No more miracles<br/><span class='hl2'>Cowgirls' improbable run ends when Riley runs out of magical shots</span>

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Little Miss Magic launched another prayer from somewhere the other side of the Power & Light District, a 22-foot shot that could tie this women's basketball bonanza game, and as the ball soared to its destiny, Municipal Auditorium went so stone-cold quiet, you could hear Kurt Budke's orange blazer drop.

Texas A&M led Oklahoma State by three points with 12 seconds left in the Big 12 Tournament finals, and Andrea Riley hadn't made a miracle shot in, oh, 13 seconds, so she most certainly was due another, the way her motor revved down the stretch.

Then the ball did the darndest thing you've ever seen. It got stuck.

That's right, stuck. Hard between the rim and backboard.

Stuck like the Cowgirls once were in the Big 12 basement. Stuck so hard, an OSU cheerleader, standing on a male cheerleader's shoulders, had to huff and puff just to pry the ball free, as if it didn't want to give up, as if Little Miss Magic still could will the ball through the hoop.

While looking for their voices that had fled, the 4,420 fans in Municipal, not to mention the players, too, turned to the possession arrow that signaled A&M's ball.

Then and only then did this grand old basketball temple breathe. Then and only then did the Aggies know they would vanquish these rowdy Cowgirls, who quickly are turning OSU into a women's basketball school.

Final score: A&M 64, OSU 59, and tons of new Cowgirl basketball fans, either watching on

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next