Cowgirls Hold On at Texas Tech for Third-Straight Big 12 Win
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Oklahoma State never trailed in its latest Big 12 win.
On Saturday, OSU beat Texas Tech 71-68 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock to extend its winning streak to three. After knocking off No. 9 TCU in their last game, the Cowgirls kept the same intensity on the road and earned another impressive victory in conference play.
After building a solid lead going into halftime, the Cowgirls continued their intensity into the third quarter, where their advantage grew. A lengthy scoring drought in the fourth quarter put the game into question, but the Cowgirls held on for a win.
The Cowgirls’ first half wasn’t always the prettiest, but it put them in a solid position to earn a victory. Offensively, OSU struggled at times and turned the ball over nine times but was still efficient when it got shots up, shooting 15-of-27, with almost all of the team’s offense coming from inside the arc.
While not everything went right for the Cowgirls’ offense in the first half, not much went wrong for their star. Stailee Heard finished the first two quarters with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added four rebounds and three steals while committing only one turnover.
In that half, Texas Tech did a good job of limiting the Cowgirls’ other usual suspects on offense, holding Anna Gret Asi to zero shots and allowing Micah Gray to get four points on three shots. Of course, the Cowgirls’ defense was a near-dominant force in the first two quarters, holding Texas Tech to 25 points on 24 shots and forcing 11 turnovers.
OSU’s win against TCU likely pushed it back into top 25 discussions, and taking care of business against the Red Raiders might have sealed its spot in the rankings next week. In Jacie Hoyt’s third year at the helm, the Cowgirls have proven their ability to compete against the best in the Big 12.
While games against pesky teams like Texas Tech have stifled the Cowgirls a couple of times this season, they had no issues holding off their conference foe on the road. OSU will look to continue its stretch of solid play when it returns to Stillwater to host Arizona State on Wednesday.
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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.