Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star guard Jalen Williams watches reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander go to work night after night as his point guard, but he was still in awe of the incredible performance he witnessed from Oklahoma's leading woman on Thursday night.
Williams was sitting courtside at Lloyd Noble Center as star freshman Aaliyah Chavez had the biggest moment in her young career (so far) while leading the No. 16 Sooners to a 94-82 overtime upset over No. 2 South Carolina. The marquee win also halted a three-game SEC losing streak for the Sooners to reassert themselves as national contenders.
Aaliyah Chavez goes off in Oklahoma's upset of South Carolina
Thunder wing Jalen Williams here in Norman watching the OU women play South Carolina tonight pic.twitter.com/XU3lqoGlfX
— The Daniel Bell© (@BasketballGuruD) January 23, 2026
Game recognize game. @AALIYAH2CHAVEZ 🤝 @jdubwttp pic.twitter.com/MghRE3nMBB
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_WBBall) January 23, 2026
Chavez not only led all scorers with 26 points while playing 39 minutes against South Carolina, but the freshman was flawless in overtime while handling the pressure like a seasoned veteran. She made all five of her shot attempts and scored 15 points in the short five-minute overtime period to boost the Sooners to their upset of the No. 2 team in the country.
She also added eight assists and four rebounds to the stat sheet while making five 3-pointers and going 9-of-19 from the field. Four of her made shots from beyond the arc came during overtime.
Arguably the best overtime showing in recent memory. Freshman Aaliyah Chavez dropped 15 points in just five extra minutes to lift her team past the No. 2 squad.
She was completely locked in, knocking down all five of her shot attempts. 😮💨✨ pic.twitter.com/87v3Oq6oLC
— I talk hoops 🏀 (@trendyhoopstars) January 23, 2026
Chavez just got to Oklahoma as a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class out of Lubbock, Texas. Her 247Sports Composite score was a perfect 1.0000. She had such monstrous expectations coming in that OU great Trae Young already put Chavez in the same conversation as the likes of Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins and Caitlin Clark.
So far, Chavez has lived up to the hype while leading the Sooners with 19.2 points a game, and also averages 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals. Those numbers had been quiet so far, but if you didn’t know who Aaliyah Chavez was before Thursday night, you should now, as not just J-Dub took notice, but college basketball fans everywhere, especially Sooner Nation.
Boomer Shooter. https://t.co/jspa9egdrf
— Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) January 23, 2026
AALIYAH CHAVEZ. WE HAVE NO WORDS 😱
WHAT A WIN FOR THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS 🔥 @OU_WBBall pic.twitter.com/0Xk0C6qK8J
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 23, 2026
Aaliyah Chavez, are you kidding me?!?!
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) January 23, 2026
Aaliyah Chavez is ridiculous!!!
Straight up baller!
— Joe Castiglione Jr. (@JoeCJr29) January 23, 2026
C.H.A.V.E.Z. =(C)hase (H)ard (A)fter (V)ictory…(E)ntering the (Z)one‼️ She’s on 🔥🔥🔥 Congrats on the win ‼️ https://t.co/vIQ3Bq3iEM
— Todd Bates (@CoachToddBates) January 23, 2026
YEAH 2!!!! 🔥 🔥 🔥 pic.twitter.com/m9JvkpfMEk
— Tyler Neal (@T_Neal) January 23, 2026
And the star herself.
"I am 2 so WE can be 1 " https://t.co/0e1tM8cYTK
— AALIYAH CHAVEZ (@AALIYAH2CHAVEZ) January 23, 2026