GREENVILLE, S.C. — Raegan Beers had 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and 10th-ranked, fifth-seeded Oklahoma extended its winning streak to eight games by opening its first Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament with a 70-52 win over 12th-seeded Georgia.
Oklahoma’s victory sets up a rematch at 2:30 p.m. Friday with 12th-ranked fourth-seeded Kentucky (22-6), which was the road team when it handed the Sooners (24-6) their most recent loss, 95-86 on Feb. 2 in Norman. That victory proved to be a key tiebreaker, allowing the Wildcats to earn the last remaining double bye into the SEC quarterfinals over the Sooners after the teams finished tied for fourth in conference play.
Oklahoma and Texas left the Big 12 last summer, and their additions made this the first 16-team SEC women’s basketball bracket.
Liz Scott added 11 points and eight rebounds, while Zya Vann had 10 points and five assists for the Sooners against Georgia (13-19), which was paced by Trinity Turner’s 12 points. Turner was joined in double-digit scoring by teammates Roxane Makolo (11 points) and De’Mauri Flournoy (10).
The Lady Bulldogs had no answer for Beers’ size in the low post, and the Sooners were content to take advantage, repeatedly pounding the ball inside to the 6-foot-4 junior, who transferred from Oregon State last year after two seasons with the Beavers. Georgia cut the lead to two late in the second quarter, but Beers scored inside to ignite a 7-0 run, and the game was never close again.
Beers finished 9-of-14 from the floor and had eight points in the third quarter, including a buzzer-beating shot off the glass as Oklahoma took a 15-point lead into the final period.
Despite having plenty of open looks, the Lady Dogs shot just 28% from the field and finished 4-for-20 from 3-point range.
The Sooners did a great job of sharing the basketball, finishing with 27 assists on 29 made baskets. Their inside dominance also showed up defensively as they blocked 10 shots.
Ole Miss 85, Mississippi State 73
Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams scored 20 points apiece as seventh-seeded Ole Miss beat 10th-seeded Mississippi State in a matchup of state rivals, with the Rebels reaching the 20-win mark for the fourth consecutive season and advancing to the SEC quarterfinals for the fifth year in a row.
Ole Miss (20-9), which had a bye into Thursday’s second round, will play top-ranked, second-seeded Texas (29-2) in Friday’s third quarterfinal at 6 p.m. The Rebels faced Texas once in the regular season, losing 61-58 on Jan. 26 in Austin when SEC player of the year Madison Booker hit a jump shot with 13 seconds remaining, the winning basket as the Longhorns wiped out an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes.
In Greenville, the Rebels beat Mississippi State (21-11) for the second time this season, having topped the host Bulldogs 71-63 on Jan. 19 in Starkville.
In the tournament rematch, Ole Miss put together a 9-for-11 shooting sequence that bridged the first two quarters and closed the first half on a 7-0 run to take a 42-35 lead into the break. Tameiya Sadler, Scott and Todd-Williams each scored nine points in the first 20 minutes.
Ole Miss led the entire third quarter and scored the opening four points of the fourth for a 69-56 lead. The Bulldogs never got closer than a nine-point deficit after that.
Madina Okot had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Mississippi State, Jerkaila Jordan also scored 14, and Destiney McPhaul added 11 as Chandler Prater and Eniya Russell chipped in 10 apiece.
Sira Thienou had 13 points and Christeen Iwuala scored 11 in reserve roles for the Rebels, who scored 20 points off 21 turnovers by the Bulldogs.
Florida 63, Alabama 61
Florida freshman Liv McGill scored 11 of her season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter, and the 11th-seeded Gators (16-16) beat 19th-ranked, sixth-seeded Alabama (23-8) in Thursday’s nightcap, producing the first by-seed upset of this year’s tournament to advance to Friday’s 8:30 p.m. quarterfinal against ninth-ranked, third-seeded LSU (27-4).
The Tigers will be taking the court for the time since dropping back-to-back games to Alabama last week and Ole Miss last Sunday to close the regular season.
Florida, which defeated 14th-seeded Auburn on Wednesday, beat a ranked team for the first time since 2022 by taking down the Crimson Tide, which fell to 0-8 this season when trailing after three quarters.
McGill made two free throws with 49 seconds remaining to give Florida a 61-53 lead, but Sarah Ashlee Barker and Zaay Green hit 3-pointers for Alabama, and Barker’s layup capped an 8-1 run as the Tide pulled within a point with 16 seconds left. Laila Reynolds made the second of two free throws for the Gators, then blocked a shot by Barker at the buzzer to preserve the victory.
Diana Collins missed a 3-point try for the Tide prior to the block.
McGill was 10-for-17 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range, and was 6-for-8 at the foul line. Ra Shaya Kyle added 12 points and six rebounds, and Reynolds totaled 10 points — on 4-for-18 shooting — and six rebounds.
Barker paced Alabama with 24 points and eight rebounds, Aaliyah Nye had 13 points, Green scored 11, and Karly Weathers had 10 rebounds and as many assists to go with six points.