. But the Commodores were just far more efficient, outscoring the Sooners in points per possession (1.259 to 1.036) and capitalizing on OU’s 22 turnovers.
This wasn’t just a bad shooting night-it was a defensive letdown. OU gave up its highest point total of the season, and it wasn’t just about Blakes and Galvan hitting tough shots.
Vanderbilt dictated the tempo, forced turnovers, and punished the Sooners in transition. OU’s half-court defense looked passive, and against a team this dynamic, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Now, to be fair, the Sooners still put up 86 points-right around their season average. But when your opponent hangs 100-plus on you and you shoot 8% from three, that offensive output just isn’t enough.
This loss also continues a troubling trend for OU: struggles against ranked teams. The Sooners are now 2-6 in AP Top 25 matchups, with a -4.3 average point differential.
That’s a stark contrast to their +24.1 margin in all other games. It’s clear that if this team wants to make noise in March, they’ll need to figure out how to compete-and win-against top-tier competition.
There’s still time. OU remains firmly in NCAA Tournament territory, currently projected as a No. 4 seed.
But with two more ranked opponents left on the regular-season schedule-No. 23 Alabama and No.
22 Tennessee-there’s little margin for error. Those games now carry even more weight, not just for seeding, but for momentum heading into the postseason.
Next up: a chance to regroup against Florida on Thursday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. It's a must-win, not just for the standings, but to get this team’s confidence back on track.