No. 23 Oklahoma women bounce back with a 95-87 victory over Cincinnati

CINCINNATI — Skylar Vann scored 22 points, and Lexy Keys and Sahara Williams each added 17 points to help No. 23 Oklahoma beat Cincinnati 95-87 on Tuesday night.

Oklahoma (19-7, 13-2 Big 12) bounced back after losing for the first time since Jan. 10, ending a nine-game winning streak on Saturday against No. 24 West Virginia.

Oklahoma scored the opening seven points of the game and never trailed against Cincinnati — leading by as many as 22 points with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

Oklahoma was ahead 93-74 with 3:15 left, but Cincinnati scored the next 13 points to force the Sooners to bring back their starters. A’riel Jackson scored six points during the run, capped by two free throws with 22.7 seconds left. Nevaeh Tot went 1 of 2 from the stripe with 13.1 seconds left for a three-possession lead at 94-87.

Aubrey Joens was held to 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 1 of 10 from 3-point range, for Oklahoma. Keys went over the 1,000-point mark for her career.

Jillian Hayes, in her 103rd career start, paced Cincinnati (12-14, 4-11) with 20 points. Hayes also reached 800 career rebounds. Malea Williams, who scored 10 of Cincinnati’s opening 15 points, finished with 18 points. Jackson also scored 18.

Vann scored 12 points in the first half as Oklahoma held a 44-37 lead.

Oklahoma returns home to play Oklahoma State on Saturday. Cincinnati plays a road game against Texas Tech on Saturday.

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