Have you ever been to a sporting event that makes you smile ear to ear after the fact remembering what you witnessed? Well, on Wednesday in Stillwater the Oklahoma State men knocked of the No. 2 Missouri Tigers. And I’m still smiling about it.

Loyal and True – Go Pokes!

Coach Gary Blair’s final appearance at Gallagher-Iba Arena, a building Blair had lost in but once before, went down to the wire for the Texas A&M Aggies.

After digging themselves into a 10-point deficit early in the second half, the defending national champions crawled back into the game one shot, one steal, one turnover at a time. A&M tied it up at 36 all with 11:54 to play with a layup by Kelsey Assarian, Blair’s “linebacker”. From that point, the game was back and forth down to the final seconds. With 44 seconds to play and the Cowgirls up by two, Oklahoma State’s own “linebacker”, Lindsey Keller, had the inbounds play bounce off her chest and give OSU their 28^th and final turnover of the night.

“When we ran the inbounds play on the press break and we threw it to Lindsey and it went off her chest and went out of bounds, I thought we were in trouble,” OSU coach Jim Littell said. “But there’s just no quit to them.”

Sydney Carter sunk a shot on the ensuing A&M possession to tie the score at 53 apiece causing that trouble the coach mentioned. But you can’t be in too much trouble when you have the wheels and ability of Tiffany Bias to speed down the court for the go-ahead basket. Carter tried to make some magic of her own after a tough shooting night, but her jumper off the left side screen missed the mark with seven seconds to play.

It was only fitting that Keller, the evening’s workhorse, closed out the game with a defensive rebound and two made free throws to give the Cowgirls the ugly – but effective – win. That’s what middle linebackers do on the hardwood – just ask Coach Blair.

“She’s physical, that’s the way the Big 12 is,” Blair said after the loss. “I wish I had one as physical as she is, like a ‘Little Country’ in there.

“It’s not what she scores on the field goals, it’s the mindset that she brings to the game, the intensity, the whatever it takes type of attitude and that’s what you’ve got to do to be able to win at this level … You’ve got to have people just hard-nosed, carry your lunch pail to work, find a way to get the job done.”

The OSU upperclassman, one of only two juniors on the team, wasn’t looking for points, necessarily – though she did make seven of her nine tries at the line – she was looking to get herself a gold star for defense.

“I’ve worked on my game to be a lot more physical because some of the girls, they’re a little bigger than me,” the 6-2 Keller remarked with a smile, “and you just have to be stronger, be solid. Defense is a big part of that and as long as you can shut people down and they don’t score – if you score two points, you win. I just feel like defense is a really big part of my game and if I can shut them down it’s a little star by my name.”

Blair was asked about his own linebacker, Assarian, who hit the deck hard with 2:14 to play and came up holding her head after a few minutes down on the court.

“She’s just like Keller. They’re middle linebackers, they just know how to play. Don’t worry about her. Don’t worry about Lindsey and just let them play. Those type of players is what the Big 12 is all about. It’s a very physical conference.”

Physical, indeed. Though OSU’s Littell might have another descriptor for his Cowgirls after the game.

“We’re interesting, I’ll say that. We’re interesting,” Littell shook his head as he continued to look at the final box score. “We turn it over 28 times and find a way to win. We can blow a 10 point lead quicker than anybody, but these kids are pretty resilient.

“We only got up 41 shots and you don’t usually win when you get up 41 shots and turn it over 28 times, but I thought we made a lot of good plays and we forced them into 26 turnovers as well. So I just thought the defense was outstanding tonight.”

That outstanding defensive effort by the Cowgirls was not only seen in the turnovers. A&M only connected on eight shots in the first half, with a 28.6% field goal percentage. Senior Sydney Carter could only muster seven points despite her 14 attempts from the field. She connected but twice in the game, and missed when it counted most. Adaora Elonu fouled out for the Aggies and was one of the contributors to the 21 trips to the line that OSU was able to take in the game. But good defense can also mean gritty – not pretty – basketball.

“For all those teams that want that little pretty ball, you’re not going to have that when A&M is playing or Oklahoma State’s playing because neither one of us are pretty teams,” Gary Blair said of the two foes in their first meeting of the last season. “We just get the job done and we play hard and we’re on the floor, we make decisions and that’s the way it should be.

“I’m going to hate not coming back to this place.”

Oklahoma State star receiver had his popcorn ready to take in the closely contested tilt. Kansas coach Bonnie Hendrickson called the Big 12 a “one-possession league” after her team hung on to hand the Cowgirls their first home loss of the season. She wasn’t really kidding.

Positions #2 through #5 in the league in offensive scoring are separated by 3.5 points, or about a possession. Similarly, #6 through #10 in scoring range from 55.1 to 60.4 points per night, or about two possessions. On this night in GIA, two possessions was all it took to fend off the Cowgirls.

Oh my. I’m still a little tingly all over when I think about the game, the comeback, the ridiculous ending at Gallagher-Iba Arena today. Here are a few shots from the day, courtesy of my impromptu photographer du jour, Lynn Jacobsen.

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls dominated the Texas Longhorns at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Saturday afternoon. OSU posted four double-digit scoring efforts, including double-doubles by junior Toni Young (14 points, 10 rebounds) and freshman Liz Donohoe (13 points, 13 rebounds). The Cowgirls continued to thrive in field goal percentage defense, a category in which they lead the nation. OSU  held the Longhorns to 23.2% shooting from the field and Texas only made 13 baskets in their second consecutive loss.

The Oklahoma City University women started off their 2012 regular season campaign with a resounding 110-46 drubbing of St. Thomas (Texas) at Abe Lemons Arena Saturday. The Stars, ranked 3rd in the NAIA Division I polls, were led by sophomore Kayla MacKenzie’s career-high 25 points. OCU’s next contest isn’t for another 10 days, as they open conference play against Mid-America Christian on Nov. 22.

Game report and boxscore at ocusports.com

Have you ever felt as if you’ve had a massive hangover when you haven’t imbibed for even a sip?

Welcome to my Friday! But, oh so happily, there is a quite valid reason for my thoughts that I just might have been run over by a truck or fell out of my comfy bed in my sleepy times.

Playoffs.Yes, playoffs. In Oklahoma City. What? You didn’t know there was a team here because you live under a rock? Well, it’s time to get out and shake off those cobwebs. Not only is there a team here in the heartland, but a PLAYOFF team, nonetheless.

It made no difference to the packed house in the Ford Center last night that the Thunder were down 2-0 in their series after dropping both games in L.A., the second of which was more than winnable. It made no difference that OKC is a so-called small market playing a giant when the packed crowd showed up for the “blue out”.

After screaming for two hours, waving a pom pom, jumping up and down and willing the home team to victory I was feeling less than 100% when I awoke two hours later than anticipated today. I have worn my scratchy voice, headache from the crazy loudness and sore arms from clapping and cheering as a badge of pride. Heck, even the fact that I was one of the select few to attend the game after a quick sell-out of the playoff tickets is a source of pride and joy. Because last night – on that fair Thursday in April that shant be forgotten  – Oklahoma City was the better team and ended as the victors, handing the defending champion Lakers a big, fat L in this opening playoff series.

And last night, I witnessed perhaps one of the best sporting events in my history – the crowd, the atmosphere, the win (of course) and even the great free blue shirts a testament to a ‘Big League City’. A testament to the fans, and to the youngsters who lace ‘em up every day, proud to play for Oklahoma City.

So as we all relish in this first foray into a major league playoff victory, remember the teams that came before – the brief stint as a temporary home to the Hornets, the 89ers, the Redhawks, the Calvary, the YardDawgz and the Blazers, to name a few – that Big League takes work. And dedication. And heart. And crazy fans like those who were seen last night at the first playoff game for Oklahoma City.

And for those who’ve paved the way, I would like to personally give a big thank you. Thank you for showing through your respective clubs that sports can indeed flourish and thrive in Oklahoma City. Thank you for supporting this city and this state with quality and excellence.

Thank you for paving the way for my Friday hangover of happiness.

To see a brief snippet of the closing seconds of the game as seen from my seat, click here.

Oklahoma State hosted Northern Iowa and dominated with a final tally of 30-6. You would think after such a wide margin, head coach John Smith might be feeling good about the duel. But not necessarily. After the match Smith remarked, “I felt like we came out a little flat-footed tonight. They kind of slowed us down. They got our head tied up and got our arms tied up and we didn’t seem too excited.”

Strong words from a coach who expects nothing less than the best from his squad. And his point was indeed seen on the mat. The majority of the matches were slow and very defensive minded by the Panthers, which made scoring come in quick bursts between periods of slow and steady grappling. The exception to this description would be the fall that redshirt freshman Jordan Oliver notched over Joey Lazor just 2:45 into the first period of action.

This win comes days before the last road trip of the season - a trek to Missouri – before finishing off the regular season with three duels in the home confines of Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The results:

125: No. 9 Chris Notte (OSU) dec. Caleb Flores (UNI); 9-3
133: No. 6 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall Joey Lazor (UNI); 2:45
141: Charlie Ettelson (UNI) dec. Tyler Shinn (OSU); 4-0
149: Trent Washington (UNI) dec. Jake Peck (OSU); 6-2
157: No. 14 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. Tyson Reiner (UNI); 3-2
165: No. 8 Alex Meade (OSU) dec. David Bonin (UNI); 8-4
174: No. 10 Mike Benefiel (OSU) MD Jarion Beets (UNI); 11-2
184: No. 10 Clayton Foster (OSU) MD Scott Hazen (UNI); 14-5
197: No. 5 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Dustin Bauman (UNI); 7-3
285: No. 1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) MD Christian Brantley (UNI); 10-2

The sights:

The picture says it all.

In what seemed to be deja vu in the final minute of tonight’s Oklahoma City Thunder / Dallas Mavericks game, the Thunder lose as time expires, by one point.

Oklahoma City had the lead from the start and did not relinquish it until late in the third quarter. The final 12 was a back and forth battle, but the boys in blue could not manage to get crucial stops in the stretch. 

Dirk Nowitzki gave Dallas a two point lead with 48.9 seconds to play and there was no looking back. After a half-court desperation-type attempt was lofted up by Russell Westbrook, the buzzer sounded and the Thunder came crashing down at the hands of the Mavs.

Oklahoma City lost to another Texas team, the San Antonio Spurs, by one point in overtime just two nights ago, falling 109-108. The Thunder are now 21-18 as they look to regroup at home in the Ford Center in a Saturday matchup against the Miami Heat.

-all photos property of freelantz-
For additional photo inquiries please contact jessica@freelantzsports.com The following is a sampling of photographs taken as the Oklahoma State Cowgirls faced the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles on Tuesday, December21, 2009 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Oklahoma State’s Andrea Riley is now the all-time leading scorer in Cowgirl basketball history after the 90-65 victory. Not only did Riley surpass the scoring record, she shattered it and now has 2,192 points in her career - going for 28 points, 11 assists and six steals on the night. Fellow senior Tegan Cunningham had a double-double of her own with 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Cowgirls improved to 9-2 on the season.