Cowgirl Basketball's Win vs. No. 16 Texas Tech Could Save OSU's Season
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Oklahoma State made a statement on Saturday.
Coming into this weekend, Cowgirl basketball was reeling a bit after some unfortunate losses over the past couple of weeks. After struggling to take care of business in winnable games on the road, OSU needed to start racking up some more wins to ensure it won’t have to fight its way through the NCAA Tournament bubble.
While there are still a few weeks left in the regular season, the Cowgirls likely secured their spot in the big dance over the weekend. On Saturday, OSU beat No. 16 Texas Tech 75-65 in Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater to move to 20-7 for the season and 9-5 in Big 12 play.
In ESPN’s latest Bracketology following Saturday’s matchups, the Cowgirls remained on the 8 seed line, but they at least prevented themselves from taking another hit. For OSU, this was a game that meant a lot in terms of preserving the status quo and ensuring that it doesn’t go into any sort of free fall in the final weeks of the season.
While the win was important and certainly something OSU needed, it was also bittersweet for Jacie Hoyt’s squad. Sure, the status quo was preserved, but the Cowgirls could’ve easily been battling for the top spot in the Big 12 if not for some rough losses in recent weeks. While winning on the road in the Big 12 is never easy, the Cowgirls missed some golden opportunities in road games over the past month.
With losses to Colorado, Arizona State and Kansas State, all of which are tied or below OSU in the conference standings, OSU missed a chance to separate itself from the middle tier of the conference. Had OSU turned those losses against unranked opponents into wins, it would currently be 12-2 and atop the Big 12 standings.
While those losses have made this season turn borderline disappointing, they also are a great lesson that the Cowgirls might still have the high ceiling most believed they had coming into the season. Sure, those types of losses will end the season in 40 minutes when March Madness tips off, but considering the small things OSU has time to fix, it’s not far-fetched to believe that the Cowgirls can pull out wins in similar situations in the postseason.
The win against Texas Tech is just one quality win to add to the Cowgirls’ tally, but it might have served as the turning point for OSU’s season.
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.