SEC women’s basketball officials know that rivalry games are supposed to be physical, right?

Any time Longhorns and Sooners get together, there’s going to be some hollering, pushing and shoving, be it on the ball fields or grocery store aisles. Oklahoma fans throw the Horns Down, Texas fans act all nonplussed about it. Everybody knows the deal.

Texas coach Vic Schaefer and OU’s Jennie Baranczyk both deserve bonuses for keeping a cool façade during the whistle-fest that was Thursday night’s SEC opener at Lloyd Noble Center.

Good grief, the whistles. Still, No. 5 Texas dug out of a 12-point hole and won 80-73 in its SEC opener over No. 9 OU. The Horns snapped the Sooners’ 16-game home winning streak and wiped away any lasting memory of last season’s crimson-and-cream season sweep.

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“I couldn’t be more proud of my group, my team, these young ladies. Boy, they were tough tonight,” Schaefer said. “They just showed so much perseverance and toughness. We talked about going on the road, and you’ve gotta choose courage over comfort.

“That’s a hell of a team over there.”

Said Baranczyk: “This one is gonna sting for a really long time.”

How wild was it? This game featured 54 fouls and 55 made baskets. Five players finished with four fouls. UT’s Shay Holle got her money’s worth; she fouled out with seven minutes to go.

Schaefer was going over the foul troubles and noted, “I think everybody was at some point.”

Late in the third quarter, UT’s Kyla Oldacre got tied up with two Sooners on a held ball and one hit the deck. Officials were at the scorers’ table looking at the replay monitor with paper and pencil in hand, apparently doing long-hand algebra. Even ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo was shouting over replays, “That was a bunch of nothing!”

The stoppage lasted for 12 minutes. “Was it 12 minutes? God almighty,” Schaefer said. “I can’t imagine what people are doing that are trying to watch it on TV. Yes, it’s a bathroom break and go get a cold one out the fridge, I don’t know.”

Texas (14-1, 1-0 SEC) got balanced scoring across the board, with Jordan Lee notching a team-high 17 points before leaving with an apparent left ankle injury. Rori Harmon put in 16 points with eight rebounds while Taylor Jones got eight of her 14 in the fourth quarter.

“We went to Taylor late, and boy she delivered,” Schaefer said.

The Sooners (12-2, 0-1) got 23 points from Payton Verhulst, who was 7-for-23 shooting but also 1-for-11 from 3-point range. OU was a woeful 2-for-16 beyond the arc while Texas focused on going inside for 26 points in the paint.

Baranczyk couldn’t believe her Sooners had 27 turnovers. “We just needed to be better receivers, and that one’s going to sting and I hope we get better from that,” Baranczyk said. “I’m really disappointed in us. Obviously, that starts with me, and we’ve got to have better focus.”

Schaefer’s Horns return home for two games against Arkansas (Sunday) and No. 19 Alabama (Thursday) before going on the road for a mega-matchup at No. 2 South Carolina.

“Bunch of sharks swimming around in these waters,” Schaefer said. “You better understand how tough and physical this league is. And you gotta match it.”