Cowgirl Exact Revenge on KU

The Cowgirls got revenge Sunday on a Kansas team that beat the Cowgirls earlier in the season at GIA. KU hasn’t been great this year, but is super scrappy, and high level competition is less about and talent and more about matchups, and the Jayhawks were a tough matchup both times they played OSU.
 
Tenin Magassa had a crazy good game scoring 20 and pulling down 7 boards to lead the Cowgirls offensively. Micah Gray wasn’t far behind putting in 17 of her own.
 
OSU shot just 39.6% from the floor overall, and made just 5 of the 23 3-point shots they took. So, the Cowgirls had to rely on their defense that held KU to 32.8% shooting and just 3-20 from behind the arc. KU was able to put just one player in double-digits, and that was S’Mya NIchols who had 16.
 
Kansas had 1 more assist than the Cowgirls, 7 more steals, 3 fewer turnovers, and scored 4 more points in the paint. Meanwhile OSU shot the ball slightly better, made 1 more free throw, had 2 more blocks and 2 more fast break points.
 
The rebounds were dead even at 37 each, so the stats didn’t lie, this was a tight game through and through.

OSU opened up an early lead, thanks in large part to Tenin Magassa and took a 15-7 lead when Macey Huard sank 2 free throws with 1:03 left in the first quarter, which was the score at the end of the quarter.
 
OSU extended its lead to 17-7 on 2 Tenin Magassa free throws just a couple of minutes into the 2nd quarter, and was still leading by 9 with 3:50 to go in the half. That’s when KU went on one of their runs outscoring OSU 9-0 basically right up until the buzzer sounded. But, as the buzzer was sounding, Micah Gray was nailing a 3-pointer to restore a 3-point lead for OSU.
 
That shot was a huge momentum stopper, and when combined with her 3, she made coming out of Half, not only did she stop KU’s momentum, she built some for her team as well.
 
But, KU came right back, again, and scored the next 5 points of the game to make the score 25-24 with 7:10 to go in the 3rd.
 
The game stayed tight until OSU went on an 8-0 run early in the 4th to take a 43-35 lead. But, back came KU, again, as in all the way back to tie the game on multiple occasions.
 
It would have been easy for OSU to lose their poise after giving up several different leads, and after having already lost to KU earlier in the year. But, OSU executed down the stretch, especially on the defensive end allowing KU just 2 points in the last 3:25.
 
Meanwhile, Staillee Heard caught a headwind, and put in most of her 9 points during this last game stretch and the Cowgirls escaped with a hard-fought victory, 57-51.
 
The Cowgirls finish the regular season 24-5 and in 3rd place in the Big 12. They are projected somewhere around a 6, 7, or 8 seed, which is too low when looking at the body of work, but is likely a result of finishing 3rd in their Conference.
Click to watch Magassa in action

Tenin Magassa...Wow! Best game of her OSU career! She scored in every way imaginable, hitting mid-range jumpers, posting up scoring with both hands, and she demanded the ball.

Double Double with 20 & 16, 6 Blocked shots tied a season high. She has 3 or more blocked shots in 5 games in a row, has back-to-back double digit games, and has scored in double-digits 4 times in her last 6 games.

Click to Watch Gray in Action
Tenin Magassa was the leading scorer, and easily the Player of the Game, but Micah Gray hit the biggest shots. She nailed a 3 right before half, and right after Kansas had tied the game, then she hit another 3 coming out of the Halftime locker room.
 
So, she took a tie game, and made it a 6-point lead for her Cowgirls, something we’ve seen her do before, especially at Utah.
 
Gray scored 17, so not far behind Magassa for leading scorer, to post her 4th consecutive double-digit scoring output. She’s averaging 15.75 points over those 4 games.
Click to watch Heard in action

Stailee Heard had 9 points, which, by her standards, isn’t an incredibly high scoring afternoon. But, her impact wasn’t “How Many” points she scored, it was “When She Scored” where she made the most impact.

She scored almost all of them either late in the game or when the score was tight and OSU really needed a bucket.

Heard has averaged scoring 15.6 points in her last 3 games.

 

Become a subscriber to our O-State Daily YouTube page and follow us on Twitter @OState_Daily, on Instagram @ostatedaily, or on TikTok @ostatedaily

Also, please consider donating to our GoFundMe to help O-State Daily keep growing. To do so, click this link https://gofund.me/db54a295. This site will always be free to its viewers, but it does take time and money to run, so any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Stailee Heard had 9 points, which, by her standards, isn’t an incredibly high scoring afternoon. But, her impact wasn’t “How Many” points she scored, it was “When She Scored” where she made the most impact.

She scored almost all of them either late in the game or when the score was tight and OSU really needed a bucket.

Heard has averaged scoring 15.6 points in her last 3 games.

Become a subscriber to our O-State Daily YouTube page and follow us on Twitter @OState_Daily, on Instagram @ostatedaily, or on TikTok @ostatedaily

Also, please consider donating to our GoFundMe to help O-State Daily keep growing. To do so, click this link https://gofund.me/db54a295. This site will always be free to its viewers, but it does take time and money to run, so any donation would be greatly appreciated.

Author: ostatedaily

Diehard OSU Fan, lifelong Coach. I grew up in Stillwater, so my love for OSU started the day I was born. I grew up around sports, so my love for the Sporting World was something that has been a passion for as long as I can remember. I love X's and O's, strategy and scheme, and love giving my opinion on the Pokes.