Oklahoma State Bounces Back, Defeats Iowa State 88-77

BOXSCORE

The Cowgirls had one more chance to make a real impression on the NCAA Selection Committee before the end of the regular season, and they capitalized.

Oklahoma State defeated Iowa State 88-77 in Ames on Wednesday night. The two teams were tied at the end of each of the first three quarters, but the Cowgirls turned it on in the fourth to quiet the crowd inside Hilton Coliseum.

The Cowgirls were coming off their worst game of the season, a 72-40 loss at West Virginia in which they not only scored a season low but also turned in a season-worst 23.1% shooting effort and were just 5-for-26 from deep. Things didn’t look much better to start this one either. The Cowgirls missed their first five shots from the field — one midrange jumper and four 3s. But these shooters kept shooting.

After that 0-for-4 start from beyond the arc, the Cowgirls went 12-for-22 the rest of the way from deep. After falling behind as much as 11 in the first quarter, the Pokes rallied to tie it at 18 thanks to a Jadyn Wooten steal and jumper with two seconds left in the first.

Iowa State led by as much as seven in the second, but the Cowgirls again fought back to tie it with three minutes left in the half and even took a two-point lead before the Cyclones’ Jada Williams’ jumper tied the game at 35-all with three seconds left.

The third quarter was even tighter with no team leading by more than five. An Achol Akot layup tied it up with one second remaining in the third.

The Cowgirls came in projected as an 8 seed according to ESPN’s Bracketology and only have a home game against Kansas left before they head to Kansas City for the conference tournament. So, with only 10 minutes left, they took advantage, securing another Quad 1 win.

Akot led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 14 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. Stailee Heard also had a 20-point double-double, pouring in 22 points afer shooting 5-of-10 from deep, to go with 14 boards.

While that pair did the heavy lifting early, it was a team effort to take control of the game late. Amari Whiting went 3-for-3 in the final frame, scoring seven of her nine points in just five minutes. Micah Gray was also 2-for-2, scoring six of her eight.

Wooten scored 13 and dished out five assists in her return after missing the Cowgirls’ loss at West Virginia.

Iowa State tied it at 64-64 with 8:26 remaining but then the Cowgirls went on a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes. The Cyclones pulled back with six before OSU scored six-straight to go up 80-68 with 3:38 remaining and were able to keep the home team at bay. The Cowgirls shot 8-for-12 in the fourth.

With the win, the Cowgirls improve to 22-8 on the season and 11-6 in Big 12 play. They finish their regular season with a visit from Kansas at 5 p.m. Saturday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Conference DUB 🤠

Oklahoma State vs. Iowa State Highlights ⬇️#Big12WBB | @OSUWBB pic.twitter.com/te4srKGwoe

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) February 26, 2026