SACRAMENTO, CA — It took less than three minutes to understand what Saturday afternoon inside Golden 1 Center was going to become.
South Carolina struck with precision. Ta’Niyah Latson banked in a fadeaway on the opening possession. Less than a minute later, she buried a 3. Raven Johnson slipped free for an easy layup. Then came three free throws.
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Just like that, it was 10-0.
“They just punched first, honestly,” senior guard Payton Verhulst said outside the locker room. “And when a team like South Carolina does that, when a team is that good, it’s hard to dig back.”
There was no excavation. Not against this version of South Carolina. Not on this stage.
The Gamecocks, motivated by their January loss to Oklahoma, never relented in a 94-68 dismantling of the Sooners in the Sweet 16 — their sixth straight trip to the Elite Eight secured almost as soon as it began. If that meeting two months ago suggested OU could trade blows with one of the sport’s titans, this one clarified the gap.
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Over 40 minutes, South Carolina looked deeper, stronger and simply in a different class. And that is the reality the Sooners now have to confront.
Jennie Baranczyk has elevated the program in undeniable ways. Back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances would have felt improbable in the final years of the Sherri Coale era.
The floor has been raised. But the highest ceiling — at least for now — remains out of reach.
For the second straight year, OU’s season ended here, overwhelmed by a blue blood. The Sooners shot 30% from 3, turned the ball over 15 times and were outscored 21-7 on points off turnovers — numbers that mirrored last year’s Sweet 16 loss to eventual national champion UConn.
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The question remains if Baranczyk’s system — fast, free and heavily reliant on the 3-point shot — is a sustainable option for a contender striving for more.
“We’re not just patting ourselves on the back, but at the same time, it’s neat to see where we’re going,” Baranczyk told The Oklahoman a little less than an hour fresh off the loss. “And the game is different now, there are things that are different and the world of college athletics is different.
“There are a lot of things that we’ve got to be able to put in place to be able to take those next steps and that’s something that we’ll really try to focus on.”
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Head coach Jennie Baranczyk of the Oklahoma Sooners speaks to her team during a timeout against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the third quarter in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 28, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
OU loses foundational pieces of Baranczyk’s rebuild.
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Raegan Beers and Payton Verhulst played their final games as Sooners. They combined for just 26 points Saturday, unable to tilt the game following the Gamecocks’ fast start.
Their legacy is secure as program stabilizers, culture setters and the backbone of a rapid rise. But they leave as OU failed to jump into the sport’s inner circle.
Whether that next step comes soon may depend on what follows them.
Aaliyah Chavez, the freshman point guard who has been the engine of OU’s future all season, scored a team-high 21 points. Around her, the pieces remain intriguing: Zya Vann’s growth, Brooklyn Stewart’s energy and Sahara Williams’ steady presence.
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Five of the nine Sooners who played Saturday were underclassmen. That experience, Baranczyk believes, will do wonders.
“They don’t understand how important that is,” Baranczyk said. “That taste can really lead you into an offseason of togetherness.”
Chavez doesn’t see a step back coming.
“It’s gonna be scary next year,” Chavez told The Oklahoman. “Obviously, we have a lot of people coming back. We came out hard and man, the freshman in general are going to be so special, I’m really close with them. It’s going to be amazing next year.”
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Aaliyah Chavez #2 of the Oklahoma Sooners passes the ball against Agot Makeer #44 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during the fourth quarter in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Golden 1 Center on March 28, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
Beers added, with tears pouring out of her eyes uncontrollably, “It’s a special group, that freshman class is really unique. They love each other, they want to work, they want to compete.”
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Baranczyk knows there is work to be done between now and then. The transfer portal opens April 6 and size and 3-point shooting is crucial to pair with Chavez in the SEC.
It’ll be the 44-year-old coach’s first offseason working with new athletic director Roger Denny, who has conveyed a strong interest in maintaining women’s basketball’s success with strong investment.
Baranczyk is looking forward to hearing his vision for a program that has already proven it can rise in the months ahead.
“Being in Oklahoma, we’ve been really lucky to have such incredible administrative support,” Baranczyk said. “So, I’m excited to continue to, obviously, work with Roger and really hear the vision that he has with our program.“There’s going to be a lot of work in the next couple of months to be able to really look forward to that, but I’m just excited to get that opportunity.”
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The question now is whether the program can break through.
Because on Saturday, inside Golden 1 Center, that answer for this season’s team came quickly.
It took less than three minutes to see it.
Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women’s basketball hits a familiar wall in loss to South Carolina
