November 20, 2021 Issue, Page 4 of 12

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Sp November 20, 2021 Collins, Cowgirls escape first-half deficit to dear to the Oklahoma State family. ...Coach Budke was my best friend, he was the best man in my wedding, his wife win on Remember the Four night played for me. So it’s been an emotional day, and Miranda Hallie Hart, Stillwater lins, a sophomore guard from half, we knew we had to get more than winning or losing, Before the game, OSU took a Serna was as good a lady as there ever has been, and I miss NewsPress. Muldrow, initiated OSU's it together,” Collins said. “We One decade ago, four mem- moment to honor those whose third-quarter metamorphosis, knew we were gonna have to bers of the OSU community lives were lost in the crash, those two on a daily basis.” While reflecting on those After a static first half on kick-starting a sudden run to start the half off really good to died in an airplane crash: Cow- and at halftime, the big screen memories, Littell also had to offense, the Oklahoma State chip away at the Lady Bears’ get ourselves out of the hole girl basketball coach Kurt Bud- displayed a “Remember the coach a game. Although the women’s basketball team advantage. that we dug, and so that was ke, assistant coach Miranda 4” video filled with messages outcome seemed like a foot- needed a massive turnaround With Collins’ leadership, kind of the mindset of every- Serna and boosters Olin and from Tiffany Bias-Patmon, note compared to the signifi- to stand a chance against Mis- the Cowgirls fought their one.” Paula Branstetter. Andrea Riley and other former cance of the day, the Cowgirls souri State. way to a 44-40 comeback vic- Coach Jim Littell appreci- To acknowledge the 10th an- Cowgirls. (2-1) proved their abilities to ‘The deep deficit wouldn't be tory against Missouri State on ated his team’s resilience and niversary of that day, Littell “This night was a lot more transform their game in a mat- easy to overcome, but Taylen Wednesday night in Gallagher- defensive toughness, but to and the Cowgirls wore black thana basketball game,” Littell ter of minutes. Collins decided to give it a try. Iba Arena. him and the Cowgirls, the en- warmup shirts featuring the said. “Ten years ago today, we Collins finished with 16 Her efforts worked, Col- “Coming out of that (first) tire day revolved around much orange “Remember the 4” logo. lost four people that are very points and 11 rebounds to propel OSU to a victory. In the third quarter, the Cowgirls Oklahoma State vs. NC State: Five takeaways from lifted themselves out of a 27- 15 halftime deficit with a 12-2 run. Collins scored the Cow- Cowboy’s victory in Hall of Fame Showcase girls’ first eight points of the quarter, opening the run with a second-chance layup to make it a 10-point game. Jacob Unruh, The Oklahoman Boynton said. “Let's go off,” Boone thought. kept ae confidence. We nated on the glass. Yet, they ‘The Lady Bears (2-1) made ‘The fouling kept NC State Boone scored 20 points — just pass the energy and con- still led at halftime. a fourth-quarter push, cutting It was all for Eddie Sutton in the game until the final 30 18 coming in the second half fidence. That’s what a brother- The defense was huge. So the Cowgirls’ lead to 43-40, once again. seconds. — grabbed four rebounds and hood does.” was the rebounding. but junior guard Lauren Fields The 1995 throwback jerseys. OSU led by as much as 11 in blocked five shots in 18 min- Smith was impressive for the But the offense also started blocked what could have been Playing 68 miles from the Nai- the second half, but NC State utes off the bench. second time in three games. to get going late in the half. Missouri State's tying shot. smith Memorial Basketball clawed its way back at the free- ‘There was his signature foot- He finished with 10 points, Then N’Yah Boyd hit a free Hall of Fame. throw line. NC State made 10 work in the paint, multiple al- five offensive rebounds and OSU closed on a 12-0 run and throw to cap OSU's victory. Oklahoma State won one free shots in the final 4:26, get- ley-oop dunks on passes from a block in 13 minutes, earn- 21-6 overall in the half to take In the first half, it had looked more tournament for its late ting as close as two with 33.6 Bryce Thompson and his typi- ing the nickname “Tyreek the a 31-25 lead. legendary coach. seconds remaining. ealshot bloddng, vp Terrific” from OSU radio voice Walker made a jumper inside nearly impossible for the Cow- ‘The Cowboys fought off their But Bryce Williams made And ona night OSU's two big Dave Hunziker. the free-throw line with 2:41 girls to muster up a win. OSU own slow start before outlast- two free shots with 29.7 sec- men in the starting lineup — “He is the perfect type of left in the half. Then he hit a shot only 6 for 28 from the Moussa Cisse and Matthew-Al- kid for our program,” Boynton ing NC State for a 74-68 victo- onds remaining, NC State's ry Wednesday night to win the Terquavion Smith missed a la exander Moncrieffe — strug- said. “Low ego, a high apprecia- big 3-pointer from the corner field, and 12 turnovers further hindered them. championship of the Hall of yup and Rondel Walker sealed gled with foul issues, Boone's tion and he just loves to help — OSU's first in six attempts But everything changed in Fame Showcase in Uncasville, the game with four free shots. re-emergence was huge. his teammates.” — and the Cowboys had rallied the second half. As the Cow- Connecticut. Here are three takeaways OSU's depth on display Kalib had his big night. Walk- to tie the game. girls locked in on defense, they “This tournament win is from the win: OSU's deep bench shined. er — who scored 16 points — Smith gave the Cowboys the for Coach Sutton,” OSU coach Kalib rounding into form The Cowboys outscored NC hit multiple big 3-pointers. lead with a strong two-handed were able to outscore the Lady Bears 29-13 after halftime. Mike Boynton said on the ra- Kalib Boone was frustrated State’s bench a whopping 56- And Williams continues to dunk off a beautiful bounce dio following the win. “Him at halftime. 5, accounting for 75.7% of the make an impact despite strug- pass in transition from Isaac Next, OSU faces Rice at 2 getting in the Hall of Fame and OSU's 6-foot-9 junior was team’s points. gling to make shots, dishing p.m. Saturday on the road. us playing here for the first just 1 of 4 shooting. The three And that’s how Boynton en- out four assists and grabbing Likekele. “Tt was kind of an ugly way time since that happened was misses, he believed, were shots visioned this team winning four rebounds. And Thompson closed with a to win, but that’s how we're really, really special for him that he should have made. games at times this season. It’s a good sign for the Cow- flurry of points — two on free gonna have to play this year,” and for our program.” “[ kept getting mad,” Boone He brought in strong trans- boys, especially as the starting shots and two more on a rare Littell said. “We could have The Cowboys (4-1) did it said. “I had all my teammates, fers to balance out the depth unit again struggled. There will two-handed dunk by the Kan- quit early as bad as we strug- with a trademark Sutton tactic. Thad all my coaches telling me of the roster. NC State had no be nights when that trend re- sas transfer. gled offensively, and our kids ‘Their defense — despite a they're going to go in.” answers. verses, but that's the beauty of ‘That was the spark needed just kept hanging in there, and plethora of fouls — overpow- ‘They preached patience. Fol- ‘That's why Texas Tech trans- depth. for the Cowboys. what we did defensively in the ered NC State, holding the low the routine. fer Tyreek Smith was named Slow start ultimately balanced second half was really special.” Wolfpack to 30% shooting and And once Boone made his the game’s MVP. ‘The Cowboys had a sluggish outThey forcing 17 turnovers. first basket of the second half, “Tyreek was going off,” opening offensively. the stats — shooting 39% Follow News Press sports re- “I think our defense was everything clicked for the first Boone said. “And he gave me ‘They made just one of their overall and out-rebounding NC porter Hallie Hart on Twitter @ good pretty much the whole time since he returned from a energy, he gave me confidence. first 11 shots. They fell behind State 44-39 while blocking 10 halliehart for updates on Okla- game, except for the fouling,” preseason shoulder injury. And then Moussa and MA nine. They were getting domi- shots. homa State athletics. — THE GRAHAM JAM Thunder Streak Snapped by Familiar Faces By Graham Dudley Five years ago, Kevin Durant's appearance in OKC would points. have inspired intense emotions among the Thunder faithful. It's ‘The French-Canadian, known primarily for his defense, fol- true, there were still boos to be heard when the ex-Thunder first lowed that with another 20-point outing on Monday night dur- touched the ball on Sunday evening at the Paycom Center. But ing OKC's 103-90 loss to Miami. The loss dropped Oklahoma that entire era of Oklahoma City basketball is now in the City back to 5-8 for the year. rearview mirror, and with it much of the vitriol that character- "I feel like I've been working a lot on my offensive side," ized KD's departure. Dort told the media after that game, "so I've just got to be con- Durant is now on his third NBA franchise, the Brooklyn fident enough to take the right shots and make the right play." Nets, and is somehow playing some of the best basketball of his "He's a hard worker that's very consistent in his approach," career at age 33, and after a torn Achilles. He has reunited with Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of the third-year wing. former teammate James Harden in Brooklyn, making the Nets "His professionalism and willingness to attack the program are a preseason title favorite despite the continued absence of third two things that stand out. So I think as a result of that, he's amigo Kyrie Irving. steadily improved and has grown throughout all these experi- In other words, they're not the kind of team you want to see ences he's gotten." while defending a four-game winning streak. Daigneault said other players will come open if teams con- Or maybe they are? After all, the Thunder win streak had tinue to key defensively on Gilgeous-Alexander. "I think he fans equally excited and anxious. Winning is more fun; it's eas- (Dort) is taking advantage of that. We need to continue to take ier to watch; it's what this franchise is used to. But is it what the what the defense gives us." franchise needs? Dort struggled from 3-point range early this season, but With the Houston Rockets off to an abysmal 1-13 start (their Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort cele- seems to have found his groove of late. He shot 50% from long only victory being a blowout win over OKC) and New Orleans brates after scoring against the Miami Heat during range in both the Brooklyn and Miami losses, nailing three 3s sitting at 2-13, the Thunder's Draft Lottery odds are looking the second quarter at Paycom Center. (Alonzo against the Nets and four on Monday. worse and worse with every unexpected win. Adams-USA TODAY Sports) Those performances bumped up his overall 3-point percent- So perhaps it came as a slight relief Sunday when Durant age for the season, but only to 28%. went supernova for 33 points, Patty Mills tacked on 28 behind points total. Dort will look to carry his hot shooting into a jam-packed incredible 3-point shooting, and the Nets dispatched the Harden, for his part, netted 16 points, six rebounds and 13 upcoming schedule for the Thunder. They'll return to action on Thunder 120-96 to snap OKC’s winning streak. Durant, widely assists. Wednesday, Nov. 17, when they seek to avenge their loss to the regarded as the league's best player and an early favorite for Yet the Thunder hung in for most of the contest, led by Shai lowly Rockets. Then OKC hits the road, facing Milwaukee on MVP honors, took 14 free throws and made 13 of them during Gilgeous-Alexander's 23 points and Lu Dort's 20. It was the Friday, Boston on Saturday and Atlanta on Monday. the game, adding eight rebounds and four assists to his gaudy third consecutive game in which Dort had scored 20-plus Until next week — Thunder Up! HERE COME THE