Oklahoma State Draws 7 Seed, Will Face South Dakota State in NCAA Tournament

The Cowgirls are headed to Connecticut.

Oklahoma State draws the 7 seed and will face off against 10 seed South Dakota State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 7-seeded Cowgirls pic.twitter.com/cLysKb9dCQ

— Marshall Scott (@MarshallScottOK) March 17, 2025

The Jackrabbits are 29-3, going a perfect 16-0 in Summit League play. They also won the Summit League tournament for the third straight year.

“It’s a team I’m really familiar with,” OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said. “When I was at UMKC, we were in the the Summit League, so I played them twice a year the last two years before I got to Oklahoma State. They’re very, very well-coached. They win their conference pretty much every year. So, a team that I’m familiar with and excited to get to play against again.”

The Cowgirls land in the 4 Regional, the same leg of the bracket as their Bedlam rival, the 3 seed Oklahoma. But settling to the 7 seed means the Cowgirls will play in Storrs, Connecticut where 3 seeded UConn plays host. If they’d been a 6 seed, the Cowgirls would be playing in Norman.

That potential Second Round matchup against UConn would be a fun one. The Huskies are one of (if not the) premier program in women’s college basketball. They’ve won 11 national titles under head coach Geno Auriemma with the most recent coming in 2016. In the past five NCAA Tournaments, UConn has made it to the Final Four three times, the national title game once and the Sweet 16 on the other occasion.

“Going up there, it’ll be fun,” said Stailee Heard, the Cowgirls’ leading scorer. “We’re gonna enjoy it, but we’re also focused on one thing — it’s winning.”

There was a lot of talk around the program about the Cowgirls being slept on a bit as a projected 7 seed, according to ESPN’s Bracketology. As good as Jacie Hoyt’s points may have been, the prognosticators were correct.

Oklahoma State is 0-1 against South Dakota State. The Cowgirls lost to the Jackrabbits 89-61 in Stillwater all the way back in 2004.

The Cowgirls went 25-6 and finished 14-4 in Big 12 play, good for third. OSU also set a record, going 17-1 inside Gallagher-Ibar Arena. The Cowgirls missed the tournament last season after entering as an 8 seed in 2022-23, Hoyt’s first season at OSU. The Cowgirls lost to Miami (Florida) in the first round.