Oklahoma State basketball: Cowgirls' opponents target Toni Young

Less than six minutes into the game, Young was whistled for her second foul and went to the bench for the rest of the first half.

Coale had plenty of reason to believe that game plan would work. Foul trouble has haunted the Cowgirls' leading scorer and rebounder throughout Big 12 play, particularly in all four of OSU's non-Baylor conference losses.

Staying under control will be key for Young Wednesday night against a physical West Virginia squad in a critical game for an OSU team that has lost four of its last six contests and is suddenly flirting with “bubble” status for the NCAA Tournament.

“It's frustrating, because I hate sitting on the bench,” Young said. “I can't do anything for my team on the sideline but cheer for them. I feel like it affects my team a lot when I'm not on the floor.”

Young's absence for the majority of the first half against OU didn't necessarily impact the Cowgirls on the scoreboard, as they led for most of the period and were down just 31-28 at the break.

But perhaps if Young had been on the floor, OSU would have been able to take better advantage of the Sooners' poor shooting start. Much of the Cowgirls' offense is designed to get Young the ball, and with her largely out of the game, Tiffany Bias and Liz Donohoe made just three of 12 field goals in the first half.

Additionally, Young sitting on the bench caused the Cowgirls to play reserves like LaShawn Jones more minutes than they're accustomed to, which coach Jim Littell believes impacted OSU during the Sooners' second-half scoring outburst.