Oklahoma women's basketball falls to Connecticut in Sweet 16

No. 3 seed Oklahoma (27-9) fell to No. 2 seed Connecticut (34-3) 82-59 in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington.

Final: #3 UConn 82, #11 OU 59Our run comes to a close in the Sweet 16 💔 pic.twitter.com/R0DN6bYzGd
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) March 29, 2025

Here are takeaways from today’s loss:

Many small mistakes

Throughout the game, Oklahoma constantly made critical mistakes. The team had miscommunication on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Sooners turned the ball over 23 times, allowing UConn to post 18 points off them. This season Oklahoma has averaged 18.7 turnovers per game

The Sooners also lost the steal battle. In the first half of the matchup, Connecticut found its momentum and stole the ball from the Sooners 10 times. Oklahoma was able to counter that with seven steals, but it was not enough

During the game, the Sooners ball handling struggled, losing the ball to the Huskies offense.

Payton Verhulst led the way

Senior guard Payton Verhulst was on fire for the Sooners. In the first half of the game, she showed her three-point shooting strength, making three of six shots from within the range. At the end of the first half, Verhulst posted 13 points, surpassing UConn’s top-shooting redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers, who finished the first half with 11 points.

PAYTON FROM THE LOGO OMG 😳@payton_verhulst // 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/kkQ70gCiuJ
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) March 29, 2025

Connecticut was able to slow Verhulst down, holding her to only making a single shot in the second half of the game. The guard finished her night with 16 points and three rebounds.

Extra defense on Beers

On defense, Connecticut had multiple players defending junior center Raegan Beers. The center has been a key player for the Sooners this season, and her size has been a challenge for their opponents. Beers has averaged 17.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds, but against the Huskies, she was only able to score 10 points.

Throughout the game, Connecticut placed two or three defenders around Beers to try to slow her down and prevent her from making baskets or grabbing rebounds. Despite UConn actively defending Beers, she was able to complete her 15th double-double of the season. The center finished the night with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Paige Bueckers outplayed Oklahoma

UConn’s leading contributor, Bueckers, dominated on the floor in Saturday’s matchup against the Sooners. The Minnesota native, who averages 19 points per game, put up a career-high 40 points against Oklahoma.

BOOM📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/3spgVNg432
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) March 29, 2025

In the second half, Bueckers made 12 of 16 attempts, outplaying Oklahoma who made seven of 28 field goals. OU’s defense was not able to contain the redshirt senior guard, allowing her to achieve 12 of 22 shot attempts. From within the range, Bueckers went 4-for-5 in threes and was nearly perfect from the free-throw line.

With Bueckers’ career night and the Sooners’ lack of ball security, OU’s March Madness run was put to an end.

What channel is Oklahoma vs. Connecticut on today?

TV channel: ESPN

Start time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena

Notes: The two programs have met a total of 13 times with Oklahoma being winless. Last time out, the Sooners defeated head coach Jennie Baranczyk’s alma mater, Iowa, to advance to the Sweet 16 round for the 11th time in program history. This is Baranczyk’s first time as coach in the regional rounds of the tournament. Oklahoma currently leads the nation in assists per game (21.9) and is second nationally in rebounds per game (47.94). This season, both teams have averaged over 80 points per game.