Oklahoma State University Athletics
Voices Of The Program
January 18, 2015 | 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. This week, they both give us their top five moments with Cowgirl Basketball.
Kevin
5) Texas A&M-65, OSU-47—March 1, 2006: The Kurt Budke era at OSU was off to a rocky start. This game would complete an 0-16 run through the Big 12. Aggie head coach Gary Blair came over to our broadcast spot after the game, put on our spare headset and told Cowgirl fans not to worry because next year the Cowgirls would have a point guard named Andrea Riley on the roster that would turn around the program immediately… and he was right.
Casey
5) 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 appearance—Just as with the second Sweet 16, this was about the ride but firsts are usually more memorable. Going to the Sweet 16 is an unbelievable run. In the 2007-08 season the Cowgirls took a huge leap as a program into legitimacy and staying power. It was getting to that point which was even more memorable than the next game vs. LSU.
Kevin
4) OSU-88, Texas Tech-87 (Double Overtime)—Jan 24, 2004: The Julie Goodenough era was underway and off to a tough start. OSU would only win eight games that season and one of the 20 losses was a 63-point setback in Lubbock. Just two weeks later, Goodenough's team would stun the No. 3 team in the nation in the rematch inside Gallagher Iba Arena.
Casey
4) 1996 NCAA Tournament appearance—Twenty years ago and in my first year, we went to Athens, Georgia to play in the NCAA Tournament. We won the first game over Rhode Island and lost to Georgia in the second round. As a new broadcaster to the team I thought that would be the norm. Unfortunately, it would be another 11 years before we went back to the Big Dance. I did not appreciate it as much as I should have, but I learned to enjoy them all after that.
Kevin
3) OSU-89, Missouri-45—Feb 17, 1991: The Cowgirl program was rolling but a regular season conference championship had eluded 1980's Coach of the Year Dick Halterman and associate head coach Jack Easley. On a freezing cold night in February, the two coaches marched into their home state of Missouri and marched out with a dominant 44-point victory to claim the program's first-ever Big Eight regular-season title which was extra special as they claimed it in front of more OSU fans in Columbia than Tiger fans.
Casey
3) OSU-59, Coppin State-35—Nov. 26, 2011: The hardest broadcast I have ever been involved in was the Coppin State game after the tragedy. Besides my own natural emotions, we had the emotions of the team, the fans and of course the families of those lost in the tragedy that were in attendance. After the win the team went into the stands to hug Shelley and her kids and Grandma and Grandpa Budke. They did it as a gesture on their own and not because they were told to do so. It was the point I probably lost it more than ever before in a broadcast, but it spoke volumes about the character of our kids and that set up the run for the rest of a special season.
Kevin
2) OSU-96, Michigan State-94 (Triple Overtime)—March 16, 1991: This was one for the ages and the drama has never been topped in Cowgirls history. OSU hit shots at the buzzer in regulation, the first overtime, and the second overtime to force the deciding third overtime in which they won and advanced to the program's first-ever NCAA Sweet 16. With the NCAA process at the time, this game was supposed to be played on the home floor of the higher seed, which was Michigan State, but its arena was booked and the game had to be moved to Stillwater.
Casey
2) OSU-75, James Madison-68—March 31, 2012: The WNIT isn't the goal every year, but following a tragedy you want the game to help you return to normal. It would have been easy to give up on the season, but our team didn't do that. The way the kids came together through such tremendous adversity and played for those we lost was inspiring to say the least. And when Shelley Budke helped cut down the nets the run was complete! And something just felt right.
Kevin
1) OSU-82, Oklahoma-63—Jan. 12, 2008: The night I couldn't leave Gallagher-Iba Arena. If we thought beating Texas had been a tough task, try losing 17 straight to in-state rival Oklahoma!! Early in the day OU head coach Sherri Coale was quoted during a men's game as saying the Oklahoma fans would outnumber Cowgirl fans in Bedlam later that night. As is always the case, Oklahoma State fans answered the call and lined up at the ticket office. After years of futility, the Cowgirls would own the state on this night. OSU would come out of the locker room in front of the first standing-room-only sellout in the history of Cowgirl basketball. Following the team's entrance to the floor, head coach Kurt Budke would enter the scene wearing his now famous bright orange blazer and the crowd went nuts. Even the flashy Sherri Coale couldn't upstage Budke on this night. The Cowgirls raced out to an early lead and would never look back. Point guard Andrea Riley became a community favorite on this night as she scorched the Sooners for 45 points and was hoisted on the shoulders of the fans, who stormed the historic Gallagher-Iba Arena floor when the final buzzer sounded. Casey & I knew with five minutes to go in the game that the streak against Oklahoma was finally going to end and we could hardly keep from rushing the court with the fans. Following the game, Budke would address the sellout crowd with the PA microphone to a deafening applause. About three hours after the game ended while the arena was still being cleaned up, media relations coordinator Ryan Cameron and myself were still setting courtside in amazement of what we'd just witnessed. I don't know which one of us finally said it's time to leave, but we knew we had just witnessed history on the ole historic maple floor. THE most special night in Cowgirl history.
Casey
1) OSU-82, Oklahoma-63—Jan. 12, 2008: To end on a high note, I will never forget the feeling of coming out of the coaches' locker room onto the floor that day. I finished my interview with Jim Littell and stepped out onto the floor in amazement. I knew we would have a great crowd because of comments made by Sherri Coale that were broadcast earlier in the day at our men's game. I knew those comments would galvanize our fan base. But a great crowd in the past would have meant 6,000. To see a capacity crowd on national television in full throat, going crazy for one of the greatest single performances (45 points, zero turnovers for Andrea Riley) during Bedlam gave me a glimpse of how it can be and a hope it will be someday. That will forever be blazoned in my mind! There will be many new memories to come, but it will be mighty hard to top that in the future. From my perspective it was the greatest hour for OSU Cowgirl Basketball!
