No. 22/19 Cowgirls close homestand with Class at the Court

It's Class at the Court day at Gallagher-Iba Arena as the No. 22/19 Oklahoma State women's basketball team (2-0 overall, 0-0 Big 12) hosts Northwestern State (1-1 overall, 0-0 SLC) Monday morning at 11 a.m. CT. Local and regional elementary schools were invited to bring their classes to the contest.

OSU improved to 2-0 on the season in dominant fashion with a 92-38 win over Morgan State on Friday evening as five Cowgirls finished in double-digits, led by Liv McGill's 24-point outburst. The Florida transfer added eight rebounds and eight assists on the night while Audi Crooks scored in double figures for the 100th consecutive game and notched her first double-double as a Cowgirl (14 points, 11 boards).

The Cowgirls' defense has stood out in the first two contests as they held their first two opponents under 40 points for the first time since OSU's inaugural season in 1973-74.

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. The Cowgirls have lived up to the billing so far, opening 2-0 with wins over Southern and Morgan State by an average of 48 points. 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 100 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 35-2 at home over the last three seasons, including 10 straight wins at GIA.
• OSU has won 29 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).
• OSU has held back-to-back opponents under 40 points for the first time since December 2011.
• Dating to the 2024-25 season, Stailee Heard has started in 67 consecutive games for OSU.
• Dating to the second game of her career in 2023-24, Audi Crooks has scored in double figures in 100 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in Division I.
• Liv McGill has notched at least two assists in 55 straight contests.
• Nene Ndiaye has scored in double figures in eight straight games -— including her first two at OSU.
• Callin Hake has an assist in 39 straight games.
• LA Sneed has recorded an assist in all 34 games of her career.

Series History
            The Cowgirls have won five straight against Northwestern State — all in Stillwater — and hold a 6-1 advantage in a series that dates back to 1975. Hoyt is 1-0 against Northwestern State, an 89-51 win in her second game in charge at OSU.

Dominant Defense
            OSU has held its first two opponents under 40 points for the first time since its inaugural season in 1973-74. It's also the first time holding back-to-back opponents under 40 since Dec. 18 and 22, 2011. The 38 points allowed against MSU is the fewest allowed by a Division I opponent under head coach Jacie Hoyt, passing the previous mark of 39 set in the season opener.
            Opponents are shooting 24.4% from the field (31-of-127) against the Cowgirls this season. The Pokes are allowing just 38.5 points per game and winning by an average of 48 points.

All Over the Glass
            The Cowgirls have outrebounded their first two opponents by a combined margin of 106-61 and have hit the 50-rebound mark twice so far this season. OSU only reached that mark on three occasions last year. Four Cowgirls are averaging 5+ rebounds per contest this season: Audi Crooks (9.0 rpg), Yuting Deng (9.0 rpg), Liv McGill (9.0 rpg) and Talexa Weeter (6.5 rpg).

Hoyt's House of Horrors
            OSU has won 29 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 29 games by an average of 38.9 points, outscoring opponents 2,664-1,535 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.

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. It's the second-longest active streak in Division I and 20 games behind the Big 12 record of 120 set by OU's Courtney Paris.

Liv Had a Night
            Liv McGill was everywhere in OSU's 92-38 win over Morgan State on Friday night. The junior guard led all scorers and notched her first 20-point performance as a Cowgirl (and 34th of her career) as she finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals in the win. Her eighth assist of the night marked the 400th for her career.

Already Making an Impact
            Audi Crooks had quite the opening week after leading all scorers with 22 points in the season opener then posting the first double-double of the season in game two (14 points, 11 rebounds). She's just the fourth Big 12 Conference player this century to record at least 20 points with seven rebounds while shooting at least 90% from the field in an opener.

Welcome to GIA, Nene
            Nene Ndiaye has made herself at home in Stillwater after posting a pair of 16-point outings in her first two games at OSU. The Rutgers transfer is shooting 61.5% from the field (8-of-13) and 62.5% from 3-point range (5-of-8) and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field against Morgan State.

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.

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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