Oklahoma State women's basketball knocks off TCU for first top-10 win since 2017

Oklahoma State women’s basketball knocks off TCU for first top-10 win since 2017

Posted by author January 22, 2025 Basketball

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STILLWATER — Oklahoma State point guard Jadyn Wooten had three fingers in the air before Stailee Heard even caught the pass Wooten had slung to her on the left wing.

Micah Gray did the same, and Anna Gret Asi confidently jogged toward the other end of the court.

Her Cowgirl teammates knew Heard wasn’t going to miss such a wide-open 3-pointer, no matter the pressure of the moment.

And there was plenty.

The Cowgirls had erased a 15-point deficit, taking the lead on Heard’s shot and ultimately pulling off a 60-59 upset of ninth-ranked TCU on Wednesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“That’s who we are as a team,” Heard said of her teammates’ confidence that she’d make the crucial 3. “We love each other. That’s just who we are.”

If OSU (16-3, 6-2 Big 12) didn’t have a defining win in the Jacie Hoyt era, it does now.

With a rowdy blackout crowd at GIA — students rushed the court as the buzzer sounded — the Cowgirls rallied behind gritty team defense and the smooth confidence of two of its youngest players.

Heard, a sophomore, had 17 points and the freshman Wooten exploded for 14, all in the second half, as the Cowgirls erased the huge deficit over the final 14-plus minutes.

TCU star guard Hailey Van Lith had just 12 points and missed a potential go-ahead shot in the closing seconds. TCU (19-2, 7-1) was led by Sedona Prince with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the Cowgirls’ first win over a top-10 team since 2017:

The Cowgirls trailed by 15 at halftime and that’s where the lead remained with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

Sparked by a Micah Gray three-point play, OSU went on an 11-4 run to close the quarter, getting their last points of the period on a steal and fastbreak layup by Wooten.

She had made just 1 of 8 shots before that, but the contested layup lit a fire in the freshman.

She scored eight straight Cowgirl points during a stretch in the fourth quarter, then made an incredible dish from under the basket to a wide-open Heard on the wing for the 3 that gave OSU a 58-55 lead with 1:12 to go.

Wooten was driving down the baseline from the right side and went airborne as she approached a TCU player. She wrapped a pass around the defender to Heard, who seemed like she went into slow motion as she took her time for the shot.

Heard led the Cowgirls in points and rebounds, and had a crucial play diving for a loose ball that resulted in a TCU turnover.

Wooten struggled offensively over most of the first three quarters, but was a key piece of OSU’s perimeter defense, particularly on Van Lith, who came in averaging over 18 points a game but was 5 of 13 from the floor.

“Jadyn Wooten was special tonight,” Hoyt said. “She wasn’t playing like a freshman tonight. I think she really grew up tonight, and that’s the player we’ve known that she can be.”

Wooten and Heard combined for 20 of OSU’s final 24 points beginning in the final minutes of the third quarter.

While Heard, Wooten and others provided the thrilling moments with offense, the most important statistic of the night was TCU’s 20 second-half points.

The Horned Frogs came in averaging 82.1 points per game and were on pace for a similar number with 39 in the first half.

But OSU tightened its defense and allowed the Frogs to hit just 7 of 28 field goals in the second half, including 1 of 9 from 3.

“We just were not tough,” Hoyt said of the first-half defense. “We felt like they were being the more aggressive team.

“It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it, and we weren’t being the tougher team. So once we challenged our team and had to get that going, then that made a huge difference.”

Two of the Big 12’s tallest players were going head-to-head on the interior with TCU’s Prince, who is 6-foot-7, and OSU’s 6-6 Tenin Magassa.

Though Prince exploded for a big second quarter to carry her to a final total of 22 points. Magassa adjusted her defense to limit Prince’s impact in the second half, when she had just six.

Magassa finished with two points and five rebounds, but had strong moments to help the Cowgirls turn the tide in the second half. She led the Cowgirls in plus-minus at 12.

Heard caught the inbounds pass that allowed the final 1.1 seconds to run off the clock and she immediately ran toward her teammates to celebrate.

With a hefty number of students in the crowd of 3,477, they almost immediately began flowing onto the court.

“I’ve actually never experienced that, storming the court like that,” Heard said. “I didn’t even see the students at first. I saw my teammates, and of course we’re gonna go crazy. That’s a great team we just beat. So much respect for TCU.

“That was just awesome. The students, they showed out and we appreciate that more than they know.”

Hoyt, who is in her third season coaching the Cowgirls, also saluted the crowd for providing a boost.

“I have to shout out our marketing team, our student section, our band and our fans,” she said. “That was the best environment I’ve ever been a part of since I’ve been here. I’m so grateful that they showed up the way they did, because I don’t know if we find a way — on that comeback, we really rode our crowd and we don’t get this win without them.”

Oklahoma State vs. TCU score updates

Thanks to a steal and a fastbreak layup from OSU freshman point guard Jadyn Wooten, the Cowgirls got within single digits, trailing TCU 48-40 after three quarters.

TCU led by 15 a few minutes into the period, but OSU closed on an 11-4 run, building the energy inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.

TCU star Hailey Van Lith scored five points in the quarter, bringing her total to 10, though the Cowgirls have mostly kept her quiet.

Stailee Heard had a late bucket that brought her to 11 points, leading OSU scorers.

Behind 10 second-quarter points from 6-foot-7 center Sedona Prince, TCU stretched its lead to 39-24 at the half.

The Cowgirls went cold after their strong finish to the first quarter, going just 4 of 14 from the floor and 0 of 4 from 3-point range in the quarter.

Prince leads TCU with 16 points for the game, while OSU’s top scorer is Alexia Smith with nine.

Stailee Heard scored all seven of her points on three late trips down the floor, cutting the TCU lead to 20-16 at the end of the first quarter.

Heard appeared to have dribbled into trouble as the final seconds ticked off the clock, but she faded back and found enough space to get off a midrange jumper at the buzzer.

TCU led by as many as 11 after a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter. The Horned Frogs’ offense got a boost from five offensive rebounds, which produced five second-chance points.

Heard and Alexia Smith each had seven points for the Cowgirls.

TCU was led by Taylor Bigby with nine points on 3 of 5 shooting from 3-point range.

What time does Oklahoma State vs. TCU start?

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 22
Start time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater

The Oklahoma State vs TCU game starts at 6:30 p.m. from Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

What channel is Oklahoma State vs. TCU on today?

Oklahoma State vs TCU will be streamed on ESPN+.

Oklahoma State women’s basketball schedule 2024-25

All times are Central Standard Time (CST)

Monday, Nov. 4: Oklahoma State 96, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 43
Thursday, Nov. 7: Oklahoma State 89, Oral Roberts 68
Monday, Nov. 11: Oklahoma State 87, Texas Southern 57
Saturday, Nov. 16: Oklahoma State 64, Fairfield 62
Wednesday, Nov. 20: Oklahoma State 89, Central Arkansas 58
Monday, Nov. 25: Oklahoma State 113, Chicago State 50
Friday, Nov. 29: Oklahoma State 70, Arkansas 56
Saturday, Nov. 30: Richmond 57, Oklahoma State 53
Wednesday, Dec. 4: Oklahoma State 93, Houston Christian 39
Friday, Dec. 6: Oklahoma State 125, Alabama State 49
Monday, Dec. 16: Oklahoma State 92, McNeese State 41
Saturday, Dec. 21: Oklahoma State 81, Iowa State 75
Wednesday, Jan. 1: Oklahoma State 84, Baylor 61
Saturday, Jan. 4: Kansas 75, Oklahoma State 66
Wednesday, Jan. 8: Oklahoma State 64, Cincinnati 48
Saturday, Jan. 11: Oklahoma State 64, West Virginia 57
Tuesday, Jan. 14: Houston 79, Oklahoma State 76
Saturday, Jan. 18: Oklahoma State 72, UCF 58
Wednesday, Jan. 22: vs. TCU at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Jan. 25: at Texas Tech at 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, Jan. 29: vs. Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Feb. 1: at West Virginia at 11 a.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, Feb. 8: vs. Kansas State at 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, Feb. 12: vs. Arizona at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Feb. 15: at BYU at 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
Tuesday, Feb. 18: at Utah at 8 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, Feb. 22: vs. Colorado at 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, Feb. 26: vs. Cincinnati at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, March 2: at Kansas at 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Oklahoma State vs. TCU women’s basketball highlights

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