Cowgirls Fall In Second Round Action To Mississippi State

Charles Davis once told me that Starkville isn’t the end of the world, but you can see it from there. That’s where the Cowgirls were for their second round NCAA Tournament game against 1-seed Mississippi State.

The Cowgirls got hot early and jumped out to a 20-16 lead after the first quarter, looking for an upset of the 33-1 Bulldogs. The second quarter was more of the same as the two teams traded shots for much of the period before Mississippi State pulled ahead 35-34 at halftime.

Plays like this one on defense helped keep the Cowgirls in the game in the first half ⬇️.

Kaylee Jensen was a big reason for the Cowgirls’ early success. She led OSU in scoring with 18 on 7 of 16 shooting to go with seven rebounds. OSU struggled to find her in the third quarter and Mississippi State took advantage. The turning point came late in the third quarter with MSU up 49-43. Star graduate transfer Loryn Goodwin picked up an offensive foul that led to an easy two points for Miss State on the other end. The foul was her fourth and she was taken out.

The Bulldogs were able to push the lead to 10 heading into the fourth quarter, and they were able to keep it there for a majority of the period. A Mandy Coleman three-pointer with 9:15 left cut the MSU lead to eight, but that’s as close as the Cowgirls would get as Mississippi State was able to coast to a 71-56 win.

The Bulldogs advance to meet North Carolina State in the Sweet 16 next Friday in Kansas City.

Thank you to our three Cowgirl seniors for amazing careers at Oklahoma State