Stailee Heard Leads Oklahoma State With Historic Performance Against No. 19 Iowa State
STILLWATER- A cyclone did anything except run through the plains or on the basketball court.
Oklahoma State beat No. 19 Iowa State 86-58 on Sunday afternoon at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowgirls improved to 16-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12.
“Our fans were awesome and we were just able to ride their energy the entire game,” coach Jacie Hoyt said. “We are really grateful for them showing up the way they did and being loud and engaged, especially on national TV.”
The Cowgirls trailed 2-0 before a Micah Gray three-pointer. The Cowgirls did not trail again in the game.
“Today was our most complete game of the season,” Hoyt said. “We were just kind of firing on all cylinders and I had been waiting for that. Today was just dominant from start to finish.”
Unselfish play has been a staple for Oklahoma State this season. The Cowgirls tallied an assist on its first 10 made baskets, and 14 of 16 in the first half. The team finished with 25 assists for the game.
Stailee Heard had 10 assists as part of the third triple-double in Cowgirl basketball history. She also had 18 points and 17 rebounds.
“I did not even know until like the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter,” Heard said. “I was just out there playing and trying to do what was best for my team.”
The Cowgirls won the second quarter 30-13 which included a 23-3 run to build a lead of as much as 24 before the break.
“Our kids did a great job of staying the course,” Hoyt said. “We knew that we wanted to play fast, especially going into a game like today when we were going against the size that we were.”
Four Cowgirls scored in double digits including Lena Girardi, who saw her first meaningful minutes since coming back from a shoulder injury.
“Lena was back to herself today,” Hoyt said. “She is feeling better than what she has with her shoulder injury and she is getting her confidence back.”
Oklahoma State defensively was focused on limiting star center Audi Crooks, who came into the game averaging just over 27 points per game in Big 12 contests. Crooks finished with a season low 15 points. Crooks tied for the team lead with Jada Williams. No other Cyclones player scored more than nine points.
“She is good at what she does, so it was just about stopping her and making other people score,” Heard said. “Our bigs came out and did a great job holding her under her average, and we knew that if we could do that then we would win the game.”
Iowa State’s 58 points are the fewest all season for a Cyclones team which has now lost five straight games.
“We thought when we scouted them that this was the worst possible matchup for us,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. “When you are not on top of it against a team like this they are going to make you pay, and that is what they did.”
The Cowgirls are still firmly in the hunt for a conference championship through seven games.
“I am fortunate to have a team that sticks with it when times get hard,” Hoyt said. “I am very glad that we played a schedule where we had to learn some of those tough lessons early to be the team that we want to be later on.”
