Big 12 Women’s Tournament Oklahoma State vs. TCU Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Oklahoma State and TCU in our Cowgirls vs. Horned Frogs Big 12 Tournament women’s basketball second-round preview.
Game 4: No. 8 Oklahoma State (14-15, 7-11) vs. No. 9 TCU (19-10, 6-12)
Time, TV: 1:30 p.m. CT Friday, Big 12 Now/ESPN+
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Oklahoma State 1-0): Oklahoma State def. TCU, 67-59.
Winner gets: a Saturday game with No. 1 seed Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m. CT.
Here is the full Big 12 women’s tournament schedule and results.
Projected starting lineups
Oklahoma State: F Lior Garzon, C Hannah Gusters, G Stailee Heard, G Anna Gret Asi, G Quincy Noble.
TCU: C Sedona Prince, F Aaliyah Robinson, G Una Jovanovic, G Madison Conner, G Agnes Emma-Nnopu.
Players to watch
Oklahoma State
G Stailee Heard: Heard was named to the Big 12’s All-Freshman team after she averaged 13.0 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game. She put together a great start to the season but she has slumped a bit down the stretch, as she failed to crack double figures in any of her final three games. But she’s capable of going off, as she dropped 23 on Oregon in December.
TCU
C Sedona Prince: The former Oregon center, who spent a good portion of the season on the shelf due to injury, has played like she’s been trying to make up for lost time. She’s averaged 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds this season, and in her last game she dropped 15 points and 12 rebounds against West Virginia. She’s a walking double-double and you have to find a way to slow her down.
Key storylines
Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls have appeared undermanned from the start of the season, and it only got worse when Kennedy Fauntleroy left the program midway through the season. The Cowgirls signed Emilee Ebert at midseason for depth and her career ended with an injury. Coach Jacie Hoyt wasn’t able to sustain her program’s success from last season, in spite of having both Lior Garzon and Anna Gret Asi returning from last year’s NCAA Tournament team.
TCU
TCU went undefeated in non-conference behind Sedona Prince, Madison Conner and Agnes Emma-Nnopu. Then Big 12 play started and the injuries hit. It got so bad that TCU had to forfeit two games when it didn’t have enough players to play (and as we learned later, the Horned Frogs definitely didn’t have enough to play). The returns of Conner and Prince from injury allowed TCU to win four of its final five games and improve their seeding for Kansas City.
Prediction
TCU 77, Oklahoma State 71. TCU has momentum and Oklahoma State doesn’t. Expect it to be close early but Prince and Conner will make the difference. It’s a win the Horned Frogs need to interest the WNIT committee.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
