Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Little Rock
Cowgirls Rally To Beat UALR, 55-52
December 02, 2010 | Cowgirl Basketball
Dec. 2, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State's women's basketball improved to 7-0 on the year with a 55-52 come-from-behind victory over UALR in front of 1,926 fans inside Gallagher-Iba Arena on Thursday night.
The Cowgirls trailed the Trojans (3-3) by double figures on three separate occasions in the second half, the last being a 10-point margin with 4:36 remaining before closing the game on a 17-4 run to win their 47th-straight home game against non-conference competition.
"What everybody has to understand is that this is a team (UALR) that won 53 games in the last two years. They made the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and they have four starters back. That is a legitimate NCAA tournament team that we were fortunate enough to beat tonight," OSU head coach Kurt Budke said.
"I knew they would affect our young kids tonight. I knew they were going to do things that no team has done to us to this point. We didn't handle it well early, but the kids never quit, never said die and found a way to get it done."
The two teams struggled offensively in the first half with the Cowgirls managing just 19 points, including three over the final seven minutes. Trailing 16-11 with seven minutes remaining, UALR scored 15 of the final 18 points in the half to take a 26-19 lead into the break.
OSU drew even with a 7-2 run to start the second half, before the Trojans used a 13-0 run that included eight points from Chastity Reed to take its biggest lead of the night at 43-30.
Over the game's final four-plus minutes, the Cowgirls answered with the decisive final run. A pair of free throws from sophomore Toni Young cut the lead to 48-43 before Reed answered with a jumper with 2:21 remaining.
With 1:33 on the clock, freshman Carissa Crutchfield hit a layup to trim the lead to four before a pair of free throws from junior Carolyn Blair-Mobley and a layup by sophomore Lindsey Keller with 29 seconds left tied the game at 52 apiece.
Reed, who finished with a game-high 19 points, was whistled for traveling with 15 ticks remaining to give the Cowgirls a chance to win in regulation.
With five seconds remaining, Young delivered, hitting a 15-foot jumper to provide the game-winning basket. Young finished with 14 points, while Keller logged a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cowgirls will continue their homestand on Sunday when they host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
