Cowgirl Basketball's NCAA Tournament Seed, Matchup Revealed
The Cowgirls are back in the big dance.
On Sunday, the women’s NCAA Tournament selection show featured Oklahoma State for the first time since 2023. The Cowgirls earned a No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed South Dakota State on Saturday in the first round in Regional 4 (Spokane). The other side of the bracket features No. 2 seed UConn and No. 15 seed Arkansas State, with the winners of those games colliding in the Round of 32, with all of those games being played in Storrs, Connecticut.
After injuries ravaged the Cowgirls in the 2023-24 season, they have made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in Jacie Hoyt’s three years as head coach. Hoyt’s team is having its best season under her reign, going 25-6 entering the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls are also already cemented as one of the best teams in program history and can add to their list of achievements this season.
Coming off of a Big 12 Tournament semifinal loss to Baylor, OSU has an opportunity to go on a run in the NCAA Tournament. The Cowgirls’ best finish in the tournament is a Sweet 16 appearance, which they have done on a few occasions, with the most recent coming in 2014.
While OSU has plenty of challenges ahead, it has shown its ability to beat some of the top teams in the country. During the conference slate, the Cowgirls took down a few different top 25 teams. With wins over TCU, Baylor, West Virginia and Kansas State, the Cowgirls staked their claim as one of the best units in the Big 12 and finished third in the conference standings, holding a 14-4 Big 12 record.
OSU’s last trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 featured a crushing loss in the first round against Miami. After leading by 17 at halftime, the Cowgirls collapsed in the third quarter before eventually losing by one point. Anna Gret Asi played 23 minutes off the bench in that game and is the only Cowgirl on the current roster who played in that matchup.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.