OSU Tops Princeton 82-68 for First NCAA Tournament Win under Jacie Hoyt

BOXSCORE

After a big first half lead, the Cowgirls were outscored 20-13 in the third quarter allowing the Tigers to pull back within four before they slammed the door.

Oklahoma State, the 8 seed, defeated 9-seeded Princeton 82-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is the Cowgirls’ first NCAA win since 2021 and the first under head coach Jacie Hoyt.

Achol Akot dropped a career-high 28 points as part of a double-double, and then Micah Gray and Jadyn Wooten came up big in the second half as the Cowgirls ended the Ivy League champs’ seven-game win streak.

The Cowgirls dismantled the Tigers in the paint with Akot in the pick-and-roll.

After falling behind 6-2 early, the Cowgirls used a 13-2 run over three and half minutes to take a 15-8 lead late in the first. To that point, Achol Akot had as many points as the Tigers in total, with eight early points on 4-of-6 shooting in the first and added a block at the end of the quarter to deny Princeton’s Ashley Chea the chance to answer a made Micah Gray 3.

The Cowgirls came in averaging 39% from beyond the arc in wins (11 makes per game) and 24% in losses (six). They had a nice showing, and that was a big difference. They were 9-of-19 from deep (47%), but it was more than just shots there were falling. While Princeton had no answer for Akot, that freed up space for OSU’s shooters on the perimeter.

The Cowgirls took at 23-13 lead into the second outrebounding the Tigers 13-7 and 5-3 on the offensive glass for a 7-0 edge in second-chance points.

Akot kept it going through the second, pushing the Cowgirls to a 14-0 run to build an 18-point lead. She scored 18 on just 11 shots in the first half.

OH MY 😲#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/mLFRh50j5H

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) March 21, 2026

The Tigers finally found their shot and were able to cut the Cowgirls’ lead from 18 down to as close as seven before the Cowgirls rattled off eight-straight to take a 48-33 lead into the break.

Not March without some madness 🚨#GoPokes | @haleigh_timmer pic.twitter.com/XPc4ycmbdP

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) March 22, 2026

After keeping them at arm’s length for most of the first half, the Cowgirls took some body shots from the Tigers and were outscored 20-13 in the third.

The Tigers ramped up their defense and forced a couple early turnovers and scored off each of them. That led to a 9-0 run to pull within 48-42 in just two and a half minutes. Jacie Hoyt was forced to call a timeout. Nothing doing, it would seem.

Despite the breather, the Cowgirls continued to come up empty, missing their first five attempts in the third quarter and allowing that run to extend to 11-0. And then Stailee Heard picked up her third personal foul and headed to the bench.

OSU didn’t score until the 4:42 mark in the third, but Gray helped the Cowgirls right the ship a bit, scoring eight of the Cowgirls’ 13 points in the third. The Cowgirls answered with a 7-0 run before the Tigers scored the last five of the third to pull within 61-53 with 10 minutes to go.

It was the Cowgirls that turned defense into offense in the fourth. OSU forced three quick turnovers and went on a 9-0 run to go back up 72-58.

Stailee Heard’s first points of the second half came on a 3-pointer with 3:27 to go to extend the lead to 14. The Cowgirls closed the door on the Tigers with a 7-0 run to lead by as much as 19 with 52 seconds to go and held on to win it and move on.

Akot led all scorers and rebounders with 28 points and 10 boards. Jadyn Wooten added 18 on 13 shots, and Micah Gray scored 16 with four made 3s.

Haleigh Timmer pitched in 10 points, four boards and two steals, and Heard had eight and five rebounds with three steals.

With the win, the Cowgirls improve to 24-9 on the season and will face the winner of 1 seed UCLA and 16 seed California Baptist at 9 p.m. Monday.