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Tested by Design: Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball's Brutal Path to Big 12 Readiness
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- Tested by Design: Oklahoma State Women’s Basketball's Brutal Path to Big 12 Readiness
(USA Today Via Reuters)
STILLWATER, Okla. —Oklahoma State women's basketball has a tough nonconference schedule by design. After losing in the second round of the NCAA tournament to eventual champions UCLA, Oklahoma State hit the transfer portal hard in the offseason and made a huge splash with the addition of two stars Liv McGill and Audi Crooks . Along with those two headliners, OSU has six other incoming transfers, which was much needed after nine of last season's Cowgirls transferred out of the program. With this new team there is a lot of talent, but on-court chemistry and team play is also vital for a successful basketball season. So, OSU wanted to test this new team, which coach Jacie Hoyt gave high praises by referring to them as the most talented roster she has been privileged to coach. With a nonconference schedule that features some of the best teams in the sport; it's all by design to prepare this team to play tough opponents later down the stretch of the season.
"Well we've been very intentional in our nonconference to schedule a lot of teams that are going to prepare us for the grind of the Big 12," Hoyt said.
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The Cowgirls were predicted to win the Big 12 in the 2026-27 Monster Energy Big 12 Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll, which would be their first conference title in the Big 12 and their first as a program since the Cowgirls won the Big Eight tournament in 1991.
The Three Huge Nonconference Matchups To Watch Out For
OSU's nonconference schedule is especially notable, because the game that is most likely to be the team's toughest challenge for the entire year shows up on the nonconference slate. The aforementioned game is OSU's Dec. 6 matchup against the No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. It's one challenge to play the national championship runner-up South Carolina, but even more of a challenge to go play the Gamecocks in Columbia. "Nobody signs up to go to South Carolina," Hoyt said.
Besides the juggernaut of a challenge for this Cowgirl team in South Carolina, OSU is poised to face two other top 25 teams in it's nonconference schedule. OSU's first ranked matchup of the year comes on Nov. 27 where the Cowgirls face No. 16 Washington in a nuetral site matchup during the Coconut Hoops tournament in Fort Myer's Florida. The third team the Cowgirls face is ranked lower than the prior two mentioned programs, but for the Cowgirl fans it may be the biggest game of them all, which is of course the Bedlam game against the rival No. 22 Oklahoma Sooners. In last year's Bedlam matchup, which is played annually in the Oklahoma City Thunder's Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, the Sooners won 92-70. So, although the Sooners aren't the highest ranked opponent in this nonconference schedule for the Cowgirls, the in-state rivalry between these two top 25 teams will create a firework of a matchup and one that both fans anticipate highly.
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Tough Nonconference Games Will Show The Cowgirls How Challenging The Rest Of The Year Will Be
During Big 12 media day coach Hoyt mentioned time and time again the importance of being prepared for Big 12 play.
"So, we're going to find a lot of what we're made of very early on and i think that's so important to be battle-tested going into the Big 12 knowing you have to be at your absolute best night in and night out because if you slip up your going to pay in the biggest way," Hoyt said.
Hoyt mentioned how the Bedlam game especially is important as a way to gauge what this team is made of, and she isn't just thinking about the Big 12, Hoyt mentioned how this game is crucial as it will help her team prepare for post-season play.
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"But ultimately, we are just running our own race and we understand everyday we have a process that we have to go through ultimately to get the results that we want," Hoyt said. "Which obviously is for everyone is to win, just taking it day by day and understanding that that's going to be a game that's going to carry a lot of weight for us in terms of what we're made of and how we measure up but also where we need to be in the most important time of the year, which is March."
The Cowgirls last year fell to the Kansas State Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to UCLA, but with all the incoming talent in the offseason OSU and it's fans anticipate major improvement.
