Oklahoma State University Athletics
Voices Of The Program
December 28, 2014 | Cowgirl Basketball
The 2014-15 basketball season is one of significance for the voices of Cowgirl Basketball, Kevin Gum and Casey Kendrick. For Gum, it is his 25th season calling the action, while Kendrick is now in his 20th season sitting courtside. To commemorate the duo's landmark season, Gum and Kendrick are counting down their top 25 and top 20 moments, respectively, with the program. Last week, the duo gave us Nos. 20-16 and this week they share Nos. 15-11.
Kevin
15) OSU-76, Oklahoma-70—Jan. 19, 1991: My first taste of women's Bedlam. Oklahoma was not good for decades and Cowgirl head coach Dick Halterman owned recruiting in the state because of his dominance over the Sooners.
Casey
15) Mopeds in the Bahamas: Despite our better judgment, Ryan Cameron and I decided to rent mopeds and see the island of Nassau in the Bahamas and take in the local culture. We put our lives in the hands of islanders driving on the left side of the road and they don't care about tourists on the road. They honk and let you know where you stand with them. But, the best part was we had no more than put our ugly yellow helmets on looking like dumb and dumber when Ryan accidentally hit the throttle wide open, jumped a curb, literally did a 180, clipped hedges and flowers and landscape—then looked at me and said “We're good”. That was just the beginning of the tour!
Kevin
14) OSU-59, Texas Tech-54—Dec. 2, 1990: The Cowgirls defeated legendary Hall of Fame coach Marsha Sharp on her own floor in the championship game of the Red Raider Classic. It was my first time to call a game on the road and to top it off, we played in front of a sellout at historic Municipal Coliseum.
Casey
14) OSU-95, West Virginia-62—Dec. 29, 2000: Our first broadcast after the renovation. 6,381-seat Gallagher-Iba Arena was an incredible place and I really loved the old feel of that venue. When OSU made the commitment to make its second major overhaul of GIA and it was done, the intimate feel of the old Gallagher was preserved, making the new Gallagher second to none in the country. There was a great pride factor and it made for a memorable moment.
Kevin
13) OSU-77, North Texas-51—Nov 23,1990: My first game as the play-by-play announcer for OSU women's basketball. I was just happy to be there and never dreamed I was going to last 25 years!
Casey
13) OSU-60, Arkansas-58—Jan. 2, 2003: Wins came at a premium during the 2002-03 season and we all knew you needed to cherish each of them. Arkansas was ranked ninth in the country and coached by Gary Blair, who would later coach Texas A&M to a national championship. The odds were stacked against OSU, but freshman Lori Allen inbounded the ball to freshman Megan Craig and she hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer to seal the win. The broadcast went something like this: Kevin Gum, Freshman Allen inbounds to freshman Megan Craig –the shot, it's good!” and Casey Kendrick added, “AHHH AHHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH!!!” Not one of my finer broadcast moments, but it was certainly one of the more memorable!
Kevin
12) OSU-73, Purdue-66—March 24, 2014: No one wins on the Boilermakers' home floor, but that night the Cowgirls did it and, in doing so, moved on to the program's third Sweet 16 appearance. This was one of Jim Littell's finest coaching jobs.
Casey
12) OSU 67, Iowa State-60—March 2, 1996: In this game, the first round of the final Big Eight tourney the Cowgirls were down by three late. My fear was my first postseason tournament was about to come to an end. While it was Salina, Kansas, it was a great setting for the conference tournament and I wasn't ready to go home. Neither was Gina Shaterkina, who was fouled beyond the 3-point line, stepped to the foul line and hit all three free throws. The Cowgirls went on to get a 67-60 win over the Cyclones in overtime.
Kevin
11) OSU-59, Coppin State-35—Nov. 26, 2011: No team should ever have to go through this. The first game back on the court after a devastating week that saw the OSU family lose two coaches in Kurt Budke and Miranda Serna. The larger then usual crowd turned out and not a soul in the arena cared about the score. This day was more about healing and support of a coaching staff led by Jim Littell and a roster of players that needed to find a way to move forward.
Casey
11) OSU-59, Texas A&M-64—March 15, 2008: It's lonely at the top. OSU's run to the Big 12 Championship in 2008 was the only conference championship we have participated in during my tenure on the mic. It was thrilling, but what I took away from that as much as anything was the attrition of the fans as teams got knocked off. By the time the final two teams are decided, the loss of all the other team's fans by that final day creates a huge void in the dynamics of that championship game. However, I would take that void every year.
