No. 10 Oklahoma holds off No. 23 Alabama 79-71 after late fourth-quarter surge

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Raegan Beers scored 21 points and Payton Verhulst added 17 to help No. 10 Oklahoma beat 23rd-ranked Alabama 79-71 on Sunday.

Oklahoma led by double digits on three separate occasions, but each time Alabama cut the deficit down to four points or less.

The Sooners (19-6, 7-5 SEC) rallied behind freshman Aaliyah Chavez’s nine points in the fourth quarter to win the game, she finished with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Oklahoma had its struggles offensively- — missing five of its first six shots from the field and only shooting 23% from 3-point range and 58% from the free throw line for the game. Turnovers were also an issue with 19 which resulted in 15 Alabama points.

Alabama (20-6, 6-6) was led by Ta’Mia Scott’s 17 points and 11 apiece by Jessica Timmons and Ace Austin.

The Crimson Tide featured a more balanced scoring attack with six players with at least eight points, but couldn’t hold off the Sooners down the stretch to secure a second win over a top 10 team this season.

Alabama rallied to take a 57-54 lead in the third quarter by using an 18-4 run — its first advantage since early in the opening quarter. However the Crimson Tide only made three of 15 shots the rest of the way and were outscored 21-11 in the final quarter.

Oklahoma had 14 offensive rebounds which led to 19 second chance points and was plus-20 on the boards for the game.

Oklahoma travels to Georgia on Thursday.

Alabama hosts No. 3 South Carolina on Thursday.

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