Cowgirl Basketball Trending in Right Direction After Pair of Home Wins
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Oklahoma State might be putting it all together.
On Monday, OSU continued its recent stretch of good play with a win against Utah. Beating the Utes 73-55 in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater in the weekday afternoon contest, the Cowgirls secured their 10th conference win of the season.
Coming off the heels of an impressive 75-65 win against then-No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday, OSU couldn’t have asked for a much better two-game stretch than this quick homestand. With everything seemingly coming together for the Cowgirls at the right time, it’s hard not to be optimistic about how these two matchups could impact the rest of the season in Stillwater.
While these two wins in three days are certainly a great sign for the direction of the program this season, it also doesn’t mean too much in the big picture. At least not yet.
Over the next couple of weeks, the Cowgirls will have to continue putting together these types of performances against teams on the caliber of both Texas Tech and Utah. If OSU can find ways to win against various levels of opponents, it could roll into March with some real confidence and some warranted belief that it can make the deep run it’s been preparing for all season.
On the other hand, some more tough losses and poor performances against teams OSU is favored against could be another sign that this team is just too inconsistent to get the job done. While there’s always a chance this team would be able to turn it on in March, those hopes will continue to slip if the Cowgirls haven’t truly turned it on suddenly, as it appears they did over the weekend.
Add in that the Cowgirls got both of their wins in Gallagher-Iba Arena over the past few days, and the picture becomes a bit murkier. Considering the Cowgirls’ success at home, they would be able to compete with just about anyone in the country if they had home-court advantage in the NCAA Tournament.
While that was a legitimate aspiration for OSU and seemed attainable coming into this season, Jacie Hoyt’s squad has simply been far too inconsistent, particularly on the road, to be anywhere near that conversation with the NCAA Tournament looming. OSU’s recent stretch is intriguing and deserves some cautious optimism because if this is who the Cowgirls truly are, March could be a fun time for OSU.
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.