The Cowgirls came back Saturday off maybe their toughest road trip of the year, 2 games in Utah, and it was Home Sweet Home.
The game went back and forth for most of the 1st quarter, and Colorado actually built a 6-point lead at 19-13 with 1:43 to go in the 1st quarter. Tenin Magassa, who had a nice game, scored the next 4 points of the game, then Alexia Smith scored 3 in a row to send the Cowgirls to the 2nd quarter with a 1-point lead at 20-19.
OSU shot 41.7% in the 1st quarter, but it was the hot shooting of Colorado that kept them in the first 10 minutes. The Buffaloes shot 52.9% from the floor in the 1st quarter but sent the Cowgirls to the line 10 times.
OSU outscored the Buffs 8-1 in free throws in the first quarter.
Alexia Smith got the 2nd quarter started with a layup to give the Cowgirls a 3-point lead, but it wasn’t until the 7:04 mark that OSU took the lead that they never looked back from.
The game was tied at 24-25 when Anna Gret Asi, who had 14 points, nailed a 3-pointer and gave OSU a 27-24 lead. By the 4:12 mark of the 1st half, OSU had extended that lead to 38-29, then eventually had a 46-32 lead going into the halftime locker room.
After allowing 52.9% shooting to Colorado in the first period, the Cowgirls held the Buffs to just 38.5% in the 2nd. Meanwhile, OSU shot a blistering 61.1% in the 2nd quarter.
The Cowgirls won the game 82-65 to move to 22-5 on the season and 12-4 in Big 12 play.
The Action
Stailee Heard had a huge game yesterday for the Cowgirls, scoring 26 points, grabbing 7 boards, dishing 2 assists, and making 2 steals.
The Cowgirls played great from start to finish yesterday, thanks in large part to the great play of Heard.
Anna Gret Asi had another big day yesterday, scoring 14 points, grabbing 6 boards, dishing 4 assists, and making 2 steals.
Asi logged 34 minutes, so she’s not just been good, she’s also been a workhorse. 3rd double-digit outing in a row for Asi, 4th in her last 5 games, and 9th in her last 12 games.
Micah Gray came up huge at Utah on Tuesday, then followed that up with another big game yesterday. She had 14 points, 2 boards, and 2 steals. She made 2 of her 5 3-point attempts and was 5-11 overall from the field.
Gray can shoot, we know that, but she also attacks the bucket, and just has a sense for when her team needs a bucket. She’s one you can give the ball to and tell her to just go find a way to score, and she can do it.
Tenin Magassa was good on the offensive end with 9 points, and the equal of defense as well with 3 blocks.
2nd straight 9-point outing for Magassa, and that follows having 13 and 10 at BYU, then home vs. Arizona. So, she’s just 2 points away from scoring in double digits in 4 games in a row, and she has 23 rebounds in those 4 games and 10 blocks.
In fact, yesterday was her 3rd game in a row, and she had 3 blocked shots.
The offensive firepower of this team gets all the headlines, but Magassa’s work is at the top of the list of reasons why this team continues to win.
Praise Egherevba was right behind Magassa with 8 points, which means the post players combined for 17 points. That was exactly half of the 34 the Cowgirls scored in the paint.
When these two score down low, the defense can’t win, because if they double, someone else is open. If they don’t Magassa or Egherevba scores, so it’s pick your poison.
Plus the Cowgirls like to attack off the dribble, and when Magassa and Egherevba are scoring, it makes it impossible to safely help on the ball. If the defense rotates and helps, Magassa and Egharevba become open, and they can score with either hand.
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