3 Things To Know About Princeton Before The Cowgirls' First-Round Matchup

The Pokes are set to start their tournament run on Saturday, with the Ivy League champs standing in their way.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls head coach Jacie Hoyt reacts after a score against Iowa State during the second quarter in the senior day women basketball at Hilton Coliseum on February. 25, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cowgirls are going into their first-round matchup blind. 

Oklahoma State is matched up against Princeton in the first round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament, and the Cowgirls don’t know much about the Tigers. Princeton plays in the Ivy League and never faced OSU this year, and didn’t face any of the Pokes opponents either. 

The Cowgirls will have to go off of film and stats to properly assess the Tigers, in hopes of shutting them down come Saturday. Princeton is in the tournament for a reason, and won’t just let the Pokes beat them, so OSU must be ready for whatever is thrown at them. 

Here are three things to know about Princeton going into the Cowgirls' first-round matchup. 

1. Princeton knows how to win

Whether it was against Ivy League opponents or not, Princeton had a dominant regular season. The Tigers went 26-3, winning both the conference regular season title and tournament. This record was so dominant that the Tigers are ranked No. 23 in the nation. 

The Tigers' only losses of the season were to ranked Maryland and Columbia. Princeton fell to Columbia twice in conference play, but didn’t lose any other game to a conference opponent. The Tigers enter the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game win streak and are looking to extend that as deep into March as possible. 

2. They aren’t battle-tested

The Cowgirls went throughout this season playing the best the nation has to offer in the Big 12. They saw the likes of TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech and more. Princeton, however, has not seen this level of talent. 

The Tigers played Maryland early this season, but other than that, they haven’t run into a single ranked opponent all year. They are the only Ivy League school to receive a bid to the big dance, and they don’t seem to have the resume to make a run in the tournament. 

3. Madison St. Rose can hoop

The senior guard has led the Tigers all season and has put up good numbers in the process. Rose leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game on 48.1% shooting. Scoring isn’t all she does, as she’s also averaging 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a little over one steal per game as well. 

The Tigers will be leaning on Rose on Saturday, in hopes she can lead them past the Cowgirl defense. Oklahoma State will have to be ready to shut Rose down, or else OSU’s first tournament game could be its last.