Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Texas
Cowgirls Corral Longhorns, 71-69
January 12, 2000 | Cowgirl Basketball
Jan. 12, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State's Jennifer Crow hit an eight-foot jumper with five seconds remaining and an Asha Hill attempt at the buzzer clanked off the rim as the Cowgirls defeated Texas, 71-69, here Wednesday night before 1,704 fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Cowgirls took an early 7-0 lead as Texas missed its first four shot attempts. The Longhorns came back, however, and took a 15-10 lead at the 9:53 mark. OSU tied the game at 15-15 with 8:22 remaining on a jumper by Crow, and went on a 21-9 run to end the period and go into the lockerroom ahead, 36-24.
"We did what we wanted to do in the first half," said OSU Coach Dick Halterman. "We only turned the ball over four times, we were outrebounding them, and we had only given up one transition basket."
Oklahoma State built its lead to as many as 16 points when freshman Chantoya Hawkins drove the lane and hit a layup to put OSU ahead, 48-32 five minutes into the second period. But, things fell apart at that point.
UT's athleticism went to work as the Horns slowly chipped away at the Cowgirl lead, finally cutting it to one with 3:19 to go when freshman Alisha Sare hit three free throws after being fouled behind the arc.
"You can't turn the ball over," said Halterman. "its obvious that when we turn the ball over, its pretty much a basket for them."
The teams traded baskets over the next 2-1/2 minutes while there were three ties and four lead changes. Hawkins hit a key three pointer from the corner with 1:11 remaining to put the Cowgirls ahead, 69-67. But, a jumper by Texas' JoRuth Woods tied the game for the final time at 69-69 with 35 ticks on the clock.
Crow dribbled the ball at midcourt for 25 seconds before driving to the lane, and pulled up for the game-winning jumper at the free-throw line. Hill's shot, which hit off the iron, would have tied the game as her foot was on the three-point line.
"It shouldn't have come down to that," said Crow, when asked about the game-winning shot. "We didn't have a very good second half, but all the coaches said to run the time down with about three seconds left on the shot clock and try to get a shot off. I'm glad it went in."
"When it comes down to it, you want the ball in Jenn's hands," said Halterman. "There's no question about that."
Mandy Stuber, who was projected preseason to be a starter, but was sidelined the first half of the season due to a stress fracture in her foot, scored 13 points off the bench.
"Any chance I get I need to look for the shot," said Stuber. "I know we let our intensity down in the second half. They came on their run and it took us a while to get back."
Oklahoma State (10-4 overall, 2-0 Big 12) will travel to Lubbock, Texas, this Saturday for a noon contest with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (12-2, 1-2). Texas (10-5, 2-1) will take on Missouri at home on Saturday.
