Cowgirls Fall to South Dakota State in First Round of NCAA Tournament

What was a magical Year 3 for the Cowgirls under Jacie Hoyt came to an end Saturday afternoon in Storrs.

Oklahoma State lost to South Dakota State 74-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls had an 11-point lead in the second half, but there is a reason the Jackrabbits are now on a 20-game winning streak — they’re a dang good basketball team.

After starting the second half on a 6-2 run, OSU led 37-24. The teams would go back and forth a bit from there before South Dakota State went on a 14-3 run that finished with the Jackrabbits up 50-47.

South Dakota State opened the fourth quarter on a 10-4 run that gave the Jackrabbits an eight-point lead and put the Cowgirls behind the proverbial eight ball. In what was her final college game, Anna Gret Asi knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute that forced South Dakota State to be efficient from the foul line, and the Jackrabbits were.

In her first of hopefully many NCAA Tournament games, OSU sophomore Stailee Heard had a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. She played the entire 40 minutes.

Heard from the top of the key

📺: ESPN2 | @StaileeHeard32 pic.twitter.com/H8kg62wcwN

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) March 22, 2025

OSU center Tenin Magassa was equally outstanding. She had a brace on her left knee, and the commentators said she’s missed some prep time because she was banged up. It was evident that it was causing her some troubles, as she took a few falls early and wasn’t the quickest getting up. But, she battled through like a warrior, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds and eight (8!!) blocks. She played 29 minutes despite being banged up.

It was a tough tournament draw for the Cowgirls, and that’s looking past the fact that the winner of this game has to play UConn. The Jackrabbits haven’t lost a game this calendar year. They’re familiar with each other, as they don’t have a transfer on the roster. They’ve won the Summit League the past three seasons.

South Dakota State outrebounded the Cowgirls 47-29. That included a 12-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, where the Jackrabbits accumulated a 12-6 advantage in second-chance points. OSU’s first offensive rebound came in the fourth quarter. The Jackrabbits came into the game shooting 21 3-pointers a contest but attempted only nine against the Cowgirls. OSU went 10-for-29 (35%) from deep. But South Dakota State had a 38-26 advantage in paint points.

All five of the Cowgirls’ starters finished in double figures. Asi was the second-leading scorer with 16. She scored OSU’s final six points in each half. Alexia Smith had an efficient 10 points, going 4-for-6 from the field. Micah Gray added 10 on a less efficient outing, but in her 38 minutes on the floor Gray was the only Cowgirl positive in plus/minus.

Despite the early exit, Year 3 of Hoyt’s tenure in Stillwater was an immense success. After missing out on the tournament last season, the Cowgirls were picked 11th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll before finishing third in the league and making the semifinal of the conference tournament. This team will look a bit different last season, as three of the seven Cowgirls who played Saturday (Smith, Magassa and Asi) are seniors, but Hoyt has been great at recruiting traditionally and in the portal thus far in Stillwater. The Cowgirls already have a Top 100 freshman and a proven Big 12 stat-sheet stuffer committed to joining next season’s team.