NORMAN — OU bounced back in a strong way Sunday.
The No. 11 Sooners returned to the win column, defeating old rival Texas A&M 77-62 at the Lloyd Noble Center and avoiding back-to-back losses. OU has won 17 of its last 18 contests at home, with the only loss coming against Texas on Jan. 2, and is now back to .500 in Southeastern Conference play.
OU junior center Raegan Beers led all scorers with 16 points and six rebounds in the win. Beers exited the game with an apparent shoulder injury with 2:59 left in the third quarter and didn’t return despite being ruled questionable.
“We don’t necessarily have any details yet, and I haven’t really been briefed, I haven’t been able to talk to our trainer yet,” Baranczyk said postgame. “But hoping for the best, obviously.”
Reyna Scott and Sahara Williams added 11 apiece for the Sooners. OU shot 39% from the field and knocked down eight 3s.
With the win, coach Jennie Baranczyk extended her winning streak in conference games against unranked teams to 21 games.
“We had really good moments,” Baranczyk said. “We had really good moments and I think the world of Texas A&M, so for us to be able to do some of the things that we were, especially in that first quarter, I was really impressed with us.”
All three of OU’s previous conference games this season were decided by single digits, with the Sooners falling to the Longhorns by seven and Mississippi State by four, while beating Tennessee by one.
The former Big 12 foes met for the 49th time and the first time as SEC members. The last time OU faced the Aggies was in the Big 12/SEC challenge on Dec. 20, 2015, a Texas A&M win.
Here are three takeaways from Oklahoma’s win:
More: Oklahoma women’s basketball NCAA Tournament resume for March Madness: Jan. 13
OU star Raegan Beers exits with injury
Beers was dominant from the opening tip.
OU fed its 6-foot-4 All-American in the paint throughout the first half. She made 10 of her 11 free-throw attempts.
“Hope she misses,” said Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor of her team’s game plan against Beers. “No, it’s to not let her get two feet in the paint. If she catches it with two feet in the paint, it’s hard. She is so good at posting for her next pass.”
Entering Sunday’s game, Beers ranked second nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 70%. She made three of her nine field goal attempts against the Aggies.
Although she didn’t play, Beers returned to Oklahoma’s bench in the fourth quarter with an ice pack on her shoulder.
“I’m hoping that she’s going to be in practice tomorrow,” Baranczyk said. “That’s my hope right now but I don’t know.”
Sooners’ turnover issues continue
Turnovers have plagued the Sooners all season.
Sunday was no different. OU finished with 19 total turnovers and Texas A&M scored 15 points off those turnovers.
“The turnovers that we’re going to keep working on are our post entry passes,” Baranczyk said. ” … We probably had, I don’t know, a couple that I can think of, on that. We need to be better receivers and we need to be better passers.”
Entering the contest, OU averaged 19.1 turnovers per game and ranked 317th nationally with 306 total turnovers.
The Sooners will need to continue to try to clean the turnover issues up as SEC play continues.
Strong start contained in blowout win
OU was in control for 40 minutes.
It has started games hot all season but it contained mini Texas A&M runs throughout the game. The Sooners jumped to a 44-23 lead at halftime and never looked back.
Despite turning the ball over nine times in the second half, Beers’ injury and Baranczyk not playing her starters late, OU largely cruised to its 14th win.
Next, Baranczyk’s squad hosts Missouri (11-8, 0-4 SEC) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16 on SEC Network+. The Tigers fell to Florida Sunday, dropping their fourth consecutive game to start conference play.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women’s basketball beats Texas A&M as Raegan Beers suffers injury
