How is OU point guard Nevaeh Tot working to grow from her mother's shadow?

NORMAN — One of the first things Nevaeh Tot told Jennie Baranczyk after Baranczyk was hired as OU’s women’s basketball coach in 2021 was Tot’s desire to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“I want to play like my mom,” Tot said, according to Baranczyk.

It’s a lofty goal.

Tot’s mother, Helen Darling, led Penn State to the 2000 Final Four, winning the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award that year as the nation’s best senior player under 5-foot-8. Darling then went on to a 10-year career in the WNBA with Cleveland, Minnesota, Charlotte and San Antonio.

But in the nearly two years since that initial meeting with Baranczyk, Tot has worked to grow out of her mother’s shadow while not running from it.

And heading into Saturday’s Bedlam matchup at Lloyd Noble Center (6 p.m., ESPN+), Tot is a big reason why the Sooners are ranked 15th and are in sole possession of first place in the Big 12.

More:OU women's basketball routs TCU, extends winning streak to four games

“She’s the coach on the floor and she’s an extension of what we need and she’s a leader,” Baranczyk said. “She’s not focused on her game and her production. She’s focused on the team and what the team needs and you can see that on the floor.”

Tot is averaging 8.6 points, 4.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds for the Sooners (15-2, 5-1 Big 12). All but the rebound mark are career highs for the junior point guard.

Tot grew up watching her mom play.

“I remember her being a leader,” Tot said. “My mom is different from who I am. She’s a much better defender than I was — I am right now.”

Darling was 5-foot-6, so Tot knew she’d have to find ways to overcome a height disadvantage.

But Tot was one of the taller players when she was in elementary school. Her growth slowed dramatically, though, as the players around her sprouted up.

“It kind of was frustrating, but then I was able to look at other people and they became my role models,” Tot said. “If she can do it, then I can do it.”

More:Why OU basketball coach Jennie Baranczyk says Sooners are 'not even close' to potential

At 5-foot-3, Tot is still several inches shy of her mother, but being like her mom still drove Tot.

“I kept trying to be like my mom,” Tot said. “I kept putting pressure on myself because I wanted to follow in her footsteps. But now, my mom told me become my own person, make my own path. So I’m on a journey and I’m doing that right now.”

On a team with plenty of strong leaders — Ana Llanusa, Taylor Robertson, and Madi Williams in particular — Tot has carved out a role there too.

“You can really speak truth to her,” Baranczyk said. “And she’s really coachable, and she can take it. She has a really unique ability to be able to talk to her teammates in a certain way, and to be able to speak that truth and to be able to call them up.”

In one game last season, Baranczyk called a timeout late as things weren’t going the Sooners’ way.

After the huddle broke, Williams offered some encouraging words to her teammates.

“And you need to hit some shots,” Tot replied.

More:Taylor Robertson is closing in on NCAA's 3-point record. Here's how the OU guard got here.

Williams did and the Sooners won.

“Sometimes as high-performing athletes we need that,” Williams said. “It’s always good because I know that it’s coming from a good place from her and I know that she knows I can hit those shots.”

The shift in Tot’s mindset has been gradual.

“What you’ve seen over the last year, probably year and a half is that she’s not really focused on her mom, she’s focused on her own game and kind of finding her own game, which is really cool,” Baranczyk said. “That’s been fun to be able to watch her process through that.”

That doesn’t mean Darling’s influence on her daughter has faded, though.

“She still has a mom that her first question to her is going to be, ‘What’s your assist-to-turnover ratio?’” Baranczyk said. “That doesn’t happen usually with your mom.”

How to watch OU vs. OSU women's basketball

TIPOFF: 6 p.m. Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman (ESPN+)

More:Tramel: Mississippi State makes a special hire in Zac Selmon, who could one day be OU's AD

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU women's basketball: Nevaeh Tot finding her own voice with Sooners