Lena Girardi Leads the Charge as OSU Cowgirl Basketball Handles Langston 105-35
STILLWATER – A second consecutive game against a team named Lions gave the same result as Oklahoma State beat Langston 105-35 on Thursday night at Gallagher-Iba arena.
The win improves the Cowgirls to 3-0 this season. It was the sixth time in coach Jacie Hoyt’s tenure that the Cowgirls scored more than 100 points.
The game provided an opportunity for the Cowgirls to continue to play comfortably within the system as level of competition increases.
“I was really proud of the response from our team,” Hoyt said. "There was a lot that we felt like we had to improve on in a short amount of time and we definitely did that.”
Freshman Lena Girardi led the Cowgirls with 29 points. 21 of those points came in the first half and contributed to the Cowgirls 60-13 halftime lead.
Her nine made threes is an OSU freshman record.
“Getting the record means a lot to me,” Girardi said. “I work really hard so it’s nice to see my hard work pay off.”
The Cowgirls started hot. They finished the first quarter with a 35-4 lead. 35 points in a quarter is the second-most in program history.
“It’s not just the fact that we can shoot it,” Hoyt said. “It’s the selflessness to move the ball and pass up a good shot for a great shot.”
Hoyt was displeased with the amount of missed free throws her team had against East Texas A&M. Her team responded by shooting 15-19 against Langston.
“We had a goal that we wanted to shoot 75 percent tonight,” Hoyt said. “Our kids were great at taking on that challenge and stepping up with confidence.”
Through three games, Oklahoma State has continued to mention the importance of sharing the ball and finding open shooters. The team finished with 18 made threes coming from four different Cowgirls.
“We just wanted to get to Cowgirl basketball,” Girardi said. “We have so many different weapons so that means that so many different players can have great nights.”
The back-to-back scheduling is something that was done to get players ready for tournament settings during the season.
“We’re playing back-to-backs in our thanksgiving tournament and then we plan on several back-to-backs in the Big 12 tournament,” Hoyt said. “I thought our kids were great with it. We had a great shootaround and film session, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
Hoyt’s goal is to continue to see players develop as conference play gets closer.
“We know our easiest offense is going to come in transition,” Hoyt said. “We want to be aggressive on defense, and we did a good job of that today.”
