What Cowgirls' NCAA Tournament Win Over Princeton Means for Program

Oklahoma State secured the first NCAA Tournament win of the Jacie Hoyt era.

Mar 21, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Achol Akot (11) beats Princeton Tigers guard Madison St. Rose (23) to a rebound in the first half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Oklahoma State’s season is still going after the most important win of the Jacie Hoyt era.

On Saturday, OSU faced Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, looking for the first win in the big dance since Hoyt arrived in 2022. After a couple of tight losses in her first two tournament appearances at OSU, Hoyt coached her team to a win this weekend.

With the 8-seeded Cowgirls securing a win over 9-seed Princeton, OSU’s season will live past the first round of the tournament for the first time since 2021. While there were some bumps in the road in Saturday night’s win, the Cowgirls held steady and managed an impressive 40 minutes of play.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about the Cowgirls’ performance on Saturday without mentioning the incredible performance from Achol Akot. The Cowgirls’ starting big had an electric day against Princeton, totalling 28 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 12-of-15 from the floor.

Essentially running a six-player rotation, Hoyt was also able to rely on Micah Gray and Jadyn Wooten, who were both crucial to OSU’s success this weekend. Gray added 16 points, and Wooten dominated off the bench with an 18-point, 10-assist game.

After the Cowgirls jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, it was mostly smooth sailing. A third-quarter push by Princeton was enough to keep the game competitive throughout, but OSU’s win was never in much doubt after putting together a solid response in the second half.

While the Cowgirls have had some great success under Hoyt, the biggest blemish on her resume was her lack of postseason success. Although OSU would love to continue marching on in this tournament, there’s no doubt that Hoyt has already secured one of the most meaningful wins in her time at OSU.

With that win over Princeton, OSU will be looking to pull off a big-time upset as it gets set to face UCLA in the second round. The No. 1 seed in the region, UCLA is a national title contender and will easily be the best team OSU has faced all season.

It will be a massive challenge for the Cowgirls to compete with such a great team, but the confidence coming from a win over Princeton could be enough to help OSU be in a position to pull off the upset. It might be a long shot for OSU to beat UCLA, but it at least has one NCAA Tournament win in the books.