Verhulst scores 21 against her former team and No. 11 Oklahoma women rally past No. 22 Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Payton Verhulst scored 21 points against her former team, Raegan Beers had 11 points and 11 rebounds and No. 11 Oklahoma rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat 22nd-ranked Louisville 78-72 on Wednesday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Verhulst, who transferred from Louisville in December 2022, grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled before making two free throws with 2:21 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Oklahoma its first lead, 70-68, since it was 14-13.

Verhulst added a jumper from the free-throw line to make it 72-70. Oklahoma freshman Nevaeh Tot made two free throws for a four-point lead at 27.5 and Verhulst sealed it at the line by making four free throws in the final 12.9.

It was the largest comeback victory for Oklahoma (7-1) since coming back from 19 down to beat Utah on Dec. 21, 2021.

Sahara Williams scored eight of her 15 points in the fourth quarter for Oklahoma. The Sooners turned it over a season-high 27 times.

Olivia Cochran scored a season-high 17 points to go with nine rebounds for Louisville (5-3) before fouling out with 2:21 left. Merissah Russell added 14 points.

Cochran’s three-point play with 2:11 left in the second quarter gave Louisville its largest lead at 41-24. The Cardinals led 60-49 entering the fourth after Russell made her fourth 3-pointer. But Louisville missed eight of its final nine shots in the fourth.

The victory secured Jennie Baranczyk’s 12th top-25 win as Oklahoma’s head coach.

Oklahoma returns home to play Alabama State on Sunday. Louisville travels to New York to play No. 2 UConn in the Champions Classic on Saturday.

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