logo
Skylar Vann, Payton Verhulst help No. 16 Oklahoma women hold off Auburn 73-71

Skylar Vann, Payton Verhulst help No. 16 Oklahoma women hold off Auburn 73-71

Yahoo11-02-2025
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Skylar Vann matched her season high with 20 points and Payton Verhulst hit two free throws with four seconds left and scored 15 to help No. 16 Oklahoma hold off Auburn 73-71 on Monday night.
Vann had five points and four assists in the first quarter to help the Sooners (18-6, 6-5 Southeastern Conference) jump in front 12-2 before settling for a 21-17 lead. Oklahoma took a 44-35 lead into halftime and led 58-48 after three quarters.
DeYona Gaston had a three-point play and scored the first nine points of the final quarter to get the Tigers (12-12 3-8) within 58-57 with 8:28 remaining. Vann answered with a three-point play for the Sooners, but Gaston hit a jumper and Mar'shaun Bostic followed with a layup to give the Tigers their first lead at 66-65 with 3:30 left.
Verhulst made 1 of 2 at the line to put Oklahoma ahead by a point and Gaston made the second of two free throws to tie it at 71 with 24 seconds remaining. Verhulst was fouled with four seconds to go and made two for the victory after Gaston missed the game's final shot.
Gaston finished with 24 points and Bostic added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Auburn had never played a game in the state of Oklahoma and was looking for its first road win over a ranked SEC team since beating Georgia in 2011. The two schools met just once prior when Auburn beat the visiting Sooners 95-79 in 2018 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Auburn plays at No. 15 Tennessee on Thursday. Oklahoma plays at Missouri on Sunday.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
The Associated Press
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Texas A&M is reportedly trailing one team in pursuit of 2026 4-star WR
Texas A&M is reportedly trailing one team in pursuit of 2026 4-star WR

USA Today

time8 hours ago

  • USA Today

Texas A&M is reportedly trailing one team in pursuit of 2026 4-star WR

Texas A&M's 2026 recruiting class features three of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2026 cycle, as four-star Aaron Gregory, Madden Williams, and Mike Brown have all shut down their recruitment and are expected to seal the deal with the program during Early Signing Day on December 4. However, head coach Mike Elko, OC Collin Klein, and WR coach Holmon Wiggins are looking to land one more elite pass catcher next month. After missing out on four-star wide receiver Ethan "Boobie" Feaster, who committed to USC earlier this month, Elko and his staff are eyeing the top route runner in the class, as four-star Mississippi native Jace Mathews will anounce his commitment on August 8, and has narrowed his list to Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Mathews has taken official visits to all four finalists, but it's been unclear who is truly leading heading into next month. On Friday, 247Sports recruiting insider Tom Loy (Subscription Required) provided more clarity, stating that Auburn, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and LSU, in that order, are where things stand from an "optimism" standpoint. "After that, Texas A&M seems to have some optimism as well. Not nearly to the level of Auburn, but they are up there. They have done a great job of showing him what a future looks like in College Station, and that has resonated well with him and his family. Coach Wiggins does a tremendous job recruiting the receiver position, and he is very difficult to beat." While Texas A&M is reportedly 1B to Auburn's 1A, 2026 5-star WR Tristen Keys, who is currently committed to LSU, is a candidate to flip to either A&M or Tennessee, which could shake up Mathew's final decision, and if Mathews commits to Auburn, I'd expect Elko and Wiggins to go hard after Keys this fall, especially if Mathews shuts down his recruitment. Still, the Aggies are in a good spot heading into his commitment, and still have a solid chance at pulling off another surprise commitment and solidifying the program's future wide receiver rotation that already looks borderline elite on paper. During his 2024 junior season, Mathews reeled in 1,138 yards and 15 touchdowns, and will more than likely play in the slot at the next level. According to 247Sports, Mathews is currently positioned as the 191st-ranked prospect in the 2026 cycle, the 27th-ranked wide receiver, and the 9th-ranked prospect in Mississippi. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

"Even if we did everything right, Jokic still gave them a chance" - Isaiah Hartenstein says Nuggets were OKC's toughest challenge in the playoffs
"Even if we did everything right, Jokic still gave them a chance" - Isaiah Hartenstein says Nuggets were OKC's toughest challenge in the playoffs

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Yahoo

"Even if we did everything right, Jokic still gave them a chance" - Isaiah Hartenstein says Nuggets were OKC's toughest challenge in the playoffs

"Even if we did everything right, Jokic still gave them a chance" - Isaiah Hartenstein says Nuggets were OKC's toughest challenge in the playoffs originally appeared on Basketball Network. The Oklahoma City Thunder may have entered the playoffs as the league's top seed, but their path to the 2025 NBA championship was anything but easy. Despite a dominant regular season, OKC had to battle through two grueling seven-game series — including the NBA Finals — before hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. Reflecting on their title run, Isaiah Hartenstein revealed that the toughest challenge wasn't the Pacers in the Finals, but the second-round clash with the Denver Nuggets — and the reason was simple: Nikola Jokic. "I think the only series we were kind of a little bit on the ropes was Denver. Just Jokic, I mean, the way they play. They've been there before. And that was the only series where we were like, even if we do everything right, they probably still have a chance. Every other series, we were like, if we do the right things, we're good," he said. The Nuggets series was a war After sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Thunder were matched up against the No. 4-seeded Nuggets in the second round. Right from the start of the series, they were in for a dog fight. Behind 42 points and 22 rebounds from Joker, Denver stole Game 1 in OKC and put the pressure on OKC. As expected, the Thunder bounced back with a 43-point blowout win in Game 2. But if they thought that big win took the fight from the Nuggets, they were wrong, as the 2023 champs won Game 3 at their home floor 113-104 with Jokic having another monster double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds. However, OKC dug deep to win Games 4 and 5 to finally grab the upper hand. Denver held court to even the series at 3-3, but with Game 7 in OKC, the Thunder blew out the Nuggets 125-93 with SGA leading the way with 35 points. But despite an easy close-out win, the series itself was the true test of the young Thunder coaching impressed the Thunder As for the Pacers, Hartenstein gave more credit to their head coach than anybody else. Indiana was coached by 13-year veteran Rick Carisle, who led the Dallas Mavericks to their first-ever NBA title in 2011. According to Isaiah, Carlisle's experience was evident in the Finals. "I think they were really impressive. I mean, they play their style, no matter what. I think the biggest one, just playing against them, I think, is Rick Carlisle. The timely timeouts, the timely adjustments. I think that was the most impressive thing. In general, had great coaching in the playoffs in general. And then the whole team plays the same way. I mean, there's never stopping," he added. Like the Nuggets, the Pacers took the Thunder to the brink, but unfortunately for them, their star player Tyrese Haliburton suffered an injury in the first quarter of Game 7. Carlisle tried to pull all the tricks under his sleeve. Still, it was not enough to deny Hartenstein and the Thunder from winning the 2025 NBA story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.

Sherrone Moore loyal to Michigan football over Oklahoma - 'I'm all about Michigan'
Sherrone Moore loyal to Michigan football over Oklahoma - 'I'm all about Michigan'

USA Today

time12 hours ago

  • USA Today

Sherrone Moore loyal to Michigan football over Oklahoma - 'I'm all about Michigan'

Oklahoma is in a precarious position. After Lincoln Riley fled for USC, the Brent Venables saga hasn't quite turned out as they've hoped in Norman, at least thus far. The Sooners will have a big test early in 2025 when Michigan football comes to town, led by OU alum Sherrone Moore. Usually, in a situation like that, the administration might have an eye on someone who has those ties, and should the Wolverines upend the Sooners in Norman, there may be an outcry to bring a favored son home. On the other end, Moore is set to be suspended for two games after deleting texts pertinent to an NCAA investigation, but Michigan's choice that that those games come after the trip to Oklahoma. Thus, the thought is it's a big game, as well, for the OU alum. Yet, at Big Ten media days, Moore downplayed his role in the forthcoming matchup, noting that the game is bigger than him. "Yeah, my anticipation for that game is that it's a big game and it's going to be our first road test," Moore said. "People might not want to hear this from the Oklahoma side, but I'm a Wolverine. I think about it like that. I'm a part of Michigan football. I've been here for eight years and I love this program. I love this place, so my allegiance is not to Oklahoma, regardless of going there. It's to Michigan and to football players at Michigan, so it's going to be a huge test because they're going to be a good football team, and Brent Venables is a great coach. But my thought process and allegiance has nothing to do with I went to school there. It has all to do with we're going to go win the game, and we're going to do everything we can to be physically and mentally ready to do that." As Moore noted, he's been in Ann Arbor for eight years -- four times longer than his two-year stint in Norman. So, say the Sooners do decide to make a change and Michigan looks more like it had from 2021-23 than last year. And say they come calling for Moore. Would he consider it? Considering his thoughts on the upcoming Week 2 tilt, it sounds like his allegiance isn't to the school that helped form him as a player -- it's more to the school that rose him through the coaching ranks. "I've said before, it's pretty documented how much I love Michigan, I'm fully invested in Michigan and what it's done for me and what I continue to do for Michigan," Moore said. "So it's not hard for me to turn that page and understand that I'm all about Michigan." Moore came to Ann Arbor via Central Michigan in 2018, taking the same position he had in Mount Pleasant, tight ends coach. He was promoted to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2021, became the bona fide offensive coordinator in 2023, and head coach in 2024.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store