Published: March 18, 2008 07:08 am            

Cowgirls earn a No. 3 seed, face ETSU on Saturday

For Oklahoma State, losing the chance to play an NCAA Tournament game in Oklahoma City was disheartening.

However, the 13th-ranked Cowgirls got quite a consolation prize — their highest seed in program history.

O-State (25-7) was named the No. 3 seed in the New Orleans Regional on Monday night, and will meet 14th-seeded East Tennessee State in Des Moines, Iowa, at 7 p.m. Saturday in a first-round contest that will be televised on ESPN2.

“It’s an exciting time to see your name on that board with a three next to it,” said OSU coach Kurt Budke. “That says a lot about where the program is heading.”

The Cowgirls were hoping to earn a bid in the OKC Regional, but Bedlam rival Oklahoma got the spot instead. The 14th-ranked Sooners received the No. 4 seed and if they win a pair of games, they will head to the Ford Center for a Sweet 16 matchup.

Meanwhile, if the Cowgirls advance to the final 16, they would likely face second-seeded and sixth-ranked Louisiana State in its own backyard at New Orleans Arena.

“It doesn’t matter to us whether it’s Oklahoma City or Alaska,” said senior Danielle Green. “We don’t care who, where or when we play — we just want to win.”

Sophomore Megan Byford added, “We really wanted to play in front of kind of a home crowd, but it’s awesome that we got a No. 3 seed. We’ll make the best of it. We just want to show the world that Cowgirl basketball is here and we’re here to stay.”

Two years ago, a trip to the NCAA tourney was a pipe dream for OSU. The Cowgirls were coming off a 6-22 season that included a program-worst 17-game losing streak. Last season, they earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAAs and fell to Bowling Green in the opening round.

“This is very special,” said sophomore Andrea Riley. “Nobody thought we were going to get anywhere. To be able to come in here and help turn a program around is very fun. It motivates me to want to work harder and accomplish even bigger things.”

Budke added, “Last year at this time, I think deep down we were a little satisfied just to get in the tournament. This year, we’re in the tournament to win ball games.”

O-State has never faced ETSU (21-11), which is making its first NCAA tourney appearance. The Lady Buccaneers — who claimed the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship — have won eight straight games and 15 of their last 16.

If the Cowgirls win Saturday, they would meet either sixth-seeded Ohio State (22-8) or No. 11 seed Florida State (18-13) next Monday. The school has made just one trip to the Sweet 16, which came in 1990-91 when it finished with a program-best 27 wins.

“It would’ve been fun to have the chance at Oklahoma City because I think you would have seen 18,000 orange shirts in there,” Budke said. “We’re not going to complain and we’re not going to whine about it. We’re just going to go play basketball.”

At the conclusion of Monday’s NCAA Selection Show, Budke stood atop the bar on the club level of Boone Pickens Stadium and delivered a message to the hundreds of Cowgirl supporters in attendance.

“If you can find a way to Des Moines, Iowa, find that way because we’re going to be a lot of fun to watch,” the third-year boss said.



Notes of interest

• In addition to OSU and the Sooners, the Big 12 sent six other teams to the NCAAs — Iowa State (No. 7 in Greensboro), Texas (No. 8 in Greensboro), Nebraska (No. 8 in Spokane), Baylor (No. 3 in Spokane), Kansas State (No. 5 in New Orleans) and Texas A&M (No. 2 in OKC).

The conference also has three representatives in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament — Colorado, Kansas and Texas Tech.

• Oral Roberts won the Summit League’s tournament championship last week. Its reward? Facing the defending national champion in the first round. The 16th-seeded Golden Eagles meet No. 1 seed and third-ranked Tennessee on Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind.

Nina Stone, who competed for OSU from 2003-05 and earned the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Year award in ’04, is into her first year as an assistant coach for ORU.

• Texas-San Antonio is making its first NCAA tourney appearance and will take on Texas A&M on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. The 15th-seeded Roadrunners are led by Monica Gibbs, a former Stillwater High product averaging 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds.

Also on UTSA’s roster is Amanda Foster, who suited up for the Cowgirls in 2005-06. She is recording 8.2 points and 6.4 boards per outing.

        

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