Hoyt's Cowgirls Ready in Storrs, Ct. for NCAA Tournament Opener
STORRS, Ct. – Oklahoma State is on a business trip in Storrs getting ready for their opener in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships and before they can think about playing host and No. 2 seed UConn and hall-of-fame coach Geno Auriema, they need to worry about the streaking South Dakota State Jack Rabbits. Cowgirls head coach Jacie Hoyt knows the Jacks well having competed against them when she coached UMKC, now Kansas City, in the Summit Conference. On Friday as the teams did their shoot arounds in Harry Gampel Arena and had their obligatory news conferences, Hoyt was asked if she felt her team drew a tough draw in No. 10 seed South Dakota State.
“Absolutely, without a doubt,” Hoyt jumped to answer. “I think it's about the toughest draw we could have gotten for the 10 seed. I have just so much respect for the program. They know how to win. They are very well-coached. They're incredibly fundamentally sound. I think it's probably safe to say about every kid on the team grew up watching the previous teams, probably went to camps. They're like a bunch of well-trained robots out there. They know how to play the game, and they know how to win. They've been to the tournament the last four out of five years, I believe. It wasn't that long ago they were in a Sweet 16. This is a team that we certainly are not overlooking by any means.”
My guess is the Cowgirls have forward Brooklyn Meyer and guard Haleigh Timmer circled on their scouting reports, Meyer averages 17.4 playing a post-forward and Timmer is averaging 13 points a game and shooting 42 percent from three-point range.
We know who the Jack Rabbits have circled on their scouting report. Stailee Heard loves that she is that kind of player, but she recognizes what she and her teammates are up against.
“Honestly, they're a really good team. They're well-coached. They play together really well. I think if we show up and just play our best basketball, we'll win the game,” Heard said with confidence. She may respect the opponent but she is proud of her team.
“We're coming in here underrated, and I think that's been our motive all season long,” Heard continued. “But I don't think we take that lightly. I think that fuels us and makes us better. If we just play like us, I don't think they'll give us problems.”
| First Round Match-Up | Oklahoma State (25-6/14-4) | South Dakota State (29-3/16-0) |
| Coaches | Jacie Hoyt (3rd year at OSU - 60-34) | Aaron Johnston (26th year - 627-194) |
| Big Wins | #23 Iowa State (twice), #23 Baylor, #17 WVU, #9 TCU, #10 Kansas State | #20 Creighton, losses to #16 Duke and #6 Texas |
| Starters | 32-Stailee Heard averages 16.7 ppg | 13-Haleigh Trimmer shoot 49% from field/42% 3-pt. range |
| 4-Anna Gret Asi averages 11.7 ppg and 3.1 apg | 3-Maddie Mathiowetz shoots 45% from the field | |
| 3-Micah Gray averages 13.8 ppg | 21-Paige Meyer averages 12.1 ppg and 5.3 apg | |
| 25-Alexia Smith steady wing player | 24-Mesa Byom shoots 48% from the field | |
| 34-Tenin Magassa is huge rim protector and capable of double-double | 31-Brooklyn Meyer is leading scorer and rebounder averaging 17.4 ppg and 5.8 rpg |
SDSU has been in the NCAA a lot, they’ve been to the “sweet 16” recently. The Cowgirls have not.
“We haven't really talked too much about, like, of our team not having that experience too much,” said one of the few players that has been to the NCAA in Anna Gret Asi. “This is kind of a newer type of experience for me, as well, because the last time I went, that was -- like, I was a sophomore. I wasn't really the leader of the team or anything like that. I feel like for everybody, this is kind of new. Yeah, I might have a little bit more experience, like just being here, but just in general, I feel like everybody is kind of just excited and enjoying the experience now.”
Hoyt has bragged about how good this team is, how special it is to her, and that she and her staff went out and found the right women to get it done. She hinted that she might have picked up on that lesson from Coach Johnston and the Jack Rabbits.
“I think that they just do a really good job of that. They get the right type of kids that fit for them, and they do a good job of keeping them there,” Hoyt explained. “I would say that's definitely a program that I look up to in terms of that and what to model myself, and I think that we're on a really amazing path to do that right now.”
To continue the path they will need to win at 2:30 (central) tomorrow against the Lady Jacks.
