Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Face Off Against Nationally-Ranked Michigan State On Tuesday
December 02, 2003 | Cowgirl Basketball
Oklahoma State's women's basketball team(1-3) will open the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday evening with a 7 p.m. contest against No. 24 Michigan State (4-0). The Cowgirls will be looking to rebound from an 89-65 loss to Washington in the championship game at the Seattle Times Classic on Saturday night, while the Spartans will be venturing away from East Lansing for the first time this season. OSU will also be attempting to avenge last season's 91-39 road loss to the Spartans. Admission is free with a special coupon that can be found in Tuesday's Stillwater NewsPress, Stillwater area businesses, or picked up at the POSSE Office.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Tuesday's contest will mark the first of five consecutive road tilts for the Spartans, who are coming off a 79-62 win over Eastern Michigan last Friday. MSU opened the season with a 74-68 win against Davidson before knocking off Temple, 78-40. The Spartans also own a 92-63 win over nationally-ranked Notre Dame. Offensively, MSU is averaging 80.8 points per contest, shooting 50 percent from the floor and features a balanced attack with five players averaging double figures in the scoring column. The Spartans are also outrebounding their opposition by nearly 11 (10.8) caroms per game.
WHAT 2 WATCH 4
The Cowgirls will look to regain the advantage in the all-time series with the Spartans ... OSU is 1-1 all-time against MSU, losing, 91-39, last season at the Breslin Center and winning a triple-overtime NCAA Tournament game in Stillwater in 1991 ... Trisha Skibbe enters the contest tied with Jodi Fisher for the second spot on the school's all-time blocked shot chart with 77 ... the Cowgirls will be looking to break their all-time attendance record of 6,477 set last season against Oklahoma with free admission to Tuesday's contest ... OSU is 31-2 at home in non-conference home games, dating back to 1995 and including a streak of 29-straight wins entering last season ... OSU is 25-5 all-time in home openers.
LAST TIME OUT
OSU lost to tournament-host Washington, 89-65, in the championship game at the Seattle Times Classic on Saturday. The Cowgirls opened the tournament with their first win of the season, knocking off Yale, 74-51, on Friday behind a 27-point effort from Trisha Skibbe. The Oxford, Kan., native also led the way against the Huskies, pouring in a season-high 30 points. In Friday's win, Eliz Gomes chipped in with a career-high 14 points and five rebounds, while Nina Stone added 11 and five assists. Stone also added 13 points and six assists against the Huskies.
UP NEXT
The Cowgirls will continue their homestand with the four-team Cowgirl Classic on Friday and Saturday. The tournament, which will also include Fresno State, Sam Houston State and Western Illinois, will be the first OSU-hosted event since the Bertha Teague Classic in 2001. OSU will take on Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. on Friday and with the winner advancing to the 4 p.m. championship game on Saturday against the winner of the FSU/WIU contest. Saturday's consolation game will take place at 2 p.m. The Cowgirls lead the all-time series against the Bearkats 2-1. OSU also holds 1-0 and 2-0 records against the Bulldogs and Westerwinds, respectively.
