STILLWATER — Oklahoma State junior Taylen Collins had barely played in the second half and was on the bench with four fouls.
But when Kansas State cut the Cowgirls’ 16-point lead to five midway through the fourth quarter, OSU coach Jacie Hoyt sent their versatile forward back into the game.
On OSU’s next possession, Collins grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, hitting two free throws to give the Cowgirls enough cushion to hold an 82-74 win over K-State on Wednesday night at the Gallagher-Iba Arena .
Collins failed after playing just over five minutes in the Cowgirls’ loss in the Cowgirls’ mayhem last Saturday, but she didn’t hesitate when Hoyt floored her just over four minutes from time on Wednesday night.
“It’s always a concern for a coach,” Hoyt said. “That’s the million dollar question, right? Do you play them or don’t you play them? They can either look really stupid or really smart depending on what’s happening. But we must also try to know things.
“So we ultimately decided to put them on the floor and it paid off.”
Collins also had two free throws with 13.6 seconds left and ended her night with 16 points and eight rebounds as the Cowgirls (14-6, 4-4 Big 12) streaked an early January loss to the Wildcats (13-8, 2nd Gen). -6).
“I figured I had to go out and play anyway,” Collins said of their nasty troubles. “Just keep it in the past and focus on what’s to come.”
Four Cowgirls hit double digits, with Naomie Alnatas and Terryn Milton each hitting 17 and adding seven rebounds and six assists each. Lior Garzon scored all 11 of their points in the second half.
Here are two more takeaways from the game:
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points at all levels
Offensively, the Cowgirls were successful from all over the floor.
Alnatas hit five 3-pointers, all in the first half. Most of the field goals scored by Milton were middle-distance jumpers.
In addition to Collins’ 16 points, center Kassidy De Lapp had eight, both working mostly on color.
Overall, the Cowgirls shot 47.4% from the floor (27 of 57) and 40.0% from 3-point range (10 of 25), with Alnatas, Garzon, and Lexy Keys scoring several deep shots.
“We have so many guns,” Hoyt said. “We have so many 3-point shooters. We have a great mail presence. We feel like if we can get a paint touch and kick for 3 seconds then we’re at our best. I thought our kids were exceptional at that.”
And the Cowgirls shared the ball well, assisting 22 of their 27 shots. Alnatas and Milton each had seven, and Claire Chastain added five.
“Our best basketball is when we share the ball,” Alnatas said. “Move it around and find our nine – a nine is a throw we would do nine out of ten. So I think we do really well at giving a five or a seven for a good nine.
“It’s proven that we do our best when we play like this.”
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student vs. teacher
This wasn’t the first time Hoyt had faced Kansas State’s Jeff Mittie — the man who gave Hoyt her first chance as an assistant coach in the Big 12 Conference.
But it was the first time she hit him.
Hoyt had been working as an assistant at Nevada when Mittie hired her as his director of recruitment at K-State in 2014. He promoted her to assistant coach the next year.
Mittie got the best of Hoyt in his first four direct meetings, three of which came while Hoyt was the head coach at Missouri-Kansas City between 2017-22. K-State also defeated OSU in Manhattan earlier this month.
But Hoyt eventually put a tally on their side of the ledger.
“I have so much respect for Coach Mittie,” Hoyt said. “He’s a dear friend of mine. I wouldn’t be on this podium without him, without the opportunities he gave me, without the things he taught me.
“So much of what I am now as a coach I got from him. And not only him, the whole staff. I love this staff very much.”
And Mittie knows that even after this season’s streak is over, he’s not done with Hoyt’s teams.
“First of all, that’s not a surprise to me,” Mittie said. “Jacie will be a good coach for a long, long time. She has a bright future ahead of her. She did an amazing job in Kansas City. She did an amazing job for me in Manhattan. She has a team that I think is very good.”
