Oklahoma State women's basketball a No. 8 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Miami

STILLWATER — Jacie Hoyt qualified for one NCAA Tournament as a college basketball coach before she came to Oklahoma State last March.

Qualified for one, played in none.

Barring something wildly unexpected, that changes this week.

Hoyt’s first Cowgirl squad earned an at-large berth Sunday to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed in the Greenville 2 Region and will play No. 9 Miami on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.

The winner of the Cowgirls (21-11) vs. Hurricanes (19-12) would likely play top-seeded Indiana (27-3) on Monday.

In the previous five years as the head coach at Missouri-Kansas City, one of Hoyt’s teams qualified for one NCAA Tournament, winning the Western Athletic Conference in 2020 — which, of course, was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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“Going to the NCAA Tournament is something that we all dream of,” Hoyt said. “That's the whole point. At the start of the year that's what it's about.

“I’m incredibly excited. The only time as a head coach that I had an opportunity to get to do that was taken away by COVID, so that really taught me not to take things for granted and just to be incredibly present. I am going to do that. … I love the team that I get to do it with and share that memory with.”

OSU point guard Naomie Alnatas was a member of that 2020 UMKC team as well, and isn’t taking lightly the opportunity ahead of her and the Cowgirls.

“We get to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Alnatas said. “That’s something I was never able to experience.

“I am going to experience something that I only have heard about before.”

Hoyt says the experience made her a better coach, because it taught her to stay focused on the moment at hand, rather than constantly looking ahead.

“Just to know you worked so hard for something and then not be able to get to experience it, or see your kids experience it, was very hard,” Hoyt said. “But it has made this ride that much sweeter.

“It taught me just to stay in the present and soak up the time that you've got. I felt like as a coach at that point in time I was always focused on the next game and the next game and the next game, and I never really appreciated those very, very special moments.”

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The Cowgirls are coming off a loss to Texas, which was the top seed of the Big 12 Tournament, but more importantly, OSU picked up a victory in the tournament, topping West Virginia on Terryn Milton’s last-second shot. That snapped a three-game losing streak for OSU, which goes into the NCAA opener with a 21-11 record.

The Cowgirls were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12’s preseason poll, yet climbed as high as third in the standings before landing in fourth. Hoyt’s first season has been full of overachieving moments.

It’s the journey the 35-year-old coach has enjoyed the most.

“No one thought that we would be in this position,” Hoyt said. “This team has overcome all odds and far exceeded anyone's expectations, so I’m really excited.

“I know I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, and I couldn't be more thankful than to get to represent the Cowgirls.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: March Madness 2023: Oklahoma State to face Miami in NCAA Tournament