South Carolina gets a wake-up call in a shocking loss

It was freshman Aaliyah Chavez that showed up and showed out for her coach, scoring 15 of her game-high 26 points in overtime, which led No. 16 Oklahoma to 94-82 victory over No. 2 South Carolina at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma on Thursday night.

It was the Sooners third-ever win against an AP top 2 opponent. The victory was, in many ways, a coming-out party for Chavez, who shot 9-of-19 from the field and 5-of-10 from behind the 3-point arc during the game. Having scored only three points in the first half, Chavez kicked off in the second half and into overtime.

Even though Chavez shined down the stretch, the Gamecocks were beaten by a combined effort. A total of five Oklahoma starters reached double-digit scoring: Payton Verhulst had 19 points, Raegan Beers had 18 points and 14 rebounds, Zya Vann had 11 points, and Sahara Williams had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The difference in the game was Oklahoma's advantage on the glass (54-39) and in the paint (50-40).

South Carolina embarked on a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter to take the lead, 75-73, with 41 seconds remaining in regulation. Beers wrangled an offensive rebound and converted on the second-chance opportunity with a layup to tie it with 18 seconds left. South Carolina had the final possession, but Vann stole it to force overtime.

Chavez scored or assisted on 17 of Oklahoma's 19 points in the extra period, including four 3-pointers. The only shot she missed in overtime was a free throw attempt when the game was out of reach. With the win, Oklahoma ended a three-game skid that included losses to Ole Miss, Kentucky, and LSU.Tessa Johnson scored 19 points for South Carolina. Raven Johnson added 16 points and Joyce Edwards had 12.