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Chavez scores 18 points and No. 16 Oklahoma women finish strong to hold off Auburn 72-65

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 points and No. 16 Oklahoma avoided a big upset, defeating Auburn 72-65 on Sunday.

The Sooners, coming off a 94-82 overtime win over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, were locked in a battle with the unranked Tigers until finishing the game with a 13-6 run over the final minutes.

Auburn’s A’riel Jackson scored seven points early in the fourth quarter and Harissoum Coulibaly’s layup tied the score at 57-all with six minutes remaining. Another Coulibaly layup made it 59-59 with 4:50 remaining but the Tigers managed only six points the rest of the game.

Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers scored 13 points each for Oklahoma (16-4, 4-3 SEC) and Brooklyn Stewart added 12 off the bench.

Jackson scored 19 points off the bench, Mya Petticord and Ja’Mia Harris 12 each, and Coulibaly 10 for Auburn (13-8, 2-5).

Oklahoma scored the last seven points of the first quarter to take a 19-12 lead. Jackson scored the first five points of the second quarter to get the Tigers within two points. Later in the quarter, a 6-0 run gave the Tigers their first lead of the game, 27-25.

Consecutive 3-pointers by a Chavez got the Sooners going again and they went on to lead 35-30 at halftime.

Petticord scored Auburn’s first eight points of the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Sooners from extending their lead to 47-38. The Sooners’ lead was 51-41 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the quarter but Auburn closed to within 53-48 entering the fourth.

Up next

Oklahoma: The Sooners host Texas A&M on Thursday

Auburn: The Tigers host South Carolina on Thursday ___

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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