'Cowgirls are coming': Oklahoma State routs Baylor women's basketball for regular-season sweep

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State’s third-quarter offense had been a bit clunky, not nearly as efficient as it was in the first half while building a double-digit lead against visiting Baylor on Saturday afternoon.

Then in a 90-second span, Terryn Milton banked in a short runner, Anna Gret Asi hit a 3-pointer, Lior Garzon followed with a 3 of her own and Milton drove in for another bucket, reigniting the Cowgirls on their way to a 77-56 victory over Baylor in front of 3,799 fans at Gallagher-Iba Arena. 

That 10-0 run gave the Cowgirls (18-7, 8-5 Big 12) a sudden 22-point edge and they never looked back, closing out the regular-season sweep of Baylor (16-8, 7-5).

OSU hadn’t beaten Baylor twice in the same season since 2008, then the Cowgirls won just twice in the next 33 meetings between 2009-22.

“It means that we’re all doing what we said we wanted to do, and that is build a foundation and raise the standard for Cowgirl basketball,” first-year OSU coach Jacie Hoyt said, “That’s happening right now. You can see it in a lot of ways, this being one of them."

OSU got 15 points from Asi and 14 each from Milton and Garzon, with Taylen Collins posting her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the fourth straight win.

Wearing a bright pink and orange suit jacket to celebrate the Play4Kay pink-out game for cancer awareness, Hoyt thanked her crowd for the season-high turnout.

“The old giants of the Big 12 are not the giants anymore, because the Cowgirls are coming,” she said in her usual postgame address to the fans.

Here are three takeaways from the victory:

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Shooters off the bench

OSU outscored Baylor 33-9 in bench points, despite using just three bench players until the game got out of hand.

Hoyt doesn’t go extremely deep into her bench, but her three primary reserves are starter-quality players, so there’s no dropoff when they hit the floor.

“Our bench is amazing right now,” Hoyt said. “Not only is that really nice as a coach to have them coming off the bench, I think it gives the starters more confidence that they don't have to carry the whole load themselves.”

Asi and Garzon each hit four 3-pointers as the Cowgirls went 9-of-24 from deep. And OSU also outplayed the Bears inside with a 42-20 edge in paint points.

That versatility has become a key part of the Cowgirl attack. In recent games when the outside shooting has been limited, the interior scoring has jumped. But on Saturday, both were working.

“I believe when teams get ready for us, they get ready different,” said point guard Naomie Alnatas, who had 13 points. “It’s kind of like, pick your poison. But being on that team, it’s really fun to be part of a team that there are so many weapons playing inside and outside.”

Added Garzon: “Our games look different, but our team is very versatile. There’s no one you can say, ‘Let’s shut her down and the team is done.’”

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Smokin’ hot start

The Cowgirls exploded out of the gate, hitting six of their first seven shots in jumping to a 12-5 lead, then kept pouring it on from there.

Garzon took a pass from Collins on the wing and hit a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, then hit another 3 on the next trip down the floor that put the Cowgirls up 20-9 midway through the first quarter.

They went cold for a bit, but Milton closed the quarter with a tough jumper that got the Cowgirls back on track. Dribbling toward the middle of the key near the free-throw line, Milton appeared to lose the ball as the clock was ticking down, but she gathered it and hit a fadeaway 15-footer as the buzzer sounded.

In the second quarter, OSU got hot from deep, hitting four of seven 3-point tries in the quarter, with Asi making all three of her attempts.

“We’re best when we’re playing fast,” Hoyt said. “The cool thing for us right now is that we finally have everyone healthy that will be able to be healthy throughout the season.

“We finally have our team back. … That helped us have the confidence that we could play at that pace the whole game.”

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Résumé-building win

The regular-season sweep of Baylor is the cornerstone of OSU’s case for the NCAA Tournament. Texas and Iowa State are both higher in NET rankings among Big 12 opponents, but OSU has road losses to both.

With the Jan. 11 win at Baylor — currently No. 22 in NET — coupled with Saturday’s victory, the Cowgirls have yet again boosted the thought that they belong.

Depending on what happens with Iowa State in its game at West Virginia on Saturday night, the Cowgirls could jump to third place, but will be no lower than fourth, in the Big 12 standings.

Now, OSU gets a brief break, not playing until next Saturday when it travels to face Texas Tech in Lubbock at 2 p.m.

Having dealt with a couple nagging injury issues over the last few weeks, the break is welcome.

“Our team, they have given us everything they’ve got,” Hoyt said. “They have pushed through for us, just not ever making excuses about how they feel or what their bodies are like right now.

“I think they’re very mature in understanding that everyone’s battling something at this point in the season.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Cowgirls rout Baylor Bears women's basketball