Oklahoma's women's basketball team was the top Power 4 conference rebounding team this season, and the Sooners showed why Saturday. They had an NCAA tournament single-game record 72 rebounds in defeating FGCU 81-58 in the first round.
"A lot of missed shots," Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk joked afterward. "It was a game of pace -- that's part of it, where both teams are really getting up and down. The 23 offensive rebounds means we missed quite a few, but at least we were there to cover them up."
The No. 3 seed Sooners shot 31 of 80 (38.7%) from the field. They were led by junior center Raegan Beers, who had a season-high 18 rebounds. That's the second-most by an Oklahoma player in an NCAA tournament game. Center Courtney Paris, who is the Division I career record holder in rebounds (2,034 from 2005-09), had 20 against Ole Miss in a 2007 Sweet 16 game.
This season, Oklahoma (47.3 RPG) is second only to Troy of the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding average in Division I. Beers is now averaging 9.2 rebounds this season, and senior forward Skylar Vann 4.9. Vann had nine rebounds Saturday; she also had 24 points to Beers' 25, which propelled Oklahoma into a second-round matchup against No. 3 seed Iowa.
"I knew this could be my last game," said Vann, who is in her fifth season at Oklahoma. "I just told myself before the game started, just play with joy. I think we did that, especially in the fourth quarter."
