Oklahoma
PARIS (11/01/2026) — Behind a game-high 25 points from LeeLee Bell and a decisive third-quarter surge, the Oklahoma Sooners pulled away from the North Carolina Tar Heels 91-79 on Sunday at Adidas Arena in front of 5,000 fans.
The Sooners shot 44 percent from the field and knocked down 36 percent of their three-point attempts in a game that featured 21 made threes between the two teams. Oklahoma also controlled the glass, outrebounding North Carolina 53-48, and turned a one-point halftime edge into a double-digit cushion with a dominant third quarter.
How It Happened
Oklahoma came out firing from deep. Sahara Williams buried a 27-foot three off a Keziah Lofton assist at the 9:38 mark of the first quarter, and Bell followed with a 28-footer 32 seconds later for a quick 6-0 lead.
North Carolina answered with a barrage of its own. Kate Harpring and Nyla Brooks hit back-to-back threes, and Achol Akot scored seven straight points for the Tar Heels — a driving layup, a 27-foot three off a Reniya Kelly assist, and a push that flipped the game to a 14-9 North Carolina lead. Sophie Burrows stretched it to 17-11 before Jordan Speiser's 28-foot three off a Bell assist put Oklahoma back in front 18-17. Akot's free throw with 24 seconds left gave the Tar Heels a 19-18 edge after one.
North Carolina kept the pressure on early in the second quarter. Akot's layup and threes from Brooks and Gabby White built a 27-21 lead with 7:06 to play in the half. But Oklahoma flipped the quarter with an extended run — by the time Bell drilled a 29-foot three off an Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu assist at 1:40, the Sooners led 38-31. Kelly's late three off a Brooks feed trimmed the deficit, and Caya Smith's free throw sent Oklahoma into the break clinging to a 39-38 lead.
Turning Point
The third quarter decided it. Oklahoma outscored North Carolina 31-14 over the frame, turning a one-point game into a 70-52 lead by the final minute of the period.
Sahara Williams sparked the run with a 27-foot three off an Aaliyah Chavez assist at 7:50, making it 49-42, then added a 25-footer — again set up by Chavez — at 4:53 to push the margin to nine. The exclamation point came with 1:55 left in the quarter, when Chavez rose for a 25-foot step-back three off a Sa'Myah Smith assist to make it 67-51. Ozzy-Momodu's free throw with 57 seconds left capped the surge.
North Carolina never got the margin back under control in the fourth. Brooks opened the period with a 12-foot pullup, but Bell answered with consecutive threes — one off a Chavez assist at 9:02 and another off a Lofton feed at 7:42 — that kept the lead at 18. White's 28-footer off a Harpring assist at 6:04 pulled the Tar Heels within 80-63, but the Sooners closed out the 91-79 win from there.
Star of the Game
Bell was the steadiest force on the floor, finishing with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists while hitting four of Oklahoma's threes in the scoring plays — two early to set the tone and two late to shut the door. Williams added 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Chavez filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and a team-high 6 assists, several of them setting up Williams' biggest third-quarter buckets.
For North Carolina, Harpring led the way with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, repeatedly creating open looks for teammates. Akot contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds, Kelly handed out 7 assists to go with 11 points, and Brooks chipped in 13 points.
What It Means
Oklahoma showed it can win a high-level matchup even on an uneven night with the ball — the Sooners committed 21 turnovers but overcame them with superior shooting (44 percent to North Carolina's 34), a 53-48 rebounding edge, and 23 assists that reflected how willingly the ball moved. The Bell-Williams-Chavez trio combined for 61 points, giving the Sooners a balanced scoring core.
North Carolina will take encouragement from its ball movement — 22 assists and 7 from Kelly alone — and from Harpring's shot creation. But the Tar Heels' 34 percent shooting, including 28 percent from three, left too little margin against an Oklahoma team that made them pay in one 10-minute stretch. The third quarter was the whole story: even in a game with only 2 lead changes and 3 ties, one period of separation proved insurmountable.
