What Critical Big 12 Win at Utah Means for Cowgirls
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Oklahoma State earned a massive bounce-back win on the road to stay afloat in the Big 12 title race.
On Tuesday, the No. 24 Cowgirls won at Utah 68-64 to snap the Utes’ seven-game winning streak and begin another of their own. After the matchup was tight for the first three quarters, with the Utes leading for the majority, the Cowgirls had an impressive comeback in the final frame.
Outsourcing Utah by 10 in the fourth quarter, OSU managed to narrowly win another game against one of the Big 12’s elite. With the lead changing hands throughout the fourth, Praise Egharevba’s and-one in the final minute broke a tie to give OSU a three-point lead. The Cowgirls forced a turnover, leading to a free throw from Anna Gret Asi to ice the game.
While OSU got the win, the concerns about its star on the road remain. After a five-point performance at BYU in Saturday’s loss, Stailee Heard had another four-point game against Utah to go with six rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.
Although Heard couldn’t play up to her standards on the road trip, Micah Gray’s performance was critical to getting the win at Utah. Gray finished with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting and knocked down four 3-pointers. Despite a rough shooting night from the floor, Asi also finished in double figures, with 15 points that included eight free throws.
The Cowgirls’ win in Salt Lake City almost certainly helped them in their NCAA Tournament placement as well. Entering Tuesday’s matchup, the Cowgirls were placed as an 8 seed in ESPN’s bracketology, while Utah was at 6.
With OSU’s win, it also moved up in the Big 12 pecking order. Tied in fourth place with Utah and West Virginia, the Cowgirls are also undefeated against the three teams above them: TCU, Baylor and Kansas State.
While it seems quite unlikely that OSU will move into the No. 1 spot in the conference, even with an undefeated finish, it could have an opportunity to move up, considering it will own the tiebreakers against the teams it is tied with.
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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.