A coach is hired, a schoolgirl signs. A team believes, a spark ignites. A whistle blows, a ball goes swish.
After Andrea Riley's weight-of-the-world foul shot found its mark, and a hearty band of Cowgirls celebrated with the kind of glee reserved for suspenseful victory, and the Oklahoma State spirit band chanted the name of the man who steered the ship, the realization sank in.
OSU's women, winless in the Big 12 two short years ago, are in the NCAA regional semifinals. They beat Florida State 73-72 in overtime Monday night at Wells Fargo Arena, a game not always well played but always fiercely contested.
This remarkable tale has not yet met its end.
"Best feeling in the world,” said OSU junior Taylor Hardeman, one of two Cowgirls left from coach Kurt Budke's maiden voyage, that winless conference season two years ago. "This program was really in the dirt when I first got here, and we worked our way out.”
Good description of Monday night.
On a night when the Cowgirls turned into the gang that couldn't shoot straight — missed 27 of their first 36 shots; made just four of 24 3-pointers all night — they somehow gutted out a victory.
This game was tight all night. Biggest lead by either team: 5. Lead changes: 20. Ties: 17.
"I'm like, man, this game is going to be close the whole time,” said Cowgirl Danielle Green. "You can sense when you're going to blow a team out. We didn't sense that.”
Green had 23 points and the game's biggest basket, a coast-to-coast drive that tied the game with 13 seconds left in regulation. Two minutes earlier, in a similar situation, she traveled in the open court.
Didn't faze Green. She got another chance and went straight to the basket again.
"I told her to go out and be a wild woman,” Budke said. "Get it done.”
She wasn't the only one who did so. Shaunte Smith and Maria Cordero (11 rebounds each) did the dirty work. Hardeman missed shots but played solid defense. Backup center Megan Byford had a huge putback basket with 26 seconds left in overtime.
And finally, OSU got a certain foul shot from Little Miss Magic. On a night when Andrea Riley was more miss than magic, making just eight of 25 shots, she came through at the end, with a foul shot with seven-tenths of a second left in overtime.
Sometimes in March, you need a lucky bounce or a referee's whistle. The Cowgirls got darn few of the former, with a lid on its basket, but they certainly got the latter.
It's a shame a showdown this good had to be decided on a whistle with more than 2,699 of the game's 2,700 seconds gone.
But you have to play it out, because who believes Little Miss Magic incapable of throwing in a game-winner when you least expect it?
Budke signed Riley out of Dallas two years ago, and this program took off. She's something extra special. But of course, so is he. The OSU band chanted "Budke! Budke!” in the postgame celebration.
But this game, this victory, was about the players. Hardeman and Smith, the players who lived through 0-16, and the newcomers who helped pull them out of that deep ditch.
"I just get prouder of them every single day,” said Budke. "These kids have a lot of fight in them.
"I think there are a lot of teams in this country that have more talent than what we're throwing out there. But they just find a way.”
As Green said, "they don't call it sweet for nothing.”
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The only magic on Oklahoma is Sooner Magic. It is not really ego, my team is just better than yours, and your own shame, guilt, denial, and fear masks you from realizing the pain of the truth. OU isn't going anywhere, and OSU's best opportunity is to end up in second place. Get used to it.
jj, how do those sour grapes taste today? The classy ou fans that I work with are down and I feel for them, but YOU....I feel your pain and I LOVE IT!!!
OSU fan...I did check both sites and neither had anything. I even called For Pete's Sake hoping they maybe had something. The Orange Connection had nothing either. I'll call Chris's today because if I need to drive to "God's country" to get my shirt in order to have for this weekend, I will.
Should've given the OSU women the road to OKC. You have to win the game before you can draw those big ole crowds I've been hearing about. Sorry to see OU get beat though. The OU women remind me of the OSU men of last year. Completely fell apart. Hopefully the OU women will bounce back next year unlike the OSU men.
They should worry about the OU girls winning before they start talking smack, which the girls of course didn't do! OU sure did deserve their OKC seeding! HA.
I like when people who never went to OU try to argue academics for the university. You went to Cameron, right? Where did you get your information on OSU's academics? We are ranked: 14th in rural medicine and 20 in family medicine in our Med. program. We are top 3 in the country in: Engineering, Architecture, Hotel and Rest. Admin., Ag., not to mention a top 50 business school and one of the top Vet. school programs in the country. But really, I am sure someone who went to Cameron knows all about OU and it's superior academic record. Right?
why would anyone who supports osu be thin skinned? thanks for bowing out Jim of Rockwall, anyway why would osu be thin skinned?, i ask again. osu shouldnt be anything but thick skinned, and I will tell you fine osu fans why!, your beloved institution of secondary learning, is not ranked anywhere near the top in academics, and sports, now to the naked eye, that means the overall experience of any person going to osu would be a bad one. Dont hate me because I tell the truth.
itmustsucktobeosu, ardmore - Mar 25, 2008 at 8:12 pm
My fellow O-Staters, I've come to the conclusion that the best way to handle ignorance (arron, jj, and danny) is to just ignore them. Like many of you, I've been sucked into responding to their mindless drivil. However, I suggest we just let then talk amongst each other and pretend they don't exist (which, in reality, is true). As for Trammel, I think some OSU fans are a little too thin skinned--this was a good article (as are many of his) and not anti OSU. The problem is, we are just so used to having sooner biased trash written that we ocassionally jump on something we shouldn't. Anyway, for what it's worth, that's my two cents. I'm through sparring with the likes of jj, danny and arron--after all, they are entitled to their wrong opinion and refusing to do have a battle of wits with an unarmed person is an honorable thing.
you osu fans are so funny, lets be honest here. Unless osu wins big next year, they are only to be considered a fluke this year! There was no foul on that play, Boon just chipped in a bit. I mean if I had a rich, obviously confused old man giving me lots of money, I would make phantom calls too.
itmustsucktobeosu, ardmore - Mar 25, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Anyone know where we can get the Sweet 16 tshirts? I'd love to be wearing mine to the regionals this weekend in OKC. Let's hope the Big 12 stays strong with the other 4 teams tonight!
Berry, I am really, really sick of hearing about the "referees deciding the game"! What claptrap that is! Why is only when the refs MAKE a call that they are "deciding the outcome". A no-call has the same effect. Darryl of Concho is RIGHT, my friend. It was an obvious two-handed whack to prevent Riley from getting off that last shot. If you don't call THAT, then they might as well play the game without any refs on the floor at all. You might have had a better argument about Byron Eaton's silly blocking foul a couple of years back against OU. It was at mid-court with one second left, no chance of even getting up a shot! You could argue that the zebras should have made no call there, but yesterday's call was in the act of shooting, at a reasonable distance from the basket, and a clutch player who routinely drains big shots. You can't swallow the whistle on that kind of play. That's what happened to the Texas Aggies when UCLA's Josh Shipp clearly GRABBED the A&M player by the arm, and the no-call gave UCLA the game. Sure, he may have missed one or both free throws, but there could have been an offensive put back or even 3-pointer on the rebound...or EITHER team may have won in overtime. The no-call deprived the Aggies of a chance to win, and the fans on both sides of some high drama at the end.
Great win last night. Made me nervous, but Riley just keeps coming through in the clutch. I got a kick out of them showing her dad in the stands, he was cool and relaxed the whole time. She's obviously a prodcut of her upbringing. And for the record there is no reason to respond to Arron at all. He's just an antagonizer. He spews anti-OSU rhetoric on OU articles too and no one really responds. If real Sooner fans can ignore him, so can we.
What was the record like last year? I was very proud of their will to win last night. It was a great game and it's a shame someone had to lose. If they beat LSU I may have to go out and get me an orange shirt! Not an OSU one, just orange. haha!
A-Hol? Now that is priceless. Way to go Adam! Yeah, arron. You're an OSU fan about the way pigs can fly. Now go get a refill on your Prozac prescription and go back to the OU articles where you belong.
Arron- You are right "Can't get nothing past you two." You also probably couldn't have gotten that double negative past your English teacher (assuming they had one) at Hooterville High, your only true alma mater. You also need to learn the difference between "cheering and stating opinions" and spouting off for the sole purpose of disparaging other teams and their fans.
Don't check out the 'Your Thoughts' on this site too often, but every time I have read them, I've seen whimpers/tirades from 'Aaron, Holdenville.' Are these posts, which seem to provoke confrontations with OSU and OU fans, alike, a running joke on the site, a la the way the Simpson kids used to phone Moe's and ask for 'I.P. Freely' or 'Amanda Hugginkiss?'
I mean, come on. You shorten the handle and you've got 'A-Hol.'
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OSU's Maria Cordero celebrates after beating Florida State in overtime on Monday at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa. The Cowgirls advanced to the Sweet 16, which continues their remarkable turnaround. By BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
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I mean, come on. You shorten the handle and you've got 'A-Hol.'