Oklahoma State women's basketball has had a rollercoaster recent history, being extremely consistent with how inconsistent it has been from season to season.
For the past six years, the Cowgirls have oscillated between seasons that end in the NCAA Tournament (2021, 23, 25) and seasons that end with a record at or below .500 (2020, 22, 24). They've had seasons both averaging more than 75 PPG and less than 58 PPG within this span.
Last year was a big success for Oklahoma State and head coach Jacie Hoyt, who in her third season got the Cowgirls to 25 wins and a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament. It was the most wins for an Oklahoma State team since also reaching 25 in 2013-14, but it was now up to Hoyt to avoid falling back into a valley after reaching a new summit.
Thus far, Oklahoma State appears to be on the right path to staying the course. The Pokes are 8-1, and while the schedule to this point has been fairly light, they picked up an important neutral site win over Miami (FL) this weekend and have continued to impress offensively, particularly with some key improvements behind the arc.
Last season — a successful 25-win campaign, as a reminder — Oklahoma State averaged 76.4 PPG (29th in NCAA) and shot 33.9% from three (72nd). The Cowgirls averaged about 24 three-point attempts per game and had a 34.1% three-point rate, which ranked as the 80th-most perimeter-heavy attack in the country.
Through these first nine games, each of those numbers have went up in a big way. Oklahoma State is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 94.9 PPG. The Pokes are shooting the lights out everywhere, and that includes from deep, where they are 10th with a 39.4 3PT%. This, paired with a 38.3% three-point rate, has led Oklahoma State to 104 threes made this season, the first team in the nation to surpass 100 on the year.
The long-range attack has been a three-headed monster thus far this season: A returnee, a transfer and a freshman.
- Micah Gray, Returning senior
- 14.1 PPG, 25 3PT made, 37.3 3PT%
Gray is entering her second season with the Cowgirls, and has been a key perimeter weapon throughout her collegiate career. She has averaged at least 6.8 three attempts per game each season, but her efficiency this season would be a big improvement over her current career high of 33.6%.
Another growth in Gray's game has occurred throughout the Oklahoma State lineup: Improved facilitating. Gray is currently more than doubling her personal best in assists per game (1.4 last season) with 3.1 per game. Last season, the Pokes had 13.8 assists per game and a 50.3% assist rate, numbers that ranked 134th and 276th in the country. This year, they are averaging 21.7 APG with a 63.5% assist rate, ranking fourth and 49th, respectively.
- Haleigh Timmer, South Dakota State transfer
- 14.8 PPG, 26 3PT made, 49.1 3PT%
Timmer's impressive run at South Dakota State may not have had quite the level of three-point volume that Gray brings (4.4 3PA per game last season), but she was extremely consistent, shooting north of 37% from deep all three seasons, including a high of 41.3% in 24-25. Oklahoma State saw her talent firsthand as the Cowgirls lost to the Jackrabbits 74-68 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Since then, the move to Stillwater has appeared to be well worth it for Timmer, who is averaging career highs in scoring, assists and steals. She is also averaging a 50-40-90 and doing it with ease at 59.3/49.1/91.7, all of which would also be personal bests.
- Lena Girardi, freshman
- 13.6 PPG, 29 3PT made, 40.8 3PT%
In terms of purely Oklahoma State's three-point shooting boom, no one is more the cause of it than Girardi. She's averaging just over 20 minutes per game, yet she leads the Pokes in both makes and attempts from beyond the arc. It has been complete bombs away off the bench for Girardi to this point, which I think is a tremendous sign for a first-year player.
Girardi has made a three in every game this season and starter her collegiate career with five straight games with 8+ deep ball attempts. It has settled a bit over the following four contests, but Girardi has still hit double figures in 7 of 9 games with only 17 total attempts from inside the arc.
Girardi, Gray and Timmer have combined for 80 made threes through nine games. Their 8.89 threes per game would rank 33rd out of 363 Division-I teams. It's been a huge jolt of lightning to one of the country's more electric offenses in the early part of this season.
In total, Oklahoma State's 11.6 threes made per game trails only Fairfield at 12.5. The Cowgirls have a slight advantage over the Stags' 38.7 shooting percentage, but Fairfield has also been more tested overall, with games against Villanova, USF, North Carolina and Iowa. The Pokes have plenty of significant in-conference games ahead against the likes of Baylor, TCU, Iowa State and Kansas State, as well as a battle against Oklahoma on Dec. 13.
That said, so far, Oklahoma State's two toughest tests were its recent win over the Hurricanes and a 74-67 road loss to St. John's (NY). In both games, the three-point shooting decreased to just 16 attempts: The Cowgirls made 8 of 16 in the win and 4 of 16 in the loss.
The perimeter attack is clearly a useful weapon for the Pokes this season, and it especially works in an offense that is moving the ball around efficiently and dominating on the interior, both things that this Oklahoma State team has done plenty of through nine games.
This roster clear has plenty of weapons, and it has a variety of ways it can win games. It's likely pretty rare to be leading the country in three-point makes while also holding the No. 2 rebound rate (62.8%) and No. 3 two-point percentage (59.9%), but that's just how impressive the offensive side has been to this point.
It seems like Hoyt has avoided falling back into the divots that have been commonplace for Oklahoma State in recent seasons, and a hyper-efficient offense with significant three-point volume could lead to heights past simply making the tournament for this team. More games against tougher opponents — and maintaining the scoring balance while doing so — will be a huge key in seeing if this is the roster than can get the Cowgirls back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
