Oklahoma State basketball: Cowgirls advance to Big 12 Tournament semifinals

Freshman Brittney Martin lifts OSU past Texas Tech in quarterfinals, earning the Cowgirls a date with No. 1 Baylor on Sunday in Dallas.

DALLAS — Clinging to a four-point lead with more than eight minutes to play, Oklahoma State point guard Tiffany Bias had already picked up her fourth foul.

photo - Oklahoma State's Toni Young (15) goes past Texas Tech's Haley Schneider (31) and Jackie Patterson (42) during the Big 12 tournament women's college basketball game between Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech University at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Saturday, March 9, 2012. Oklahoma State won 59-54. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Oklahoma State's Toni Young (15) goes past Texas Tech's Haley Schneider (31) and Jackie Patterson (42) during the Big 12 tournament women's college basketball game between Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech University at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Saturday, March 9, 2012. Oklahoma State won 59-54. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman

Multimedia

Photoview all 20 photos

Article Gallery: Oklahoma State basketball: Cowgirls advance to Big 12 Tournament semifinals

Less than a minute later, leading scorer Toni Young was whistled for her fourth.

About three minutes after that, defensive stopper Brittney Martin picked up her fourth foul.

That can completely handcuff a team with as little depth as OSU currently has. But rather than trying to patch things up without the Cowgirls’ top trio for extended minutes, coach Jim Littell opted to keep his best players on the floor for the stretch run.

And they all avoided that dreaded fifth foul, instead helping lift OSU to a 59-54 victory over Texas Tech Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at the American Airlines Center.

“We went back with them probably quicker than I would have liked to,” Littell said.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next