Oklahoma Sooners lose to No. 4 UCLA 73-59

The Oklahoma Sooners traveled to the West Coast for a top-10 showdown with the No. 4 UCLA Bruins in Sacramento on Monday night. The Sooners battled in the first half, but the more experienced Bruins took over in the second 20 minutes for the 73-59 win.

Oklahoma struggled with UCLA's interior presence as OU forward Raegan Beers had a hard time getting going against Bruins forward Lauren Betts. Beers, an All-SEC selection, was just 2 of 7 from the field for seven points. She did have 14 rebounds in the game.

The Sooners were only outscored by two in the paint, but UCLA had a plus-7 margin in second-chance points. Combine that with a difficult night from the field for OU, and it led to the Sooners' first loss of the season.

Oklahoma shot just 31% from the field and 25% from three, while the Bruins made 40% of their attempts and shot 36% from beyond the arc. Oklahoma only trailed by five at halftime, but shot 24.3% from the field and were just 1 of 8 from three in the second half.

The Oklahoma Sooners are playing a number of underclassmen early and often, as Jennie Baranczyk looks to develop Oklahoma's depth. True freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez was just 4 of 16 from the field for 11 points, but did a great job with the ball in her hands. She had three assists and no turnovers in 32 minutes.

Oklahoma was led in scoring by Payton Verhulst with 16 points. She was 7 of 17 from the field and had three rebounds and four assists.

Oklahoma will grow from the loss and have an opportunity to get right on Wednesday when they welcome Kansas City to town.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma Sooners lose 73-59 to UCLA Bruins in top 10 matchup