Oklahoma finished Thursday’s game against Ole Miss how it started.
The Sooners beat the Rebels 66-56 on the road, ending the game on a 12-2 run. The surge came after OU blew a15-point lead and allowed Ole Miss to hold a seven-point fourth-quarter lead.
Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma’s win:
After the Sooners stalled during the second and third quarters, they ended the game well.
OU, trailing by seven in the fourth quarter, went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the period to retake the lead. The Sooners never allowed the Rebels to take the lead back, outscoring them 23-11 altogether in the fourth.
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The Sooners (16-6, 5-5 SEC) dominated Ole Miss in the paint in the fourth quarter, grabbing 13 rebounds to Ole Miss’ seven. OU didn’t allow Ole Miss to score in the final 2:39 of the game, with the Sooners forcing five turnovers in the fourth quarter.
This late-game surge came after Ole Miss (15-7, 6-4) outscored Oklahoma 36-19 in the second and third quarters. OU’s final 10 minutes looked much more similar to its first 10 minutes, when the Sooners went to the first quarter break with a 24-9 lead.
The Sooners were without star center Raegan Beers due to an undisclosed illness, per an OU source.
Beers — Oklahoma’s leader in points, steals and blocks per game — has reached double figures in all but one game this year, the exception being the Mizzou game in January, when she suffered an injury.
Still, the Sooners saw contributions from a variety of players on Thursday.
Nine Sooners scored against the Rebels, with senior guard Payton Verhulst leading the way with 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting. Sahara Williams and Liz Scott also reached double figures, logging 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Oklahoma assisted on 17 of its 22 field goals.
Even after Thursday’s well-rounded effort, the Sooners will welcome Beers back with open arms. The junior center is averaging 16.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
The Sooners have six regular-season games remaining in their inaugural SEC campaign. They battle Auburn on Monday, the first of three final games at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Oklahoma moves back to .500 in league play with Thursday’s win, and the Sooners are in sole possession of eighth place in the SEC standings.
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Of the Sooners’ six losses, five came against opponents ranked in the top 15. The only exception was OU’s road loss to Mississippi State in January.
OU entered Thursday ranked No. 20 in the NET rankings, used heavily by the NCAA Tournament selection committee to determine which teams are selected for the tourney.