OKLAHOMA STATE BASKETBALL: Biggest game in Cowgirls' history?

The game is being carried by FSN affiliates at 4pm Eastern today. (YEA! MSG+ is showing the game up in my neck of the woods).

HatcoCowboy did a great job profiling the matchup between Odyssey Sims and Tiffany Bias, but a look at some Big 12 stats shows this is more than just a two player game.

CONFERENCE GAMES ONLY:

Scoring offense
Baylor   76.0 (1)
OSU     67.4 (4)

Scoring defense
Baylor   58.3 (1)
OSU     58.6 (2)

Scoring margin
Baylor   17.7 (1)...this is the scariest stat of them all
OSU       8.9 (2)

FT%
Baylor   70.9% (4)
OSU     69.5% (6)
Not a great stat for either team. This is a number that can jump up and bite you in big games.

FG%
Baylor   42.2% (2) This # is largely due to Sims. Outside of her, the Lady Bears shoot only 38.2% from the field.
OSU     40.3% (5)

FG% defense
Baylor   34.7 (2)
OSU     38.0 (5)

3PT%
Baylor   37.2 (1) Another stat Sims dominates. The rest of the Lady Bears avg only 24.1% from 3 (13-54)
OSU     35.9 (3)

3PT% defense
Baylor  24.0 (2)
OSU    20.2 (1)

Rebounding margin
Baylor  +11.0...46.3 - 35.3 (1)
OSU      +2.9...39.7 - 36.9 (4)
This could be a very troublesome stat for the Cowgirls.

Both teams are in the top 5 in the Big 12 in Turnover Margin and Assist to Turnover Ratio.

This game really comes down to a couple of areas. How will the Cowgirls approach Sims? Will they try to bottle her up and force the rest of her team to pick up the slack, or will they allow her to get her points and shut down the rest of the Lady Bears? For OSU, they will need to hit their outside shots, maintain offensive balance, and keep Baylor off the offensive glass. Coach Littell's team has suffered through several slow starts and has a tendency to give up too many easy buckets, which they can't afford to do this afternoon against an elite program.

Baylor whipped West Virginia in Morgantown as Sims put up 48. The Cowgirls only loss was to the Mountaineers in GIA, so the transitive properties don't look so good in that respect.

With West Virginia's recent loss to Texas, OSU sits alone atop the Big 12, with a half game lead over Baylor. We can't emphasize enough how HUGE a win today would be for this program, because until somebody knocks Baylor off the pedestal the Lady Bears are still the "Jayhawks" of Big 12 women's basketball.

GO COWGIRLS!!!!