Cowgirl Basketball: Oklahoma State Beats No. 17 West Virginia 64-57

PHOTOS

The next time the Cowgirls take the floor, there might just be a number next two their name.

Oklahoma State beat No. 17 West Virginia 64-57 on Saturday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowgirls have been hanging out in the “others receiving votes” category of the AP Poll for weeks, but Saturday’s win might just push OSU into the Top 25 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

The Cowgirls had to work for this ranked win, as WVU held a 10-point lead with under a minute to play in the first half before Tenin Magassa hit a pair of free throws and Anna Gret Asi went nothing but net from beyond halfcourt to beat the halftime buzzer. The shot meant the Cowgirls’ trimmed WVU’s lead to 38-33 going into the locker room.

WHO ELSE FROM WAYYYYYYY OUTSIDE#GoPokes | @annagret42 | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/ByUtKy3Wmn

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) January 11, 2025

Those were three of Asi’s 12 points Saturday, as she bounced back from a pair of rough shooting nights to go 4-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. That shot also seemingly tilted the momentum the Cowgirls’ way, as they came out of the locker room and scored the first seven points of the second half to take a lead and outscored the Mountaineers 17-7 in the third quarter.

The Cowgirls increased their lead to 58-47 after an 8-2 run to start the fourth, but WVU rattled off eight straight points to bring it back to a three-point game. An Alexia Smith jumper halted West Virginia’s run before JJ Quinerly matched the bucket. But then Stailee Heard answered with her 17th and 18th points of the game to stamp out WVU’s comebacker attempt for good.

Heard’s game-high 18 went with seven rebounds. Through five Big 12 games, Heard (only a sophomore) is averaging 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds a game.

Smith scored seven points and brought down a dozen rebounds, the most she’s had in a game as a Cowgirl. Magassa also had a dominant afternoon defending the rim, swatting away five shots.

West Virginia came into Saturday’s matchup ranked fourth nationally in turnovers forced a game, and the Mountaineers lived up to that billing. OSU had 24 turnovers, a season-high. But OSU also forced WVU into 18 turnovers, with the Mountaineers’ points-off-turnovers advantage being limited to 20-18. Freshman guard Jadyn Wooten scored two of those points when she smoothly skied into a passing lane like a safety and hit a layup on the other end.

Ballhawk 👀#GoPokes | @WootenJadyn pic.twitter.com/FmAJdOuqRK

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) January 11, 2025

The win moves the Cowgirls to 14-2 this season — OSU’s third season under Jacie Hoyt. OSU is 4-1 in Big 12 play and matches up against Houston at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Houston.