Oklahoma State Clinches No.3 Seed in Big 12 Tournament With Win at Kansas
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Oklahoma State’s spectacular regular season has secured it a great spot in the Big 12 Tournament.
The Cowgirls entered Sunday’s game against Kansas already having secured a top-four spot in the Big 12 standings and a bye in the first two rounds of the conference tournament. However, their hopes of winning a conference title might have heavily depended on their ability to stick in the third spot.
Kansas handed OSU its first Big 12 loss back in January and looked to try and spoil OSU’s regular season finale on Sunday, but to no avail. The Cowgirls took care of business in Lawrence, beating the Jayhawks 57-51.
OSU’s low-scoring win was thanks in no small part to its defensive effort. It held Kansas to 32.8% from the floor and a 3-of-20 mark from beyond the arc. Despite it being a tie game with two minutes left, OSU still found a way to pull through.
Micah Gray’s 3-pointer pushed OSU into the lead, and the Cowgirls kept Kansas off the board for the final couple of minutes and knocked down some free throws to close it out. While Gray had 17 and looked like her normal self, Anna Gret Asi and Stailee Heard combined to shoot 5-of-19, which allowed another Cowgirl to enter the spotlight.
Tenin Magassa had a dominant performance at Kansas, finishing with her second double-double season. She had 20 points and 16 rebounds on 8-of-13 shooting. Her inside presence was also dominant for the Cowgirls and critical to the win, as she added a season-high-tying six blocks.
The win over Kansas also improved the Cowgirls to 14-4 in Big 12 play. That marks the most wins in conference play in program history and the second-best winning percentage. At 24-5 overall, OSU also currently has the best winning percentage in a season in team history, which is, of course, subject to change come postseason play.
The Cowgirls will get some time off to regroup and prepare for their Big 12 Tournament run, which doesn’t start for another week. While there are no guarantees OSU will have a successful postseason run, this has undeniably been one of the best Cowgirl teams of all time.
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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.