Cowgirls knock off No. 23 TCU in Fort Worth, then defeat Texas Tech at home

A hounding defensive effort propelled the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team to a 67-59 road win over No. 23 Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, last Saturday evening.

The Cowgirls (9-5 overall, 2-1 in Big 12 play) held the Horned Frogs (14-2, 1-2) to 30-percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from 3-point range while outrebounding them 44-33 and outscoring them in the paint 38-12.

It’s also the first ranked win of the season for the Cowgirls and third of women’s coach Jacie Hoyt’s era.

Praise Egharevba had a career-best game for OSU, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Stailee Heard added 11 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Quincy Noble had 11 points and Lior Garzon posted 10.

OSU took control of the game early, putting together an 8-0 run behind threes from Anna Gret Asi and Noble to take an 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter. A pair of TCU triples late in the period narrowed the Cowgirl lead to five heading into the second.

OSU continued to add to its lead throughout the second quarter, getting six straight points from Rylee Langerman late in the period before Noble got free for a lay-up just before the halftime break.

TCU trailed at the half for the first time this season as the Cowgirls led 3925. OSU held the Horned Frogs to just 27-percent shooting in the first half and outscored them by 20 in the paint.

The Horned Frogs wouldn’t go quietly, however, as they held the Cowgirls to just 10 points in the third quarter, six of which coming from Egharevba. TCU closed the gap to 49-45 heading to the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, the teams traded baskets early before the Cowgirls went on a 7-0 run with 7:01 to play to take an 11-point lead. OSU would handle heavy TCU pressure for the remainder of the game.

Langerman collected nine rebounds to go with six points and Asi finished with nine points and six assists. Noble played all 40 minutes for the second game in a row and third time this season.

The winning continued for the Cowgirls as they earned its third-straight conference win with a 71-58 victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The Cowgirls improve to 9-5 on the season and 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play with the win. It was also their ninth-straight win against Texas Tech.

OSU shot 55 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range in the win while holding the Lady Raiders to 36 percent shooting and 28 percent from 3-point land. The Cowgirls also outrebounded Texas Tech 36-26 and outscored them 36-20 in the paint.

Hannah Gusters led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, with 15 coming in the second half. Stailee Heard finished with 12 points while Lior Garzon added 11 and Quincy Noble had 10.

OSU opened the game with impressive effort on the defensive end, holding the Lady Raiders to four points on 2-of-14 shooting in the first quarter. The Cowgirls made three 3s in the period on their way to a 13-4 lead.

OSU continued to add to its lead in the second, putting up 23 points in the quarter. All seven Cowgirls who saw the floor in the quarter scored, including six from Praise Egharevba off the bench.

At the half, OSU led 36-20 while outscoring the Lady Raiders 17-0 off turnovers. The Cowgirls also hit 6-of-14 3s and scored 10 points in transition.

In the third, Texas Tech found a 10-0 run midway through the period to cut the OSU lead to seven. Three pointers from Heard and Asi in the final minutes of the quarter extended the Cowgirl lead back to 11 heading to the fourth.

OSU thrashed any hope of a Red Raider comeback with an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter. The cushion generated by the run would be enough the rest of the way as the Cowgirls secured the 71-58 win.

Garzon added eight rebounds to go with her 11 points, along with three made 3s. Rylee Langerman scored six points and grabbed five rebounds off the OSU bench.

The Cowgirls will look to extend their win streak on Saturday when they travel to Kansas for a battle with the Jayhawks at 6:30 p.m. in Lawrence, Kan.