OSU notebook

Published: March 25, 2008

Oklahoma State point guard Andrea Riley was 1-of-11 from the field early in the second half. She caught fire midway through the second half but hit another cold stretch, including two missed layups, but still finished with 21 points.

"Every great player has a bad night,” Riley said. "Even Kobe Bryant has a bad night. I don't really worry about making shots. I just want to make plays. I can still help with steals, assists and rebounds.”

•Big basket: Reserve center Megan Byford played only 10 minutes but supplied one of the biggest baskets, a put-back with 26 seconds left in overtime, shortly after replacing Maria Cordero, who had fouled out. It proved big when FSU's Mara Freshour hit a 3-pointer to tie it, setting the stage for Riley's game-winning free throw.

"It was automatic, something I do every day in practice,” Byford said. "I knew I had kind of messed up on the blockout (on a four-point FSU) possession before on defense, so that was my chance to make up for it.”

•Good hands: OSU coach Kurt Budke said one key that went unnoticed was the Cowgirls committed only 12 turnovers.

"I think, for us, that was the biggest stat of the night,” Budke said. "That gave us a chance every time to get off a shot. They applied good pressure. Anytime we have 12 turnovers or less, my guess is we almost win the ball game.”

•Cold start: With just over 16 minutes remaining, the Cowgirls were shooting 27.5 percent from the field, were 1-of-17 on 3-pointers (5.9 percent) and Riley was 1-of-11 from the field.

And the Cowgirls trailed only 31-30.

"We talked about it at halftime, how we shot 26 percent (from the field), 6 percent on 3-pointers and were tied,” Budke said. "We talked about how the defense and rebounding gave us a chance, now let's go win this ballgame. I knew we would should better in the second half.”

•Freshour free: Florida State sharpshooter Mara Freshour made two 3-pointers in the last minute of overtime. The first cut OSU's lead to 70-69; the second tied the game at 72.

"Coach said all night not to lose No. 10,” said OSU's Danielle Green. "We found a way to lose her.”

•Seminoles tough: Eleventh-seeded Florida State was seeking its second straight trip to the Sweet 16 and proved to be a tough opponent for the Cowgirls.

"They were amazing,” Green said. "I thought they should have been a four (seed), a three.”

•Cordero comes up big: OSU senior center Maria Cordero nailed a 3-pointer with 1:39 left in overtime to give OSU a 70-65 lead, but she fouled out 24 seconds later and had to watch the final 1:15 on the bench.

"I didn't make a lot of shots tonight,” said Cordero, who scored nine points and was 3-of-9 shooting but had 11 rebounds. "But that one went in when it counted.”

•Crowd count: The Iowa State-Rutgers game helped draw a crowd of 8,379 Monday night. Some of the Iowa State fans cheered for the Cowgirls, but not enthusiastically. The three-session total for the site: 22,650.

•Keep the faith: The Cowgirls shot 47.1 percent in the second half.

"Our effort tonight was unbelievable considering our shots weren't falling like they normally do,” Riley said. "Our effort made up for everything. It's so great we came out on top.”

By Mike Baldwin and Berry Tramel

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