The Oklahoma State Cowgirls showed last season just now much life in the Big 12 can be a year-to-year proposition in women’s basketball.
Two years ago the Cowgirls looked like they were rolling under their new coach, Jacie Hoyt. OSU went 21-12, including a 10-8 mark in league play, tied for fourth in the Big 12 and went to the NCAA Tournament.
Last season the Cowgirls had a disappointing 14-16 season in Hoyt’s second year, as Oklahoma State went 7-11 in Big 12 action and finished in eighth place. There was no postseason.
That didn’t help Hoyt retained talent entering this season. Seven of last year’s players transferred away, including one of her top forwards, Lior Garzon, who was a key part of their NCAA tournament team two years ago. Hoyt and Garzon will cross paths this season as she transferred to Colorado, which joins the Big 12 once again this season.
It’s the way of college basketball now. The roster that you think you’re developing suddenly undergoes a massive change. Hoyt has had to adjust, bringing in a half dozen transfers and working the prep ranks hard to bring in a solid recruiting class.
The question is whether this group can come together like the one that came together two years ago and get the Cowgirls back on the map at the Big 12.
Here’s a preview of the Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ upcoming season.
Odds
Vegas Insider did not give Oklahoma State odds to win the national championship. The Big 12 coaches voted the Cougars to finish 11th in the preseason poll.
Three Players to Watch
G Anna Gret Asi: A long-time member of the program, she enters this season as one of the top 3-point shooters in the conference. She averaged 12.7 points last year and shot nearly 39% from the arc. She’s a good building block for the perimeter game.
G Stailee Heard: She was one member of an incredibly talented Big 12 freshman class and emerged as one of the Cowgirls’ top scoring options in her first season. She averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds. She has the talent to take the next step forward this season and go from freshman to star.
G Micah Gray: Among all the transfers OSU has brought in, Gray could have the most significant impact. She comes to the Cowgirls from Seton Hall, where she was one of the top players in the Big East after she averaged 11.9 points per game period a junior, she brings two years of experience to Stillwater.
Biggest Strength
Guard play. Between Gret Asi, Haerd and Gray, the Cowgirls have a good foundation to start with on the perimeter. You could argue that if they’re going to win games they’re going to have to do it from the outside. That doesn’t include Montana transfer Macy Huard (7.4 points) and Virginia graduate transfer Alexia Smith (4.1 points, 3.8 rebounds), who should be part of the rotation as well. It’s good to have options outside and the Cowgirls have them.
Biggest Weakness
In the paint. This is a small team. The tallest players are 6-6 transfer Ténin Magassa and 6-3 holdover Praise Egharevba. Magassa averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds last year. Egharevba mostly came off the bench. That’s where the OSU inside game will have to start. It’s possible between the pair that they have the goods to be a functional tandem but there isn’t enough data to prove it. One note — transfer forward Stacie Jones figures to be a wing player but comes to OSU with 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds last year at Mercer. She can help with rebounding from the perimeter. Same goes for Huard, who is 6-2.
Season Prediction
One assumes the starting lineup will look like Gret Asi, Heard, Gray, Smith and either Egharevba or Magassa. It’s a good start, and if that group plays like they’re capable the Cowgirls could get off to a really good start. To be successful in the Big 12 the Cowgirls need accelerated post play development and they need to build a bench. There’s a lot of uncertainty in where the production will come from among the reserves. The coaches have the Cowgirls No. 11. We’re projecting 15 to 18 wins before OSU gets to the Big 12 tournament.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
