NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 of her 26 points in overtime as No. 16 Oklahoma stunned No. 2 South Carolina 94-82 on Thursday night.

The freshman guard made 4 of 14 field goals in regulation before hitting 5 of 5 shots in overtime.

Aaliyah Chavez didn’t score a career high on Thursday. She didn’t make more shots than she ever had. She didn’t make more 3-pointers. And she has come closer to triple-doubles in her young career.

The performance, especially in the final five minutes, was the stuff of legend.

But in Oklahoma’s win over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, Chavez showed the women’s college basketball world that she and the Sooners are officially in the top tier of the sport.

OU had been a solid, NCAA Tournament-type of team for the better part of the last 25 years. Former coach Sherri Coale led the Sooners to the Dance from 2000-2018. After struggles hit in her final three years, Jennie Baranczyk came on and has taken Oklahoma back to the Tournament for each of the last four seasons. It’s just that the team hadn’t made it past the Sweet 16 since 2010.

That drought appears closer to changing than it has in the last 15 years now after Chavez led the Sooners to victory against a team that has won two national championships in the last four seasons, made the Final Four each time and has only lost four Southeastern Conference games since 2019.

And Oklahoma needed it. The Sooners have largely been considered one of the better programs in college basketball the last couple seasons, but clearly weren’t among the Connecticuts, the UCLAs and the South Carolinas. They should be now.

OU entered the game as the No. 16 team in the country after suffering through a three-game losing streak to Ole Miss, Kentucky and LSU. All of those teams also rank in the Top 25 and sent the Sooners falling from No. 6.

The losses suggest Oklahoma took a step back, but after beating perhaps the powerhouse program in the sport, OU has shown it’s fully capable of beating any team it goes up against.

The win matched the highest-ranked opponent Oklahoma has ever beaten. Most recently, the Sooners beat No. 2 Kansas State in 2024.

Payton Verhulst scored 19 points and Raegan Beers had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Sooners (15-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference.

Tessa Johnson scored 19 points and Raven Johnson added 16 for South Carolina (19-2, 5-1), which had its 12-game win streak snapped. Joyce Edwards, who had averaged 20.6 points, finished with 12 on 3-for-12 shooting. The Gamecocks shot just 37% from the field.

Oklahoma’s Kaya Smith fouled Ta’Niya Latson on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first half, and Latson made all three free throws to give the Gamecocks a 43-36 lead at the break.

Oklahoma opened the second half on an 8-0 run that included a three-point play and a 3-pointer by Chavez to give the Sooners a 44-43 lead. Oklahoma took a 61-59 lead into the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma led 73-67 with just under four minutes remaining before South Carolina went on a 6-0 run to tie the score. Edwards made two free throws with 42 seconds remaining to give South Carolina a 75-73 lead. Beers tied the score on a putback with 18.4 seconds to play, then the Sooners got a stop to force overtime.

POSTGAME NOTES

• No. 16 Oklahoma (15-4, 3-3 SEC) knocked off No. 2 South Carolina (19-2, 5-1 SEC), 94-82, in overtime Thursday night at Lloyd Noble Center. The win marked OU’s third alltime victory over a top-two opponent and its first since a 66-63 win over then-No. 2 Kansas State on Jan. 31, 2024.

• After trailing by eight late in the first half and seven at the break, Oklahoma seized control in the third quarter, outscoring the reigning SEC champions 25-16 to take a two-point lead into the final period. South Carolina erased a six-point Sooner advantage late, but a Raegan Beers putback with 18 seconds remaining and a defensive stop forced overtime. OU improved to 14-0 when leading after three quarters, and the eight-point deficit was its largest overcome in a win this season.

• True freshman Aaliyah Chavez led all scorers with 26 points and took over in overtime, scoring 15 points on a perfect 5 of 5 shooting with four 3-pointers to seal the win. Chavez added a careerhigh eight assists in the nationally televised ESPN contest. She became the first freshman since Caitlin Clark in 2021 to post 26 points and eight assists against a top-25 opponent, and her 15 overtime points set a school record. Oklahoma improved to 5-1 in overtime games under head coach Jennie Baranczyk.

• Oklahoma finished with 75 points in regulation and 94 overall, becoming the first team to score 94 points or more against South Carolina since UConn on Feb. 11, 2019. The Sooners have topped 90 points 11 times this season, second-most nationally behind LSU.

• The Sooners have now earned 18 wins over ranked opponents under Baranczyk, including three victories against top-five teams – all at Lloyd Noble Center.

• Raegan Beers recorded career double- double No. 60 (leads all active players) with 18 points and 14 rebounds on 8 of 9 shooting. The senior leads the nation with 15 double-doubles this season.

• Junior Sahara Williams added a double-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Oklahoma is 5-0 this season when Williams posts a double-double.

• Payton Verhulst scored 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, adding four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 34 minutes. The redshirt senior averaged 20.0 points for the week after scoring 21 against No. 6 LSU on Sunday.

• Oklahoma outrebounded South Carolina 54-39, improving to 14-2 when winning the rebounding battle. The Gamecocks entered the night fifth nationally in rebounding margin and had not been outrebounded by 15 since February 2025. In SEC play, South Carolina had not been outrebounded by 15 since March 2024.

• The Sooners shot 48.1% from the floor, the highest percentage from a South Carolina opponent since UConn in the 2025 national championship, and held the Gamecocks to 37.0% shooting, improving to 100-5 over the last five seasons when shooting a higher percentage than their opponent. OU was a perfect 7 of 7 in the overtime period, scoring 19 points in five minutes.

• The win snapped a three-game skid for the Sooners (all losses to ranked teams) as OU has still not lost four in a row under Baranczyk. Additionally, it snapped a twogame losing streak at the Lloyd Noble Center as the Sooners haven’t dropped three in a row at home since before Baranczyk arrived in Norman.

• Oklahoma are back at home Thursday the 29th and take on the Texas A&M Aggies at 6 p.m.

Game will be televised on ESPN.

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