Cowgirls Rise in AP Top 25 After Undefeated Week
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The Cowgirls are looking to run through the finish line with the regular season wrapping up.
On Monday, the latest AP Top 25 was released and once again featured Oklahoma State. Following their 2-0 week, the Cowgirls earned the No. 21 spot in the poll.
OSU is one of five Big 12 teams to make the rankings heading into the final week of the regular season. OSU is joined by No. 10 TCU, No. 14 Kansas State, No. 17 Baylor and No. 18 West Virginia.
Perhaps the most impressive part of OSU’s season has been its ability to beat the best teams in the conference, earning wins against every other team in the top 25 and even being undefeated against the teams above it in the conference standings. OSU’s status at fourth in the Big 12 is thanks to its impressive two-game stretch last week.
After falling to BYU, the Cowgirls were set for one of their most pivotal matchups of the season with a road matchup against Utah, which entered one game ahead of OSU in the standings. OSU ground out a victory and tied Utah in the standings while earning the tiebreaker over the Utes.
The Cowgirls then returned home on Saturday for a game against a solid Colorado group that simply hasn’t found the same success it had last season. Behind a bounce-back performance from star Stailee Heard, who finished with 26 points, the Cowgirls easily got the win in Stillwater.
As OSU looks to have a successful run in March, it is well on its way as long as it can take care of business to end the regular season. If OSU wins out against Cincinnati and Kansas, it will finish in the top four of the Big 12 and earn a bye for the first two rounds of the conference tournament.
Although bracketology hasn’t always been the kindest to the Cowgirls, a potential 24-5 regular season plus a win or two in the Big 12 Tournament could push the Cowgirls into a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament, which would give OSU home-court advantage in the first two rounds there.
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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.