Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s Statement Win Against Iowa State

STILLWATER — Stailee Heard literally ran into the postgame press conference on Sunday wearing a big smile on her face.

Most players would grin after they demolish the No. 19 team in the country, winning by 28 points, especially if they record the program’s third-ever triple-double.

That’s not exactly who Heard is, she’s more likely to follow up a big win with a critique, perhaps pointing out a shot she shouldn’t have taken or a defensive assignment she missed.

“I love conference play. … I’m so competitive,” Heard said. “I just love hard, I love hard games. Those in non-con when we are blowing teams out like I just don’t find that fun, and it is hard to stay focused for me. So like when we are in close games (against) good teams and playing the Audi Crooks and the Jada Williams, I find that fun.”

The opposing talent was unquestionably higher when Oklahoma State routed the Cyclones 86-58 on Sunday, but the competitiveness wasn’t that different from many of the nonconference games played this season as the Cowgirls (16-4, 5-2 Big 12) never led by less than 18 points in the entire second half.

“You want to make a statement and that is exactly what we did today,” Oklahoma State coach Jacie Hoyt said of her team’s performance in one of only four Cowgirl basketball games scheduled to air on national television this season.

1. Running Out of Chances

The victory couldn’t have come at a better time because OSU was rapidly running out of chances to earn a signature win.

Oklahoma State pushed No. 10 TCU on the road, trailing by only three before losing by eight points.

Before that, the Cowgirls let a 19-point lead in the final minutes of the third quarter turn into a 9-point loss to Baylor at home.

The Cyclones could be the last ranked opponent to visit GIA this season depending on how far No. 18 Texas Tech falls after suffering its first loss earlier this week. Heck, this might be the last ranked opponent OSU faces until the conference tournament.

Despite not being in the room when Hoyt spoke following the win, Heard also described the win as a “statement.”

“We deserve to be in the same conversations as the Iowa States and the bigger schools,” Heard said. “I feel like we started off slow, but you don’t want to be playing your best basketball right now and I feel like we are on the road to that. We’re going to have our ups and downs, but I feel like this was really good stamp in the books for us.”

This was also an important game where the NET ranks were concerned. Iowa State ranked 32nd at tip, making this a high Quad 2 game which could retroactively turn into a Quad 1 win should the Cyclones turn things around late, perhaps when injured starters return to the lineup.

We could spend all day in the weeds of what this means, but OSU almost certainly needs a Quad 1 win to be in the conversations Hoyt and Heard believe the Cowgirls belong in when it comes to postseason seeding.

For now, the Cowgirls can feel good about ranking 30th in the NET with a 4-1 record against Quad 2 teams.

Oklahoma State likely has at least two more chances to get the ever elusive Quad 1 win when the team wraps up February with back-to-back road games at West Virginia and Iowa State (it can get confusing but the Cyclones should count as a Q1 opponent on the road even if their numbers don’t improve enough to make Sunday’s win count higher than Q2).

2. Historic Heard Performance Should Frighten the Big 12

As briefly eluded to at the top, Heard recorded the program’s third-ever triple-double when she finished with 18 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.

The pivotal assist didn’t come until there was only 3:27 left in the game.

“Some kids were getting screamed at to shoot shots that I would normally yell at them for shooting. … It’s a great position to be in, but yeah it was definitely known and a little stressful,” Hoyt said.

Even if it wasn’t a long stretch, OSU spent at least a few minutes playing somewhat sub-optimally in order to set Heard up for an honor she, to her credit, couldn’t care less about. Heard was actually shooting the ball more when she only needed one assist.

She scored nine of her points in the final quarter giving her at least 18 in four straight games. Quite the turnaround considering she only scored 15-plus points three times in the team’s first 16 games.

“When she’s smiling and she’s just loving competition, that’s when you know that she’s in her element and at her best. … What we’ve seen is her get that love and that passion back,” Hoyt said.

3. The Big 12 Lead Is in Sight

At the time of writing, Oklahoma State sits one game back of Big 12 leaders TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor.

The Cowgirls should have beaten the Bears, played tough with TCU on the road and have a home game against the Red Raiders on Feb. 14.

Oklahoma State started the season with its eyes firmly on a Big 12 championship and a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. To this point, Oklahoma State has more or less stuck to the script with the exception of the Baylor loss.

Where the NCAA Tournament is concerned, OSU likely needs to go on a run or to beat up on at least one or two more ranked opponents (likely in the conference tournament). That seems doable considering OSU dispatched an admittedly injured Cyclones team while also juggling what amounted to a side quest of getting Heard her final assist for multiple minutes in the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma State’s upcoming schedule includes a trip to Colorado (12-7, 3-4 Big 12) on Jan. 25 to face a team OSU beat by seven points at home followed by a home game against BYU (14-4, 3-3 Big 12) on Jan. 28.

While it’s never easy in the Big 12, the next two games actually represent what should be the third toughest stretch remaining including back-to-back home games against Texas Tech and Utah and those previously mentioned trips to West Virginia and Iowa State.

Should OSU breeze through the next two, then the path to the head of the Big 12 table might clear up completely before the Cowgirls find themselves challenged again in mid-February. Now add in Heard’s resurgence and the return of an important Cowgirl freshman and this season is starting to feel a bit like a snowball perched on top of a mountain.

4. Cooking Crooks

Audi Crooks dominance this season has her leading the nation in points per game (27.6) and earned her a semi-viral anthem of sorts featured on the Pat McAfee show earlier this season.

On Sunday, Oklahoma State held her to a season-low 15 points. Crooks entered the game as the second-most accurate shooter in the country (68.8%), but the Cowgirls held her to 6-of-14 (43%) from the floor, good enough for another season-low.

It should be noted that Iowa State was missing two starters, but those girls missed each missed the last two games with one missing the last three. During that stretch, Crooks averaged 22 points while shooting 57%.

Oklahoma State’s bigs, Achol Akot and Praise Egharevba, earned a shout out from Heard after that kind of performance.

“They did a phenomenal job. … They need to take that and run with it and know that they guarded one of the best players in the country,” Heard said.

5. Welcome Back!

Oklahoma State freshman Lena Girardi returned to the lineup for only the second time since Christmas.

She suffered a shoulder injury sometime around the holidays with what Hoyt described as a “freak” non-contact injury.

“She was back to herself today,” Hoyt said. “She was having fun, and she was fearless, maybe a little too fearless sometimes.”

That’s good news for the Cowgirls considering Girardi is the team’s second-best 3-point shooter by accuracy (42%). Despite her absence, Girardi’s 44 made 3s this season are well ahead of the rest of the Cowgirls, and she’s only 11 behind team leader Micah Gray.

Girardi finished Sunday’s game with 11 points, including a 3-of-7 (43%) showing beyond the arc.

Her initial return took place at Kansas on Wednesday where she played four minutes. She finished with one assist, one rebound and zero shot attempts.

“I just have to smile thinking about Lena, because just like Stailee, I think she just plays with a tremendous amount of joy,” Hoyt said. “I remember her, you know, getting a steal when they tried to get it into Audi and she came off the backside and got the steal. And she’s just laughing dribbling the ball down the floor. And it’s not a laugh like, you know, I’m just messing around. It’s just, she’s just having so much fun.

“I mean, she just loves the game of basketball. I’ve said that to y’all many, many times, but I think she’s feeling better than what she has with her shoulder injury, and just coming off of that, and kind of getting her confidence back.”