Lexy Keys' late 3-pointer lifts OU past Texas to win Big 12 title

Lexy Keys was in the perfect spot as the clock raced toward zero and OU desperately needed a bucket.

The senior guard had feet set ready to fire, standing a foot behind the three-point line and a few feet in front of the Oklahoma bench. The ball somehow found its way to her, thanks to a heroic effort from senior forward Skylar Vann, who saved it from going out of bounds. With the ball in her hands, Keys didn’t hesitate. She let it fly. Nothing but net. Oklahoma leads.

Then, other the end, Vann, with another heroic effort, blocked Texas star Madison Booker to seal a 71-70 win over No. 3 Texas, clinching OU’s second consecutive Big 12 title. It’s the first time since 2006-2007 that Oklahoma has won back-to-back regular season conference titles.

“Honestly, I think I ended up in the right place at the right time,” Keys said. “But I think as a team, we just kept playing hard. And we’ve been talking in practice — just finish plays. I think that was a gutsy win on everyone’s part. I just happened to be there.”

Time and again Wednesday night, OU responded. The Sooners fell behind 11 after the first quarter. They trailed by as many as 13 in the second quarter before making it a one-point game. They trailed by 12 in the third before cutting it to six before the fourth. And they trailed by as many as 12 again in the fourth before coming all the way back, again.

OU was led by junior Payton Verhulst, who scored 18 points. Keys added 16, including two threes in the fourth quarter, each giving Oklahoma the lead with less than four minutes to play.

“I think it just shows the trust we have in each other,” Verhulst said. “You know, we were down — Skylar went down with an injury and we didn’t know if she was coming back or not. So just kind of double down and trust each other. Trust the people we had there and trust the play calls we had and trust our defense. I felt like we have worked all year on trust and building our chemistry and so that’s what we can rely on in games like that.”

Oklahoma’s win should propel them into the Big 12 and NCAA Tournament, with only one regular season game remaining. Wednesday’s win was OU’s best of the season. There are many that believe Texas is a true title contender this season, as the Longhorns are currently projected as a No. 1 seed.

But there are few teams in the country playing as well as OU right now. They’ve been on a tear since the end of non-conference play. And it’s a credit to the way coach Jennie Baranczyk hasn’t wavered as a coach.

“They execute. They have great chemistry. It’s like playing an NBA team. They can all shoot it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “You have to really try and limit the things they want to do and how they want to do it… Jennie’s a heck of a coach.”

In three years, Baranczyk has completely turned around the women’s basketball program. They’re going to make the tournament three consecutive seasons and have already won two Big 12 titles. Baranczyk is still searching to make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time in her career, falling one win short each of the past two seasons.

But it’s clear the improvement this program has made under her direction. And will continue to make. Wednesday’s win is just another example of how she’s changed the culture.

“I’m really proud that we didn’t quit in December,” an emotional Baranczyk said. “And when I say ‘we’ — the players aren’t going to quit. They’re going to follow whatever we do. When it’s ‘we’ it’s not just as a coach. It’s our academic advisor, it’s our athletic trainer, it’s our strength coach, it’s our marketing people. You name it, the number of people that impact our girls on a daily basis. And when things like that don’t go well, people don’t talk well.

“We stayed together to allow them to grow and to keep going… A lot of people had us packing our bags in December… We don’t care about what other people think.”