Up-tempo Oklahoma sends Idaho women’s basketball packing in NCAA Tournament
The University of Idaho women’s basketball team tried to keep pace with the nation’s third-highest-scoring offense.
For a time, the Vandals held their own.
But fourth-seeded Oklahoma eventually out-paced the 13th-seeded Vandals of the Big Sky, racing to an 89-59 victory on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Sooners, ranked 10th in the final Associated Press poll of the season, draw No. 5 Michigan State on Sunday in the second round.
“They’re a top 10 team in the country for a reason. They made the Sweet 16 last year, so we knew it was going to be an uphill battle,” Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said. “It’s those type of games that you almost have to play perfect to be able to pull an upset. And we fell a little short. But again, I was really proud of our fight.”
Four Sooners finished in double figures, led by 6-foot-4 senior center and All-SEC selection Raegan Beers, who notched her 21st double-double of the season with 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots. Oklahoma shot 50.7% from the floor and racked up 38 points in the paint.
Idaho held an 11-9 lead with 4:46 left in the first quarter after redshirt senior forward Debora dos Santos sank a 3-pointer. But the Vandals would never lead again.
Oklahoma used a 7-0 run late in the first quarter for a double-digit advantage and then outscored Idaho 30-16 in the second quarter for a 57-35 lead at the half.
The Sooners (25-7) extended their lead to as many as 39 points, holding the Vandals to just three points in the third quarter.
“We like to play fast, but that was a whole different ball game,” Moreira said. “They were fast. We tried to kind of keep up with them in the beginning, until the first media (timeout) it was looking OK, and then they just took over.”
The loss ended Idaho’s program-record 18-game winning streak, and the Vandals (29-6) also finished with a program-best 29 wins following a Big Sky Tournament championship win last week over Montana State at Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise.
The Vandals were making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016.
Senior guard Kyra Gardner paced Idaho with 19 points, and junior guard Hope Hassmann added 12 points for the Vandals, who shot just 24.7% from the floor and 21.7% from 3-point range.
“We did something that Idaho has never done before,” Hassmann said. “We broke so many records, and I’m just so happy to be a part of the team with so many special girls. But I’m also excited to come back next year and now just knowing we set the standard for Idaho basketball, and this is our goal that we’re going to strive for every single year and continue to break more records in the future.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 10:42 PM.
