{
  "id": 17645725,
  "title": "Sooners open season in Paris with expected sophomore leap from Aaliyah Chavez",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/sooners-open-season-in-paris-with-expected-sophomore-leap-from",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-01T17:33:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sooners-open-season-paris-expected-173300583.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Oklahoma women’s basketball begins its 2023 season with a high-profile neutral-site game in Paris, France, against No. 12 North Carolina. Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk expressed interest in playing major teams like Michigan, North Carolina, and UCLA in nonconference games to boost name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities and showcase star players. Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez, who had an exceptional freshman season with 18.4 points per game, is expected to make significant strides in her second year. Baranczyk believes Chavez will improve in aspects such as her field-goal percentage and involving her teammates more. The Sooners' roster is predominantly young, with 10 underclassmen, including six expected to start or have a significant role off the bench. This young core, led by senior Sahara Williams, aims to grow and learn together throughout the season.",
  "summary": "Neutral-site, high-profile nonconference matchups are the new norm in college basketball — and the Sooners begin their season with one nearly 5,000 miles away. No. 21 Oklahoma women’s basketball opens the season Monday at 1:30 on ESPN2 against No. 12 North Carolina in the Oui-Play season-opener in Paris, France. It’s one of OU’s five neutral-site games this season and most of those ...",
  "key_points": [
    "Oklahoma Sooners begin 2023 season in Paris against No. 12 North Carolina.",
    "Sophomore Aaliyah Chavez expected to leap in playmaking and team involvement.",
    "Young roster with 10 underclassmen, six projected starters."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}