Instant Recap: Cowgirls Fall to Kansas State on the Road 70-61

BOXSCORE

The Cowgirls looked good in the third quarter and for about two minutes of the fourth, but basketball is a four-quarter game.

Oklahoma State fell to Kansas State 70-61 on the road, tying a season-low in scoring.

The Cowgirls have ridden somewhat of a seesaw the last four games when it comes to shooting. After shooting 56% from the field and 39% from 3 in the win at Arizona, they went 32% and 22% in the loss to Arizona State. On Saturday, they shot 48% from the field and 36% from deep in a win over UCF. Now they hit the downward swing, coming up short at K-State with a 40%/25% performance.

Amari Whiting was the Cowgirls’ lone bright spot in the first half, scoring eight of her 16 points and grabbing seven of her nine boards before the break. She led the Cowgirls in both categories on the night.

Neither team could buy a bucket in the first quarter, but the Wildcats made their hay from the stripe.

OSU shot 4-of-14 from the floor to K-State’s 5-of-11 in the first quarter. The Wildcats went scoreless the last 2:44 of the period and went over five minutes without a made field goal. But the Cowgirls were scoreless the last 3:02 of the quarter and let K-State go 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the first to take an 18-9 lead after one.

It was ugly for both in the second. The Cowgirls went just 2-for-11 overall and 0-for-5 from 3 while K-State shot 4-of-16 and 0-for-2. The Cats edged out OSU 11-9 in the second to take a 29-18 lead into the half.

OSU went 0-for-8 from deep in the first half and just 6-of-25 from the field. The Cowgirls also committed 11 turnovers that resulted in 11 K-State points. Only Achol Akot and Whiting made more than one field goal in the first two quarters (each had two).

But after both teams combined to make 15 shots in the first half, they combined for 19 in the third quarter alone.

Micah Gray drained a 3-pointer just 16 seconds into the second half and that seemed to break the seal on the basket for both teams. She had nine of her 16 points in the third which helped drive the Cowgirls to their comeback, even if it would be short-lived.

After scoring nine points in each of the first two quarters, the Cowgirls dropped 27 in the third. OSU shot 9-for-13 in the third and was able to pull within seven midway through the third before a K-State surge pushed it back to 12. Then the Cowgirls cut it back to seven, making their last five shots with a couple late free throws by Whiting.

The Cowgirls started 7-0 in the fourth quarter to tie at 52-52 with 8:02 to go, but that was as close as it would get.

After OSU tied it, the Wildcats went on a 9-2 run to take a 61-54 lead with just under three minutes to go. OSU had four turnovers and scored zero points over 3:56. The Wildcats extended that run to go up 66-56 with 1:33 to go.

OSU squandered a possession on a wild Gray 3-point attempt early in the shot clock. On an ensuing K-State possession, the Cowgirls trapped Tess Healt in the corner but were called for a phantom foul to put her on the free-throw line. She split the pair to push the lead back to 67-57.

Stailee Heard joined Whiting and Gray as the Cowgirls’ third double-digit scorer, pitching in 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.

It was an ugly game at the start, and it was an uglier game at the end.

With the game all but over, Lena Girardi fouled K-State’s Jordan Speiser with OSU down 68-60 with just 1.6 seconds on the clock. Speiser took exception to that and added some extracurriculars. Namely, a swung elbow toward Girardi, then an elbow into her chest and then when Girardi didn’t react, she proceeded to walk right through the freshman. Girardi let herself back on her heels and technical was called. Upon review, it was upgraded and upheld as a flagrant 1.

All that resulted in was an extra five minutes of broadcast and reviews and probably a little extra juice the next time Girardi returns to the Little Apple.

With the loss, the Cowgirls fall to 19-7 and 8-5 in Big 12 play. They’ll have an opportunity to improve their postseason resume with a visit from No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.