5th-Seed Oklahoma Edges Florida Gulf Coast 73-70

Skylar Vann scored 24 points and fifth-seeded Oklahoma held off No. 12 seed Florida Gulf Coast 73-70 in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Saturday..

Oklahoma (23-9) will face No. 4 seed Indiana (25-5) in the second round on Monday night.



Payton Verhulst gave the Sooners a 72-70 lead on a turnaround jumper in the paint with 48 seconds left. After a Eagles’ turnover, Vann hit one of two free throws with 15 seconds left to push the Sooners’ lead to 73-70.

Dolly Cairns 3-point shot was blocked by Vann with 3 seconds left. The Eagles got the rebound with a second left. Uju Ezeudu missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied it.

Sahara Williams scored 14 and Verhulst added 11 for the Sooners.

Emani Jefferson led Florida Gulf Coast (29-5) with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Jefferson was 8-of-22 from the field. Brylee Bartram scored 14 points and Cairns added 10 for the Eagles.

Oklahoma shot 45% while holding Florida Gulf Coast to 37%.

The Eagles opened the fourth quarter with 3-pointers by Scott and Jefferson to take 56-53 lead. Oklahoma used a 9-0 run to take a 67-61 advantage with 2:59 remaining.

Cairns sank a 3-pointer as the Eagles scored the next seven points to regain the led.

Following a 3-pointer by Oklahoma’s Aubrey Joens, Jefferson’s layup tied it a 70-all. Jefferson was fouled but missed the free throw.

The Eagles led 35-33 at the half in the back and forth contest.

This is the third consecutive year the Eagles had been a No. 12 seed, previously beating Virginia Tech in 2022 and Washington State last year.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness