by STILLWATER, Okla.— Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team opened its season on Thursday night with a 64-40 exhibition victory against Southern Nazarene in front of 1,297 fans inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
In the first, the Cowgirls struggled in the early going offensively before closing the period on a 13-4 run to hold an 18-9 lead through the first 10 minutes.
Sophomore Lexy Keys (Cherkoee) opened the second period with back-to-back treys to push the margin to 15 at 24-9. Keys would add another 3-pointer on her way to 10 points during the first five minutes of the period.
OSU scored 19 of the first 23 points in the quarter on its way to a 39-15 lead at the break. The Cowgirls shot 42 percent in the half, while the Crimson Storm was held to a 6-of-26 effort (26 percent).
SNU scored the first five points out of the locker room, while OSU missed its first five shots of the period. The Cowgirls hit just one of their first 13 shots in the frame before sophomore Neferatali Notoa hit a trey with two minutes remaining to put OSU in front, 46-26.
Despite getting outscored by a 15-11 count in the third, OSU held a 50-30 lead heading into the final period.
In the fourth, the OSU defense held SNU to just one point through the first eight minutes of the fourth to extend the margin to 62-31.
The Cowgirls won the rebounding battle, 59-31 and turned 25 offensive boards into 21 second-chance points.
Keys finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, while senior Kassidy De Lapp added seven points and nine boards. Sophomore Taylen Collins scored nine points to go with 12 rebounds.
