How Terryn Milton has become Oklahoma State Cowgirls' 'engine that ignites everything'

STILLWATER — Terryn Milton had proven a lot about herself as a basketball player over four years at the University of Texas at Arlington.

She had scored more than 1,000 career points, been an All-Sun Belt Conference honoree, played in the NCAA Tournament.

But she hadn’t done it at a major conference, and that’s a big reason why she headed for the transfer portal last March.

Now at Oklahoma State, she has not only proven herself capable of playing Big 12 basketball, but become a crucial piece of first-year coach Jacie Hoyt’s renaissance of the Cowgirl program.

As OSU (20-8, 10-6 Big 12) prepares to open March with a road game at West Virginia at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Morgantown, Milton is third on the Cowgirl roster in scoring (10.3 points per game), second in rebounding (4.8) and first in assists (3.9).

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“That’s why I wanted to come to this level,” said Milton, an Owasso native. “I wanted to be in a bigger conference with better competition. I got that and it’s been so fun going out there and competing every night.

“There are no nights off. Every team is good in this league, so it’s super-fun.”

Because of her variety of talents, Hoyt feels she can put Milton in any situation.

“I wouldn’t take another point guard in the conference, honestly, because she does so much,” Hoyt said. “Defensively, she has the toughest defensive assignment from a guard standpoint every game. But offensively, she’s our engine. If she’s not going, we’re not going. She’s that engine that ignites everything for us on both ends of the floor.

“It’s been fun watching her get that fire within her, because when she’s playing with that, she’s the best player on the floor, I think.”

With two games remaining in the regular season, OSU is tied for third place in the Big 12 standings with Iowa State and Baylor. West Virginia is in sixth with an 8-8 conference record, and a résumé that has it on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

The Cowgirls saw their six-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday in a loss at Kansas, a team similarly on the bubble.

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OSU seems solidly in the NCAA Tournament, but it has the chance to strengthen its status, though West Virginia is No. 71 in the NET rankings. OSU is at No. 43 but has five wins over teams in the top 30 — Texas, Florida State, Iowa State and Baylor twice.

Still, if the Cowgirls are going to get back on the winning track, Milton will help anchor the charge.

“T. is a very quiet leader,” OSU junior guard Lexy Keys said. “She leads by example, through her experiences. She’s very knowledgeable about the game.

“We call her Coach T. a lot. She’s a great basketball player, but she helps us learn every single day.”

As one of five super-seniors on the roster, Milton will only have this season to impact OSU basketball, but she’s not taking her role lightly in helping lay the foundation for the future of Hoyt’s program.

Even though her career is nearing its end, with just two regular-season games, then the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments, Milton is focused on a strong finish.

“You feel it coming to an end, but also, the end of the year is the most exciting time,” Milton said. “I don’t think we’re thinking so much as the season’s about to end, but just, we wanna go make some noise. We wanna do something big here that’s never been done before and we think we have the right pieces to do it.”

OSU vs. West Virginia

TIPOFF: 6 p.m. Wednesday at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, W.Va. (ESPN+)

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Terryn Milton has become Oklahoma State Cowgirls' 'engine'