The Cowgirls looked as if they would cruise to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, but then they got rocked like a hurricane in the second half against Miami.
Oklahoma State fell to Miami 62-61 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Indiana. The Cowgirls had a 37-20 lead at halftime, but it got erased in the third quarter, where Miami started on a 20-3 run to tie the game at 40.
The nightmare of a third quarter saw OSU go 3-for-15 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3. The Hurricanes scored eight points of five OSU turnovers in the third as Miami upped the defensive pressure.
The Cowgirls fought back at the end of the quarter to take a 44-40 lead into the fourth, but the cold shooting streak followed OSU into the final frame, where the Cowgirls went 5-for-16 from the field. Naomi Alnatas hit a floater with 46 seconds to play that cut Miami’s lead to 61-58, but The Cowgirls gave up an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession and had to play the foul game from then on out.
Miami’s Hanna Cavinder split a pair of free throws with eight seconds to play to make Miami’s lead 62-58. After a timeout to advance the ball, Anna Gret Asi banked a 3-pointer in to cut Miami’s lead to 62-61 with 5.3 seconds to play. The Cowgirls forced a five-second violation giving them a chance at a game-winner, but Alnatas’ last-second shot rimmed out.
After shooting 52% from the field and 50% from 3 in the first half, OSU shot just 26% from the field and 27% from 3 in the second.
Alnatas was one of two Cowgirls in double-figures. She scored 10 points to go with three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Asi, a sophomore, led the way for OSU, scoring 16 points while going 6-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Although she scored only three points, Taylen Collins might’ve been the Cowgirls’ most impactful player. A junior from Muldrow, Collins brought down 16 rebounds. Seven of her rebounds were offensive, accounting for 64% of OSU’s offensive rebounds. The Cowgirls had 13 second-chance points.
A strange stat that ended up not mattering: OSU outscored Miami a combined 15-1 in the final minute of every quarter. Nine of those points came from banked in 3-point shots.
OSU finishes the first season of the Jacie Hoyt era at 21-12.