NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 6 Oklahoma took control late to beat Belmont 84-67 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams.
Beers switched from the No. 52 she wore last season to the No. 15 she wore at Oregon State before transferring two seasons ago. She made 13 of 17 shots and fell one point short of her career high.
Oklahoma freshman Aaliyah Chavez, a consensus five-star recruit, scored 16 points on 5-for-18 shooting in her debut. Payton Verhulst and Sahara Williams each scored 11 points for the Sooners.
Jailyn Banks scored 16 points, Sanaa Tripp scored 13 and Hilary Fuller added 12 for Belmont, the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference.
Chavez made her mark early. Her first assist was a pass to Verhulst for a 3-pointer. Chavez missed her first two shots before making a 2-point jumper that put the Sooners up 7-0.
Oklahoma pushed the lead to 14-0 before Belmont finally scored with 4:31 left in the first quarter. The Bruins missed their first seven shots.
Oklahoma led 26-16 at the end of the first quarter, and Chavez hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to put the Sooners up 46-34 at the break.
Belmont dominated the early part of the second half and took a 54-51 lead on a 3-pointer by Tripp.
Chavez put the Sooners back up 55-54 with a pull-up jumper. Oklahoma held Belmont scoreless for the final 3:27 of the period to take a 58-54 advantage into the fourth.
Oklahoma took charge in the final period with an 8-0 run that included two buckets from Beers to go up 70-60. The Sooners held Belmont to 4-for-18 shooting in the final 10 minutes.
Belmont hosts Brown on Friday.
Oklahoma visits No. 3 UCLA on Nov. 10.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
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