OU women's basketball: Skylar Vann, Payton Verhulst lead Sooners past Virginia

Vann, Verhulst lead OU past Virginia

Skylar Vann scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Payton Verhulst hit three 3-pointers to spark a decisive second quarter as No. 25 Oklahoma rolled past Virginia 82-67 on Sunday afternoon.

The unbeaten Sooners (5-0) took a 24-18 lead after one quarter, then broke it open by outscoring the Cavaliers 20-9 to take a 44-27 halftime lead. Virginia went scoreless for six minutes in the second quarter.

Verhulst hit from distance to open the second quarter and knocked down her second a minute later to put Oklahoma up 32-20. Kaydan Lawson answered with a 3 for Virginia but the Cavaliers were scoreless until Lawton converted a layup with 2:05 left to make it 42-25.

Vann was 3 of 5 from distance and Verhulst was 4 of 6 to finish with 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Sahara Williams had 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Lexy Keys had 11 points. Aubrey Jones had 12 points off the bench.

Camryn Taylor led Virginia (3-1) with 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and had a pair of steals. Olivia McGhee had 14 points and grabbed five boards and London Clarkson had 13 points.

Oklahoma travels to Fort Myers, Florida, and faces Princeton on Thursday in a first-round game at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Virginia takes on Tulane in a first-round game of the Cayman Islands Classic on Friday.

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Rogers throws 3 TD passes, runs for another score as North Texas beats Tulsa

Chandler Rogers threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead North Texas over Tulsa 35-28 on Saturday.

Rogers was 19 of 31 for 294 yards to help the Mean Green (4-7, 2-5 American Athletic Conference) snap a four-game losing streak while the Golden Hurricane (3-8, 1-6) lost their sixth straight.

Oscar Adaway III rushed for 126 yards with a score and Ayo Adeyi added 121 on 16 carries with the Mean Green finishing with 299 yards rushing and 593 yards total offense. Damon Ward, Landon Sides and Jordan Smart had TD catches.

Kirk Francis was 17-of-34 passing for 251 yards and three scores with an interception for Tulsa. Anthony Watkins ran for 115 yards on 21 carries with a score. Kamdyn Benjamin, Carl Chester and Nick Rempert had touchdown catches. Tulsa finished with 434 yards offense.

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Texas stays alone atop Big 12 after pulling away from Iowa State

Quinn Ewers passed for 281 yards and two touchdowns and No. 7 Texas pulled away from Iowa State for a 26-16 victory.

The win keeps the Longhorns alone atop the Big 12 standings and moves them closer to the conference championship game.

Ewers completed 23 of 33 passes and C.J. Baxter rushed for 117 yards, helping Texas extend its winning streak to five after an Oct. 7 loss to Oklahoma.

Rocco Becht threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns for Iowa State but the Cyclones netted only 9 yards rushing and averaged less than a half-yard per carry.

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Extra points

Kansas State 31, Kansas 27: Will Howard threw two touchdown passes and ran for the go-ahead score, and No. 23 Kansas State took advantage of two special teams blunders by rival Kansas for a 31-27 win. It was the Wildcats' 15th consecutive victory in the Sunflower Showdown. They kept alive their chances of defending their Big 12 title in part by turning a blocked extra point into a 2-point return and a muffed punt into the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. Devin Neal ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns for the Jayhawks, who started former walk-on Cole Ballard at quarterback because of injuries.

Texas Tech 24, UCF 23: Tahj Brooks ran for a career-high 182 yards while powering a game-clinching drive after E’Maurion Banks blocked a potential tying extra-point kick, and Texas Tech rallied for a 24-23 victory over UCF. Behren Morton threw for two touchdowns in the home finale as the Red Raiders won their third consecutive game in a battle for bowl eligibility. The Knights are making their Big 12 debut and will have to win at home against Houston next weekend to secure an eighth consecutive season of bowl eligibility. UCF couldn't hold a 14-0 lead.

Washington 22, Oregon St. 20: Michael Penix Jr. threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and No. 5 Washington remained undefeated and clinched a spot in the Pac-12 championship game with a 22-20 victory over No. 10 Oregon State on Saturday. It was the final Pac-12 game at Reser Stadium as the conference currently stands. The Pac-12 collapsed over the summer, leaving Oregon State and Washington State as the lone remaining teams. Rome Odunze caught seven passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskies, who have won 18 straight games.

South Carolina 17, Kentucky 14: Spencer Rattler completed 19 of 27 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns and Xavier Legette caught nine of those passes for 94 yards as South Carolina beat Kentucky 17-14 on Saturday night. The Gamecocks (5-6, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) started November in a big hole, but three straight wins have left them on the cusp of a bowl bid if they can beat bitter rival Clemson next week. The Wildcats (6-5, 3-5) have lost five of six since starting the season 5-0.

Missouri 33, Florida 31: Harrison Mevis kicked a 30-yard field goal with five seconds remaining, and Brady Cook completed 20 of 34 passes for 326 yards and a touchdown to help No. 11 Missouri rally past Florida 33-31. Cody Schrader carried the ball 23 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, Luther Burden III caught nine passes for 158 yards, and Mevis converted all four of his field goal attempts as Missouri narrowly avoided losing to an unranked opponent for the first time this season. Gators starting quarterback Graham Mertz exited with a non-displaced collarbone fracture with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.

Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 17: Braelon Allen scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run in overtime to lift Wisconsin to a 24-17 win against Nebraska. Nebraska’s Chubba Purdy threw an interception to Preston Zachman to end the game. Allen ran for two touchdowns and Tanner Mordecai threw a touchdown pass for the Badgers (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten), who snapped a three-game losing streak and is bowl eligible for the 22nd straight season. Only Georgia and Oklahoma have longer active bowl streaks. Purdy inished 15-of-23 passing for 169 yards and with 105 yards rushing on 14 carries for Nebraska (5-6, 3-5).

Georgia Tech 31, Syracuse 22: Haynes King threw two touchdown passes and added a 19-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter as Georgia Tech stopped Syracuse’s comeback to beat the Orange 31-22 and become bowl eligible for the first time in five years. Jamal Haynes’ 30-yard scoring run to open the second half gave Georgia Tech a 24-3 lead. Syracuse did not have a player listed as a quarterback take a snap in the first half. The Orange still closed the deficit to 24-22 on three second-half scoring runs, one by Dan Villari and two by LeQuint Allen Jr., who ran for 120 yards.

—Wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball: Sooners beat Virginia