Cincinnati Early Had Heard, but Oklahoma State's Shooters Like Anna Gret Asi Had Makes
STILLWATER – No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowgirls were home for the final time this season, at least the regular season and they were looking to shine up that postseason NCAA resume’ a little more, work on guaranteeing that double bye in the Big 12 Tournament. The Beatles, and I know I’m aging myself had a great hit song, With A Little Help From My Friends on the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Album. You had to wonder if the Cowgirls were listening to that in practice, in the locker room, in their ear buds. That is the way the Cowgirls played on their way to a romping 74-64 win over Cincinnati. The Cowgirls with one game left are now 23-5 on the season (most in a regular season in history) and 13-4 in the Big 12.
In front of the home folks this game was built from the beginning. No surprise that anytime Stailee Heard got inside the three-point line she not only had a Cincinnati Bearcat defender, usually 5-8 freshman Chloe Mann, on her but then somebody extra for help. Heard did get to the basket on a drive late in the first period to make the score 15-8. It was senior guard Anna Gret-Asi that seemed to benefit the most from Heard’s extra company. In the first quarter she paced the Cowgirls with seven first quarter points, a pair of free throws, a baseline jumper for two and a three-pointer from the right wing.
Macey Huard came in to give Asi a breather and she benefitted as well with Heard passing the ball to her at about the same spot on the right wing for a three that she nailed. The Cowgirls were off to a comfortable start leading 18-10 after the first.
That was just a warm-up. The second period started with Huard lining up from the top-of-the-key and burying another three for a 21-10 lead. The sharing continued the next time down the floor as Heard made one of those “wow” bounce passes from out on the wing to Alexia Smith cutting across on the baseline and a lay-in that made it 23-10. The Cowgirls had all the control as Heard kept helping teammates all over the floor. A short exchange with Micah Gray had her burying another three from that orange hot right wing and a 26-11 lead.
A short pause while the action slowed down and Cincinnati went on a 6-to-2 mini run. Then the Cowgirls got hot again. Asi showed her other side with a drive right down the middle starting at the top of the key and finishing with a short bank shot to make it 30-17. Asi shared a little later with a pass to Heard, who actually found a little “alone time” on the left wing for a three-pointer.
With one minute to go in the half, Gray made the sixth Oklahoma State three in the first 20 minutes for a 38-19 lead. It was 38-21 at the half and the only negative was the two fouls on Heard. The Cowgirls held Cincinnati to 23.5 percent shooting the first half and only 1-of-6 from three point range. Asi had 9, Gray had 8, Heard had 7, and Huard had 6 points.
The second half and the third quarter couldn’t have started any better as Tenin Magassa scoreless in the first half got the ball on the fly after a Cincy miss and she took it down to the glass and paused, putting up a bank shot but giving time for the Delaney Snyder to foul her. Magassa hit the free throw for her brand of three-pointer and a 41-21 lead.
A few trips later and Asi put up another three-pointer that sailed through the twine and the Cowgirls were up 44-23. Oklahoma State in control all the way. In fact, when OSU went on a near three minute scoring drought the Bearcats joined them. Tennin Magassa broke it with a pair of free throws as OSU led 52-29.
Give the Bearcats credit they kept pushing and closed it to 54-39 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter got a little adventuresome as the Cowgirls got the game back to 20, at 63-43. Then Abby Holtman and Chloe Mann hit back-to-back three pointers to close it to 63-51 and Jacie Hoyt called a time out to refocus her team.
The Cowgirls shot their free throws just well enough to survive. Anna Gret Asi finished with 15 points, Micah Gray with 14, and Stailee Heard had 12 points in the win. Head coach Jacie Hoyt came out after the game and grabbed the mic and thanked the crowd as they finished with a 17-1 home record.
“It was awesome to finish up our last home game of the season with a win,” Hoyt said in the postgame press conference. “Cincinnati is a tough team. They play so hard. We went up big and they scrapped and clawed and hung around more than we would have liked.
“Overall, I thought it wasn’t a pretty game for us and just proud of us finding a way to win,” Hoyt continued. “We played through a lot of adversity. It was one of those games where you had to find a way. It was pretty the first half, but I’m still trying to get my head wrapped around the second half.”
Oklahoma State assisted on 16 of the 21 made baskets. That was nice, and so was finding out they had clinched a top four seed in the Big 12 Tournament, which means two byes to start the event. The Cowgirls could get the third seed with a win at Kansas on Sunday and some help in the other games the final weekend of the regular season.