OU Basketball: Three Takeaways From No. 11 Oklahoma's Overwhelming Display Against Alabama State

Jennie Baranczyk's Sooners exploded in the first half to outgun the Lady Hornets on Sunday at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma's Skylar Vann / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Oklahoma’s excellent start to the season continued on Sunday afternoon. 

The No. 11-ranked Sooners dismantled the Alabama State Lady Hornets 110-46 at the Lloyd Noble Center, setting a few records along the way.

OU’s first half outburst set a new high for points in a half and 3-pointers made in a half, which set the tone for a big afternoon in Norman. 

Skylar Vann led the way for Jennie Baranczyk’s team with 20 points, and she had plenty of help from her teammates in the dominant display. 

Here are Sooners on SI’s three takeaways from the win that moved OU to 8-1 on the year:

Final Box Score / OU Stats

Scorching Opening Salvo 

Alabama State (2-7) matched Oklahoma’s energy for the first four minutes on Sunday afternoon, but then the Sooners took over. 

OU got active on the defensive end of the floor, forcing four turnovers in a four-minute stretch to create some breathing room after going on a 12-2 run. 

Alabama State’s inability to break down Oklahoma’s defense was on display when Reyna Scott stole an inbounds pass at the top of the 3-point line and raced to the other end of the floor to bank a layup and put the Sooners up by seven. 

But then OU’s sharpshooting took over. 

Baranczyk’s Sooners hit a program recored 11 3-pointers in the first half to put 68 points on the board in the first two quarters, which was also a program record. 

Seven different Oklahoma players connected from deep in the first half alone, led by a trio of triples from Lexy Keys who continued her high level of play off the bench. 

The first half work made the final 20 minutes at the Lloyd Noble Center academic, which was a welcome sight for the Sooners after a couple of dramatic games in the last two outings. 

Sky’s the Limit

Vann’s start to the season hasn’t necessarily been slow, but she came out firing on all cylinders on Sunday.

Her 20-point performance bested her season high of 15 points which she scored against both Western Carolina on Nov. 13 and UNLV on Nov. 22, and fell six points short of her career-high of 26 points which came on Dec. 9 last year against UNLV. 

Vann entered the weekend shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from deep so far this year, but she poured it in from all over the floor against the Lady Hornets. 

Between Vann, Payton Verhulst, Raegan Beers and Keys, the Sooners have plenty of firepower on offense to stress opposing defenses. 

But Vann was perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Beers’ addition this offseason, as it eased the focus on her from the scouting report night to night. 

She’s not yet exploded with Beers in the lineup, but she reminded everyone just how lethal she can be with the extra space created by Beers’ presence on the floor. 

Handled With Care

Already this season, the Sooners have turned the ball over more than 20 times on three different occasions. 

The worst of those showings came in the dramatic comeback victory over Louisville, where Oklahoma gifted the Cardinals 27 turnovers. 

Though Alabama State’s defense isn’t close to the caliber what the Sooners will see in SEC play, OU only surrendered 12 turnovers, a huge improvement. 

The level of competition hasn’t mattered much when its come to Oklahoma’s miscues this year, as the Sooners turned the ball over 18 times against Southern, 24 times against Wichita State and 23 times against DePaul, but the mistake-free performance allowed the offense to hum. 

Alongside Vann’s big outing, Beers finished with 14 points and six rebounds, Verhulst added 13 points, Key finished with 11 and Aubrey Joens chipped in a season-high 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep.

Oklahoma will be idle during the week as the students on campus in Norman look to survive finals, but the Sooners will be in action again on Dec. 15 when OU hosts Oral Roberts at the Lloyd Noble Center.