OSU Ends Cinderella Run, Tops 14 Seed Texas Tech to Advance to Big 12 Semifinals

BOXSCORE

The Cowgirls came in rusty against a well-oiled Texas Tech team on a Cinderella run. But OSU leaned on its best player and its tough play, and the Cowgirls are moving onto to the semifinals.

No. 21 Oklahoma State, the 3 seed, defeated 14-seeded Texas Tech 62-59 in the Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals on Friday night. The Cowgirls will play Baylor for a spot in the title game.

Tired legs plus rusty legs equals a slow start on the offensive end.

The Cowgirls and Lady Raiders scored just eight points apiece in the first quarter while shooting 23% and 29%, respectively.

As the 3 seed, the Cowgirls spent nearly the first three days of the Big 12 Tournament watching. Eleven teams were eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament before the Cowgirls even took the floor in KC. On the other sideline, the 14-seeded Lady Raiders came in having fought through consecutive upset wins over the 11 seed Kansas and 6 seed Utah.

The warmer legs prevailed, at least earlier. Tech bounced back to shoot 8-for-11 in the second while the Cowgirls remained cold at 3-for-15. Tech took a 28-24 lead into the break nearly doubling OSU in field-goal percentage (46% to 24%) and 3-point percentage (60% to 33%), but the Cowgirls were able to keep it close due to going 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

Let me correct that, Stailee Heard was able to keep it close going 7-for-8 from the stripe. She was the only Cowgirl to attempt a free throw in the first three quarters.

Heard did it all for OSU, even though she didn’t start off on fire. Heard didn’t attempt a shot in the first quarter and was 1-for-5 at halftime. But she found ways to effect the game and then her shot followed.

The all-conference first teamer tied her career high of 34 points in the Cowgirls’ Big 12 quarterfinal win over Texas Tech, matching the career-high she set against the Lady Raiders in Lubbock earlier this season. The next highest scorer on the court had 17 (half) and the 5-11 guard led all rebounders with 13, also tying a career-high.

“I tried to be a scorer,” Heard said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. “They were playing us for the drive and we just had to let the ball fly, and they had two games before us. They got to shoot in this gym, get used to it. We knew shots would fall this game, but it just took some time. We knew to keep to our principles and keep shooting.”

Keep shooting she did. After just five attempts in the first, Heard went 6-for-16 for 24 points in the second. On the evening, she was 17-for-20 on free throws, setting a new career-high in charity makes.

The Cowgirls evened things up in the third, but it still took a while for them to take control, and the Raiders were never out of it.

Both teams shot 5-for-14 in the third, but there was a bit of a momentum swing in the Cowgirls’ favor late when Heard drained a 3-pointer with 1:09 left in the period. It gave OSU a 39-38 lead, its first lead since Tech took an 8-6 lead late in the first quarter.

Tenin Magassa was a handful for Tech’s frontcourt. She scored 10 and grabbed 12 rebounds herself and blocked two shots. But that stat line doesn’t live up to the impact she had, especially in the second half. Magassa sucks up rebounds, has become a good finisher at the rim and she’s a matchup nightmare. Raiders were just throwing their fouls at her late.

Tech’s Jasmine Shavers drained a 3-pointer with 35.6 seconds remaining off a drawn-up inbounds play to pull within 59-57. At that point, OSU had made one of its last seven attempts from the field, allowing Tech to cut a seven-point deficit with less than three minutes left two. But Heard was doubled on the ensuing possession and got fouled just to knock down both of her free throws to make it 61-57 with 30 seconds left.

Tech’s Bailey Maupin knocked down a pair free throws herself to make it 61-59 before Magassa grabbed her 12th rebound which helped seal the win. She got fouled and then split the two shots to make it 62-59 with seven seconds remaining. The defensive board led to deep ball miss on the other end, and the Cowgirls survived.

Despite the exciting Cinderella run by Tech, the top four seeds of the tournament all move on to the semifinals for the fourth straight year. But to push back on recent history, this was the first time all four quarterfinal games were decided by one possession since 2006.

With the win, the Cowgirls move up to the Big 12 Championship semifinals. They will face 2 seed Baylor at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. OSU defeated Baylor 84-61 in Waco back on Jan. 1.

Check out highlights from the win.

🚨OKLAHOMA STATE TO THE SEMIFINALS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2008🚨

#15 Texas Tech vs. #3 Oklahoma State Highlights👀🎥#Big12WBB | @OSUWBB pic.twitter.com/6LpoyeDzEl

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) March 8, 2025