Cowgirl Basketball Gets Back on Track With Dominant Win vs. Houston
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Oklahoma State got back in the win column with a dominant performance.
On Saturday, OSU women’s basketball beat Houston 83-52 to move to 13-3 this season. Coming off a loss at home against Baylor on New Year’s Eve, the Cowgirls responded in a big way, showing off their strengths throughout the afternoon.
While OSU was able to win the game convincingly, it was certainly a bit of an ugly and sometimes sloppy affair. The Cowgirls and Cougars combined for 39 turnovers, with OSU converting 22 points off the 22 turnovers it forced.
As with just about any other game from a Jacie Hoyt-coached team, the Cowgirls wanted to run. While they only ended up with 13 fast break points, they certainly had their fair share of easy shots, making 21 of their 25 layups against a porous Cougar defense.
The Cowgirls built up their lead in the first half partially because of their hot shooting, nailing 7-of-15 from deep before halftime. Of course, they would cool off in the final 20 minutes, making just one three coming out of the locker room, but they still managed to have a 50% shooting day overall.
In forcing 22 turnovers, the Cowgirls were obviously applying some pressure that Houston couldn’t quite handle, but even when the Cougars got shots up, they failed to convert. OSU held Houston to 20-of-59 from the floor and 4-of-12 from deep.
Micah Gray and Jadyn Wooten led the charge for the Cowgirls’ offense, with each scoring 21 points. Overall, OSU had five players in double-digit scoring, with Achol Akot’s all-around excellence playing a huge role in the win. She finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
While Akot’s four blocks were easily a game-high, she was one of four Cowgirls to get multiple steals on Saturday, with Amari Whiting and Wooten each getting three to lead the team. With such dominance on both ends, the Cowgirls reminded the Big 12 just how dangerous they can be when everything is clicking.
Of course, OSU will need everything to click the next time it takes the floor as it heads to Fort Worth for a matchup against No. 8 TCU on Wednesday. Last season, OSU upset the Horned Frogs in Stillwater, but facing a 14-1 team on the road will be a much more difficult task for Hoyt’s squad.
Considering OSU still has aspirations to compete with the best in the Big 12, that matchup could be another great measuring stick for the Cowgirls.
Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.