Skylar Vann, OU women's basketball hold off Oklahoma State for Bedlam road win

STILLWATER — OU entered the fourth quarter having just let a small lead slip away.

But with two quick baskets, the Sooners were back on top, and they followed that up with an even bigger run to pull away for an 81-74 win over Oklahoma State in the season's first edition of Bedlam women's basketball Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

OU (15-6, 9-1 Big 12) finished with four scorers in double-figures, led by Skylar Vann with 22 points and seven rebounds. The Cowgirls (11-11, 4-7) got 22 from Hannah Gusters.

While Vann was cold from 3-point range, hitting just one of seven attempts, she was hard to stop inside the arc where she made nine of her 15 shots.

The Sooners’ Sahara Williams added 15 points in just 15 minutes of action because of foul trouble. Lexy Keys hit four 3-pointers for her 12 points, and Payton Verhulst contributed 10 points and 10 assists as OU won its sixth straight game.

Vann got off to a slow start, but scored 18 points in the final three quarters, including three buckets in the fourth that helped OU turn a 59-57 deficit into a 75-67 lead.

The Cowgirls led by eight after the first quarter and by seven at halftime, before OU finally began to turn the tide.

“We just had to stay really poised in this game,” Vann said. “Oklahoma State’s a great team and you really gotta control them on both ends. I think the first half, we learned that pretty hard.

“I think we did a really good job reconnecting and knowing, OK, this is what we do, play OU basketball.”

Here are three takeaways from the season’s first edition of Bedlam women’s basketball:

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Unfriendly return for Keys

After spending the previous three seasons at Oklahoma State, Keys transferred to OU last offseason and was greeted with boos every time she touched the ball in her return to GIA.

But the noise didn’t seem to bother the Tahlequah native, who hit her first three tries from 3-point range and ultimately missed just one shot.

“I’m proud of Lexy,” OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “That was hard. That took guts today. It’s one thing for your whole team to get booed, but every time you got the ball and you’re getting booed?

“That’s not easy. But I thought she wore it well.”

The ball found its way into her hands in the closing seconds as she dribbled out the win standing near the OSU logo at center court.

“It’s Bedlam. I knew it was gonna be intense,” Keys said. “There’s a lot of passion behind this whole rivalry and coming in, I knew that. Obviously, going out with a win, no matter what side you’re on, that’s exciting.

“I knew there were people who welcomed me back and people who didn’t. That’s just part of it, part of the sport. Rivalry or not, that’s part of it.”

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A (Quincy) Noble effort

Oklahoma State got off to a strong start, eventually leading 40-33 at halftime, much of which was buoyed by super-senior Quincy Noble.

The 5-foot-10 guard hit six of her first eight shots and had 13 points in the first quarter, surpassing her season average of 12.4 points per game in the first 10 minutes.

However, the Sooners adjusted to her attack after that.

Noble added one more bucket before halftime and was scoreless through the third quarter until the final seconds. She worked her way open in the paint for a bucket as time expired. She ended with 17 points and six rebounds.

Anna Gret Asi added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She and Noble each played the full 40 minutes for a Cowgirl team that continues to deal with injuries.

OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said she was unsure on Saturday morning if Gusters or reserve guard Rylee Langerman would be available for the game because of recent injuries.

“I probably haven’t done a good job of conveying what, really, we’ve been going through,” Hoyt said with regard to her team’s health. “Some of that is because you have to play and you don’t necessarily want your opponent to know who’s gonna be available or not.

“We didn’t have Hannah on Wednesday. She has not been able to practice. … (Langerman) had the heart of a lion today, playing basically on one leg. I didn’t know if those two players were gonna be available.”

Langerman had seven points and three rebounds off the bench, while Gusters led the Cowgirls in scoring on 8-of-16 shooting and added five rebounds.

“What we’ve been doing is honestly miraculous,” Hoyt said. “We’ve been doing it very, very shorthanded, and then the kids that are playing — how do you go score 22 points when you haven’t practiced since Monday, half a practice? That’s incredible what Hannah did for us today.”

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Bedlam fire still burning

It remains unclear if Bedlam will continue in basketball when OU moves to the Southeastern Conference next season, but there’s no doubt that the rivalry still has plenty of fire.

And the noise remained loud beyond Saturday’s final buzzer.

Following team handshakes, the OU players gathered in front of their bench, with their fans directly behind it.

As Hoyt does for every OSU home game, she took the microphone to address the Cowgirl fans.

And as she began to speak, the OU fans’ celebration got louder and louder, to the point that Hoyt paused her speech.

After waiting a moment, Hoyt redirected her attention to the OSU crowd, waving her hand and encouraging them to match the noise.

“We can cheer, too,” she told them, repeating it a few more times, as her fans answered loudly.

In speaking to the media after the game, both coaches agreed it was just part of an intense rivalry in college athletics.

“I was on the radio, and I understood,” Baranczyk said. “We always come over and we huddle and we go say hi to our parents and to the fans that bussed up here. We just want to be able to wave to them for a second and then get out. And then it became something big, which I know it does in football and I know it does in men’s basketball. And today, it was women’s basketball.

“Of course it’s a fun thing. Sometimes I just get a little too — we don’t have to totally hate each other and disrespect each other. We can just all exist.”

In her postgame comments, Hoyt again saluted the fans, which numbered 5,326, easily the largest crowd for a Cowgirl game this season.

“It’s just part of it, and again, I’m grateful to be at a place that cares,” Hoyt said. “I’m grateful to be at a place that cares if you win or you lose. Our fans, I wouldn’t trade ‘em. I love the class of our fans, I love the pride, I love the support.

“I get texts and people coming up after games, after a loss and after this tough little spell that we’re in, and it’s just so special. … After the game, that’s gonna come with it.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball holds off Oklahoma State for Bedlam road win