Oklahoma State Cowgirls Lose Season Finale To Sooners

It was an offensive game that even legendary Cowboy coach Henry Iba would have been embarrassed of.

At least that's how Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale put it after her Sooners beat the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 66-56 in the final game of the regular season.

"I thought in the first half, Mr. Iba was watching and he was just so disappointed," Coale said. "But then I thought, he really liked defense, so maybe he was super excited about what was occurring. I didn't think either team was ever going to be able to put the ball in the basket

"Fortunately the second half was better basketball and we got a few more shots to go in then they did but it wasn't really a very pretty 40 minute from either of us."

The first half was terrible basketball indeed, as the Cowgirls (19-10 overall, 9-9 Big 12) finished with a one-point lead at 20-19 despite outrebounding the Sooners 30-15.

Why the Cowgirls weren't able to take advantage of the great rebounding by halftime was simple, it just couldn't shoot.

"To many possessions where we had, what I thought were good shots," OSU coach Jim Littell said. "It seemed like in the first half we shot air balls on 10 to 12 foot shots and you can't just do that and beat a good team."

Halftime seemed to have jumpstarted the Cowgirls a little as it scored 19 points in the first ten minutes, most from senior forward Liz Donohoe.

However, the Sooners (19-10, 13-5) seemed to have found its shooting stride as well, shooting 56.7 percent from the field in the second half.

"We practiced triple-threat, all of us, we just got up and practiced triple-threat," Coale said. "We practiced breathing. I thought the first half offensively, and I told them this at halftime, everybody's playing like they had three Red Bulls before they went out on the floor."

Not only were the Cowgirls unable to convert from the field, but the free throws were not helping the Cowgirls either, as it shot a collective 64.5 percent from the free throw line.

"You're not going to win when you don't convert at the free throw line," Littell said. "You're not going to win many basketball games when you shoot 25 percent and don't shoot so well at the free throw line either."

One bright spot for the Cowgirls was Donohoe, who was playing on the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena for the last time in her career. Donohoe led all scorers with 23 points and picked up seven rebounds.

"It's awesome what our teams have been able to accomplish in my four years." Donohoe said. "It's been a special, special ride here with the Cowgirls and I'm very blessed."