Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Downs Arizona 88-69 Behind Trio of 20-Point Scorers

BOXSCORE

The Cowgirls can beat you in a lot of ways.

Oklahoma State defeated Arizona 88-69, bouncing back from a rough early start in front of a lively Wildcat crowd.

Arizona set a season high for the Cowgirls’ visit with 7,802 in attendance, and they were vocal throughout. But they had reason to be excited early.

The Cowgirls made an effort to get going from the inside out, but some early turnovers allowed the Wildcats to get that home crowd involved.

Achol Akot scored the Cowgirls’ first three buckets. In fact, all of OSU’s field goals were scored in the paint until Micah Gray knocked down a transition 3 off a steal with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

The Cowgirls did have a sloppy start, thanks in large part to the Wildcats’ active hands and positioning. Arizona scored six points off eight first quarter turnovers. Two were steals and three were drawn charges. After being down as much as five, Gray’s 3-pointer gave the Cowgirls a 19-17 lead and was part of a 7-1 run to finish the first with a 21-18 lead. They didn’t look back.

No. 3⃣ buries the 3⃣!#GoPokes | @MicahGray2022 pic.twitter.com/LrXVcEh2rm

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) February 1, 2026

OSU took control of the game in the second because the Cowgirls controlled the ball.

After those eight TOs in the first quarter, OSU didn’t commit a single giveaway in the second. That was one reason they were able to start off with a 10-0 run, and they outscored the Cats 25-12 in the period.

The Cowgirls finished the second how they started it, keeping the Wildcats at bay with a quick 5-0 exchange. Stailee Heard finally broke the lock on the basket from deep, and then Jadyn Wooten picked the pocket of Arizona’s Sumayah Sugapong and took it coast-to-coast for a layup to give OSU a 15-point lead. A couple minutes later, Gray had her own steal-and-score to push the lead to 46-30 with 22 seconds in the half, which is where it stayed.

OH MY @WootenJadyn 😤#GoPokkes pic.twitter.com/6xExAFRpCu

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) February 1, 2026

The Wildcats came out of the break on fire, rattling off seven points in the first 65 seconds of the second half to cut the lead to 48-37. Jacie Hoyt called an early timeout to gather her team.

The Cats were able to pull within eight before the Cowgirls got hot again. And again, it was Heard.

Stailee knocks down a big 3⃣#GoPokes | @StaileeHeard32 pic.twitter.com/GlcPkZNqLo

— OSU Cowgirl Basketball (@OSUWBB) February 1, 2026

The Cowgirls went on a 12-0 run in less than two minutes all the sudden they were up by 20. The Wildcats made enough plays to keep the Cowgirls honest but again, the Cowgirls opened and closed a quarter on a run. This time they scored the final seven points of the third quarter to push their lead to 71-49 going into the fourth.

The Cowgirls were outscored 20-17 in the final frame, but they made enough shots and kept their foot down on the gas enough to keep things from getting interesting.

A trio of Cowgirls almost met Arizona’s total. Heard (23), Gray (23) and Akot (22) had 68 points combined to the Wildcats’ 69.

Heard had a quick try from 3 that rimmed out but then decided to play bully ball in the paint. She overwhelmed defenders at the rim and did the dirty work on the glass. And after that first quarter miss from deep, Heard made her next three shots from deep. She complimented her 23 points with 11 boards.

Mask, no mask. Micah’s gonna light you up. In her first game sans mask, Gray dropped 23. After knocking down seven 3-pointers against BYU on Wednesday, Gray went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. She had 11 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter.

Akot was a machine. She made her first eight shots from the field and finished 10-of-12 to go along with six rebounds, a block and two steals.

All in all, the Cowgirls shot 56% from the field and were 9-of-23 (39%) from 3. But while the deep balls are fun, the Pokes took control of the game in the paint. OSU outrebounded Arizona 36-25 and held a 9-4 edge in offensive boards. That led to a 10-5 disparity in second-chance points. They also held a 50-38 advantage in paint scoring.

With the win, the Cowgirls improve to 18-5 and 7-3 in Big 12 play. OSU will continue its tour of the desert when the Cowgirls head to Tempe for a midweek matchup with the Sun Devils. Oklahoma State will face Arizona State at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday inside Desert Financial Arena.