OSU's Danielle Green, right, fights for a rebound with Texas Tech's Maria Moore during first-half action at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Saturday. The game was not completed at press time. Go to NewsOK.com for complete game coverage. by MATT STRASEN, THE OKLAHOMAN
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State's women's basketball team held a team meeting on Friday. On Saturday, the Cowgirls turned in one of their better halves in recent weeks.
OSU's Shaunte Smith (32) grabs a rebound over Texas Tech's Ashlee Roberson (31) during the women's college... LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY
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OSU coach Kurt Budke said it's no coincidence the No. 17 Cowgirls romped to a 73-54 win over Texas Tech on Senior Night, hours after players had their special meeting.
"There were tears shed in that meeting,” Budke said. "It was like, ‘I love you and you.' It really was a special meeting these girls had. They want to finish with a final push this year. In 20-some years I haven't had many teams that had a meeting like that this late in the year.”
Budke, who coached four national championship teams on the junior college level, said he's encouraged about the Cowgirls heading into postseason play.
The Cowgirls, 22-6 overall, are guaranteed of playing in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.
"People keep asking, ‘What happened? You've lost two in a row,' ” Budke said. "We lost to OU and A&M, the two teams that were picked to win this conference. And we were in both games.
"We weren't in any kind of down swing. I think we're OK. If we hit our free throws against A&M, we beat them.”
The Cowgirls trailed only once the entire game against Tech. The Red Raiders rallied for a 39-38 lead with 14:57 left. OSU answered with a 16-2 run. The Cowgirls led by as many as 22 points.
"When we get down we tend to get negative towards each other,” said Danielle Green. "This time we realized that doesn't help anything, so we kept being positive. That created positive energy and hustle.”
The Cowgirls committed 16 of their season-high 21 turnovers in the first half but played one of their better halves the past month after intermission.
In the second half, OSU had only five turnovers and was 19-of-25 from the free-throw line.
"We haven't been playing very well as a team (lately),” said senior Maria Cordero. "Tonight we kept telling each other to keep our heads up.”
Andrea Riley scored a game-high 19 points to surpass 1,000 points for her career. Green (16 points, 14 rebounds) and Shaunte Smith (16 points, 12 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles.
The Cowgirls probably will be either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed at the Big 12 Tournament next week in Kansas City unless Oklahoma loses its final two conference games.
OSU owns the tiebreaker over Texas A&M. The Cowgirls can clinch a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament with a win Thursday night at Baylor or if A&M loses its finale at home against the Sooners.
Regardless of where they're seeded, Budke is confident his team will be re-energized for the postseason.
"These girls have great chemistry,” Budke said. "One player said these are the 12 nicest people I've ever played with and said, ‘We just need to stick behind each other, because it's going to get tougher from here on out.' They have a feeling of ‘Let's go get this done.' ”
