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OU Basketball: Oklahoma Stuns No. 2 Kansas State

The Sooners got another big game from Skylar Vann some rigid defense down the stretch and just enough free throws to hang on to an historic home win.

John E. Hoover

OU Basketball: Oklahoma Stuns No. 2 Kansas State
OU Basketball: Oklahoma Stuns No. 2 Kansas State /
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Supremacy for the top of the Big 12 Conference standings came down to the final seconds on Wednesday night at Lloyd Noble Center.

In the end, it was the feathery scoring touch of senior Skylar Vann, a strapping team defensive effort and three late free throws that gave Oklahoma a stunning 66-63 upset over No. 2-ranked Kansas State.

A back-and-forth matchup of the top two teams in the conference, eventually became OU’s second-ever win over a team ranked No. 2 or higher and first since 2004.

Kansas State fell to 20-2 overall and 9-1 in Big 12 play, while OU improved to 14-6 and 8-1.

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K-State beat the Sooners 74-57 in Manhattan back on Jan. 10, but OU has now beaten KSU four of their last five meetings.

The Sooners have built a five-game winning streak and has won seven of their last eight games.

The Sooners were extremely efficient, with 21 assists on 24 field goals and just 10 turnovers offensively, while shooting 40 percent from the field.

Vann scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 21 points and led the Sooners with eight rebounds. Lexy Keys scored 10 for OU.

Gisela Sanchez tied her career high with 18 points to lead K-State.

Oklahoma tied it 33-33 at halftime on a three-point play by Kiersten Johnson.

K-State opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers Serena Sundell and Brylee Glenn, but Keys dropped in two 3s to tie it again, and Aubrey Joens added another to give the Sooners a 46-43 lead with four minutes to play in the third.

But Sanchez drained another 3 to tie it — although those would be her final points.

Former Sooner Gabby Gregory’s first field goal of the night then gave the Wildcats a 53-51 lead with 52 seconds left and setting up the fourth quarter.

K-State led the Big 12 coming in by allowing a league-low 52.7 points per game, but Vann’s bucket to open the fourth quarter tied it at 53. Vann’s fast-break layup on a long assist from Nevaeh Tot put the Sooners up 55-53, facing K-State into a timeout with 7:34 to play.

Payton Verhulst’s first bucket of the night gave the Sooners a 59-56 lead at the 4:41 mark, but Jaelyn Glenn’s 3 tied it up.

That’s when Vann finally created a sliver of separation with a back-to-back field goals in the paint, one on an assist from Verhulst and the other on an assist from Joens — the second one giving the Sooners their biggest lead of the night at 63-59.

Sanchez missed a couple of shots, however, and Sahara Williams made a free throw at the other end for a 64-59 lead with 38 seconds to play.

Brylee Glenn’s layup with 28 seconds left cut the OU lead to 64-61, and Keys made 1-of-2 free throws with 19 seconds to go for a four-point lead.

K-State’s Serena Sundell made a driving layup and the Wildcats called timeout with 8 seconds left and trailing 65-63.

Tot made 1-of-2 free throws to extend it too 66-63, but the Wildcats missed two shots in the closing seconds.

OU is back on the floor Saturday with a 4 p.m. tipoff at Oklahoma State. That game will be carried on ESPN+.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.