Cowgirls head to South Dakota State for first time in program history

No. 19/20 Oklahoma State at South Dakota State
Game 5 · November 15, 2026 · 1 p.m. (CT)
Venue: First Bank and Trust Arena (5,000)
Watch: CBS Sports Network (Alex Heinert, Missy Heidrick, Ana Bellinghausen)
Radio: KGFY — 105.5 FM, Varsity Network App
(Casey Kendrick)
Stats: okstate.statbroadcast.com
Tickets: gojacks.com/tickets
Social Media: X — @osuwbb, Instagram — @osuwbb
Facebook — www.facebook.com/CowgirlBasketball/

Pokes Primer
The No. 19/20 Oklahoma State women's basketball team (3-1 overall, 0-0 Big 12) closes its first road stretch of the season with a trip to South Dakota State (1-2 overall, 0-0 Summit) for the first time in program history, with tip set for 1 p.m. on Sunday in Brookings, S.D.

OSU looks to bounce back from a 64-62 overtime loss at Tulsa on Thursday night. Audi Crooks led the Cowgirls with 17 points, extending her double-figure streak to 102 games. Stailee Heard grabbed 15 rebounds in her 100th career game, and Liv McGill added 13 points, seven rebounds and a season-high nine assists.

The Cowgirl defense is holding opponents to 49.3 points per game, 29.8% shooting and 26.7% from 3-point range. No opponent has shot better than 40% from the field this season.

OSU has outrebounded all four opponents, holding a 190-131 edge on the glass (+14.8 per contest).

The Cowgirls are averaging 82.3 points per game, led by Liv McGill (16.8 ppg, 7.3 apg) and Audi Crooks (16.5 ppg). Seven Cowgirls are averaging at least 6.0 points per game.

McGill ranks seventh in the nation with 29 assists through OSU's first four contests.

Sunday's contest is a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Tournament first round, when South Dakota State beat OSU 74-68 in Storrs, Conn. It's only the third meeting between the two teams, with SDSU holding a 2-0 record in those games.

Oklahoma State from a Distance
            Coming off a 24-win season that included the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since 2020-21, the Oklahoma State women's basketball team enters 2026-27 as the Big 12 Conference preseason favorite for the first time in program history. Head coach Jacie Hoyt, now in her fifth season, rebuilt the roster with 11 newcomers — nine transfers and two freshmen — to go with lone returner Stailee Heard. The Sapulpa, Okla., native was a second-team All-Big 12 selection last season and gives OSU a steady veteran presence after averaging 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds as a junior.
            Joining Heard is the nation's unanimous No. 1 transfer class, which brought 656 career games and 8,172 career points to Stillwater. The group of nine is highlighted by the top two prospects in the portal, Audi Crooks (Iowa State), a three-time AP All-American who has scored in double figures in 102 straight games, and Liv McGill (Florida), a 2026 honorable mention All-American who reached 400 career assists against Morgan State. Division II National Player of the Year Talexa Weeter (Fort Hays State), Nene Ndiaye (Rutgers) and Ellie Brueggemann (Lindenwood) each averaged double figures last season. Zoe Canfield (Missouri State), Yuting Deng (Baylor), Callin Hake (Nebraska) and LA Sneed (Utah) all bring experience, with Hake having played in 131 career games. Freshmen Mojca Jelenc, a 6-foot-7 center who has played for Slovenia's senior national team, and Addisyn Bollinger, a sharpshooter from Lubbock, Texas, round out the roster.

Notable Streaks and Trends
• OSU is 26-15 in the next game after a loss under Hoyt.
• OSU has outscored its opponents 75-29 at the free throw line this season, making more free throws than its opponents have attempted (45).
• OSU is 36-2 at home over the last three seasons, including 11 straight wins at GIA.
• OSU has won 30 straight nonconference home games, dating to Dec. 3, 2022. It's the third-longest such streak in program history, behind 61 (2010-18) and 47 (2005-10).
• Dating to the 2024-25 season, Stailee Heard has started in 69 consecutive games for OSU.
• Dating to the second game of her career in 2023-24, Audi Crooks has scored in double figures in 102 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in Division I.
• Liv McGill has notched at least two assists in 57 straight contests.
• McGill has tallied at least five assists in all four games this season.
• LA Sneed has recorded an assist in all 36 games of her career.

Series History
            OSU and South Dakota State have met twice before, but this season marks the Cowgirls first trip to Brookings. The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series 2-0, claiming an 89-61 win in Stillwater on Dec. 30, 2004, before knocking OSU out of the NCAA Tournament in 2025, 74-68, on a neutral court in Storrs, Conn.

Short Memory
            OSU was 9-0 after a loss last season and didn't lose back-to-back games all year. The Cowgirls haven't dropped consecutive games since March 2025, and the second of those losses came against South Dakota State in the NCAA Tournament.

All Over the Glass
            The Cowgirls have outrebounded their first four opponents by a combined margin of 190-131 and hit the 50-rebound mark twice so far this season after only doing so in three games last year. OSU ranks No. 10 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (34.0) and No. 25 in rebounding margin (+14.8).
            Four Cowgirls are averaging at least 6.8 rebounds per game this season (Crooks, Deng, Heard and McGill).

Defensive Effort
            OSU is allowing just 49.3 points per game this season while opponents are shooting 29.8% from the field (72-of-242) and 26.7% from 3-point range (24-of-90). No opponent has shot 40% or better from the field this season.
            The Pokes rank third in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (29.8%) and steals per game (11.3).

Money From the Line
            The Cowgirls rank third in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (77.3%) and went 12-of-13 from the charity stripe against Tulsa. OSU has outscored its opponents 75-29 at the free throw line this season, making more free throws than its opponents have attempted (45).
            Nene Ndiaye ranks second in the league at 91.7% from the line and LA Sneed is sixth (85.7%). Audi Crooks has made a free throw in 73 straight games and Liv McGill in 43 straight contests.

Hoyt's House of Horrors
            OSU has won 30 straight nonconference contests inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, dating to Dec. 3, 2022. The last nonconference team to win in Stillwater was Kent State, 59-56, on Nov. 20, 2022. The Cowgirls have won the 30 games by an average of 38.9 points, outscoring opponents 2,758-1,591 in that stretch. It's the third-longest nonconference home winning streak in program history, trailing a program record 61 straight set from 2010-18.

Heard Hit the Boards
            Stailee Heard, back in her hometown of Tulsa, recorded eight points and 15 rebounds (11 in the first half) at Tulsa on Nov. 12. Her 15 rebounds are the most by a Big 12 player this season, and it was the second-most of her career, behind only the 17 she grabbed in her triple double against Iowa State.

Liv's Everywhere
            Liv McGill notched her second 20+-point outing as a Cowgirl with 23 points, seven assists and three rebounds against Northwestern State on Monday. She is just the fourth player this century to have at least 50 points, 20 rebounds and 20+ assists through her first three career games with any DI team.
            The junior guard is also the only Big 12 player averaging at least seven rebounds and seven assists this season.

Audi-matic
            Audi Crooks reached 100 consecutive games in double figures with 14 points against Morgan State on Nov. 6, becoming just the third Big 12 player and the 12th Division I player to do so since 1999-00. Currently at 102 games, It's the second-longest active streak in Division I and 18 games behind the Big 12 record of 120 set by OU's Courtney Paris. Her 102-game streak is tied for the 11th-longest in the NCAA since 1999-00.

One of the Big 12's Best — Ever
            The Nov. 2 opener against Southern marked the 100th career game for Audi Crooks, who has pieced together an illustrious career so far and is one of the best to ever play in the Big 12. She finished last season as one of two DI (men's or women's), NBA or WNBA players this century to record at least 25.0 points per game while shooting at least 64.7% from the field in a single season. She reached the 2,000 career point mark in her 89th career game, the fastest player to do so in Big 12 history.

Leaving a Legacy
            Stailee Heard could have joined the wave of departures that left OSU at the end of the 2025-26 season, but she stayed in Stillwater because she wanted to "leave a legacy at OSU." A three-time All-Big 12 performer who featured in her 100th career game on Nov. 12 against Tulsa, she's well on her way to doing just that.

Weeter Warming Up
            Talexa Weeter posted her first double-figure game as a Cowgirl against Morgan State, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and eight rebounds in 24 minutes. The reigning Division II National Player of the Year led NCAA Division II in scoring at 27.5 points per game for Fort Hays State last season and scored in double figures in 41 straight games to close her career there.

Callin's Got a Servant Heart
            Callin Hake, a late addition to the team after being granted her fifth year of eligibility, was named OSU's Kay Yow Servant Leader for the 2026-27 season. The recipients of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund Servant Leader Award are people of great character who put the needs of others before their own, who uplift others, and who do it with grace and humility. They are nominated by their coach, and are people who exemplify Coach Yow's spirit and who reflect her resolve, grace, generosity, and servant's heart.
            Hake has been called the "glue player" on the team several times by head coach Jacie Hoyt.

Secured Some Sharpshooters
            With the addition of Ellie Brueggemann and Nene Ndiaye, OSU added two of the nation's top returning 3-point shooters. Brueggemann ranks No. 10 (44.0%) and Ndiaye ranks No. 29 (41.6%) among returning DI players in 3-point percentage.
            The pair will surely fit right into a program that set school records with 310 3-pointers and 9.1 3-pointers per game in 2025-26.

What Can't Liv Do?
            The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, Liv McGill is one of four DI players who accumulated at least 1,000 career points, 300 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals as an underclassman over the past two seasons (while at Florida). Last season, she finished as the only player in the country to average 20 points (22.5), six assists (6.3) and six rebounds (6.1) per game.

Elite Company for Crooks
            Audi Crooks has recorded at least 800 points and 200 rebounds in each of the last two seasons — the rest of DI has combined for one such season in that span (Hannah Hidalgo in 2025-26). The three-time All-American can join Caitlin Clark and Brittney Griner as the only DI players this century with three such campaigns.

Wade Watchin'
            Audi Crooks and Liv McGill were both named to the 2026-27 Wade Trophy Watch List, the oldest and most prestigious national player of the year award in women's college basketball. OSU is the only team in the country with multiple players on the 15-player list, and Crooks and McGill are the first Cowgirl teammates to be named to the preseason watch list in program history.

Size and Length
            The Cowgirls have a unique blend of size and skill on the roster for 2026-27 as five players stand 6-foot or taller, and nine of the 12 players on the roster are at least 5-foot-11. Mojca Jelenc, a 6-foot-7 freshman from Slovenia, is tied for the tallest Cowgirl in program history. Audi Crooks (6-foot-3) provides OSU with a second true post presence, and three Cowgirl guards are 6-foot or taller: Yuting Deng (6-foot-2), Nene Ndiaye (6-foot-1) and Talexa Weeter (6-foot).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Addisyn Bollinger

Ellie Brueggemann

Zoe Canfield

Audi Crooks

Yuting Deng

Callin Hake

Stailee Heard

Mojca Jelenc

Liv McGill

Nene Ndiaye

LA Sneed

Talexa Weeter

Oklahoma State University Athletics