NORMAN — Skylar Vann didn’t start OU’s Big 12 Tournament opener against TCU last week.

But, like so many times over the past two seasons especially, Vann was in the mix in the final minutes, hitting the game-winning shot in the Sooners’ quarterfinal win.

Over the past two seasons, the Deer Creek product has embraced the sixth-woman role, coming off the bench to consistently give the Sooners a spark.

OU coach Jennie Baranczyk has little doubt Vann will continue to do the same in the NCAA Tournament, which the fifth-seeded Sooners begin at 8 p.m. Saturday against 12th-seeded Portland in Los Angeles.

Baranczyk’s philosophy and tempo add importance to the first player off the bench.

“We put a lot on that sixth player,” Baranczyk said. “When you come in, you’ve got to bring something and change the game, whatever it is. Sometimes it’s scoring, sometimes it’s going to be rebounding, sometimes it’s just the all-out effort.

“Skylar has all of those things.”

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Vann has come off the bench in all 31 games this season for the Sooners (25-6). Over the last two seasons, she’s started just once.

It’s a role Vann welcomes.

“I’ve been ready to do whatever my coaches need me to do,” Vann said. “So I embrace whatever that is. Me not starting, I embrace it. If I started, I would embrace it.

Last season, it took a bit of time for Vann to find her role, but this season she’s been much more steady.

“I have more confidence now with what to expect,” Vann said. “There was a huge change, new coaches, last year so I think that added to the adjustment.

“But I think I’ve found a true comfort. I just know what to do. I know what Jennie needs from me. I know what my team needs from me.”

Vann grew up watching the NCAA Tournament.

It’s hard not to, growing up in a basketball family.

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Her father, Bryatt, played two seasons for the Sooners, helping them make the NCAA Tournament in 1992 under Billy Tubbs.

“He told me it was truly a fun time and a fun thing to be a part of,” Skylar Vann said. “You only get to experience the tournament so many times in your life and it’s not a guarantee.

“He always said you have to have a whole different mindset in that situation.”

Now, it’s Skylar who has more NCAA Tournament experience.

Bryatt Vann came off the bench for the Sooners in that 1992 tournament, when they were knocked off in the first round by Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana). He played just four minutes in that loss.

Last season, Skylar Vann averaged 12 points and seven rebounds in two NCAA Tournament games after suffering an injury in the Big 12 Tournament.

Baranczyk understands the pride and the pressure Vann is under.

“I was an Iowa kid that got to play for Iowa. She’s an Oklahoma kid that gets to play for Oklahoma,” Baranczyk said. “So it already means something. Then when your dad played as well, it’s got to be incredibly special. You just see a lot of pride in the jersey.”

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Vann had to remake her game when she arrived in Norman after signing with then-Sooners coach Sherri Coale.

“I’m not one of the tallest players on the court like in high school, when I was always (the tallest) pretty much,” the 6-foot-0 Vann said. “Sometimes there’d be some girls bigger than me, but most of the time they weren’t.

“Here, I think I have to be creative and maybe have to take that extra dribble, shot-fake and things. … I have to read my defender more than I ever had to in high school. The other thing is, I’m stretching out my scoring with the threes and mid-range.”

For the second consecutive season, Vann earned Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year honors.

She comes into Saturday’s game averaging 11.5 points and 6.7 rebounds.

But Baranczyk said her contributions are much bigger than even what those numbers show.

“I love the simplicity that Skylar plays with,” Baranczyk said. “Skylar was very similar this season as our team — there’s all this expectation now. She had such a great season a year ago. She steps in this year and is just feeling it. She feels it for her state. She’s from here. She wants to be so good. She wants the team to be so good.”

OU vs. Portland

TIPOFF: 8 p.m. Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles (ESPNU)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball: Skylar Vann embraces bench role for Sooners