Cowgirls fight off Longhorns for win

By Ryan Steele
STILLWATER NEWSPRESS (STILLWATER, Okla.)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Tue, May 13 2008

— Texas appeared to be on the verge of pulling off an upset for the second straight night.
Not on Oklahoma State’s watch.
The third-seeded and 18th-ranked Cowgirls fought off a late comeback attempt to edge No. 7 seed UT, 75-72, in the semifinals of the Big 12 Women’s Tournament in front of 4,763 fans at Municipal Auditorium on Thursday.
The Longhorns — who overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat second-seeded Baylor, 76-61, in Wednesday’s quarterfinal — battled back from a double-digit deficit again Thursday but didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to knock off OSU, which advanced to the Big 12 championship game for the first time in program history.
“People keep doubting these girls,” said O-State coach Kurt Budke. “People keep doubting the talent on this team and how far we can go. We’ve had some amazing wins this year just because of the courage and heart of these young ladies.”
The Cowgirls (25-6) went on a 14-4 run early in the first half and led by as many as 16 points, 45-29, when senior Danielle Green drained a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in the period. Carla Cortijo’s trey at the buzzer narrowed the gap to 46-34 at halftime, and UT had more where that came from.
The Longhorns (21-12) opened the second half on a 21-8 run and went on top, 55-54, when Kathleen Nash nailed a 3-pointer with 13:06 left.
Nash hit another crucial trey at the 1:35 mark that gave her squad a 72-71 advantage, but just 15 seconds later sophomore Andrea Riley connected on a jumper that put OSU back on top by a point. UT had two chances to regain the lead but failed on both — Erneisha Bailey’s jumper was blocked by senior Maria Cordero, and with 9.7 seconds remaining, Cortijo drove to the basket but turned the ball over as junior Shaunté Smith drew the charge.
“What can’t you say about Shaunté Smith? She’s Miss Clutch, that’s what I call her,” Riley said. “Every time we need a big play, she steps up.”
Green added, “(Smith’s) intensity isn’t based on whether she scores or not — it’s just that she’s in the game, period. That’s what we feed off of every night.”
Smith was fouled on the inbounds pass with 8.4 seconds left and knocked down both free throws, and the Cowgirls escaped with the win as Cortijo’s 3-pointer fell short as time expired.
“We beat a very good team,” Budke said. “I think Texas is one of the hottest teams in the country — no one’s going to want to face them in the NCAA Tournament. That’s a tough team to play and they don’t go away.
“I’m so proud because there was a time when we could have folded and we didn’t. We found a way to get it done.”
Riley and Green each scored 23 points. Smith went 8-of-8 from the free-throw line and added a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. UT had four players in double figures — Cortijo (14), Nash (14), Sapulpa native Earnesia Williams (12) and Brittainey Raven (11).
The Cowgirls face fourth-seeded and 11th-ranked Texas A&M in Saturday’s 6 p.m. CDT championship game. The Aggies topped No. 8 seed Iowa State, 65-53, in Thursday’s other semifinal.

Ryan Steele writes for Stillwater (Okla.) NewsPress.

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