AnniePokely
03-20-2009, 06:38 PM
This is the last article Ryan Steele will write about OSU. Ryan has left the Stillwater News Press, and is moving on to other things. Ostatesports wishes him luck in his future endeavors. We have enjoyed his stories.
Good luck Ryan!
Mixed emotions
Cowgirls enter WNIT disappointed but hopeful
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
Oklahoma State senior Shaunté Smith had mixed emotions when her team’s postseason draw was announced.
After making a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago, another trip to the NCAA Tournament seemed imminent for the Cowgirls. Instead, they’ll host the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday when Texas-Arlington comes to town.
Though it’s a disheartening fall from grace, Smith is grateful for one thing — her collegiate career lives on for at least another day.
“I don’t want my season to end — I’m having a blast right now,” she said. “I’m just happy that we can continue to play. We’re excited about who’s in our bracket and we have a good chance of going to the championship game.”
If history is any indication, a WNIT title can be very promising. In 1998, Penn State won the event and advanced to the NCAA Final Four two years later. Kansas State defeated Marquette in the 2006 WNIT final, and last year, the Wildcats claimed their first Big 12 regular-season crown.
“Everybody wants to make it to the NCAAs, but at the same time, I think this is a great opportunity to really get some momentum going into the next year,” said OSU junior Andrea Riley.
“We didn’t have the year we wanted, but we still want to go out with a bang. Nobody would’ve thought (Davidson’s) Stephen Curry would be in the NIT (after last year), but sometimes you have to go through these kind of things to get better and make you really successful in the long run.”
With the kind of the schedule the Cowgirls (16-15) played in the Big 12, no opponent in the WNIT field should come across as intimidating.
However, there are several mid-major threats on OSU’s side of the bracket including Bowling Green, New Mexico and Louisiana Tech, the school Cowgirl coach Kurt Budke guided from 2002-05.
The winner between O-State and the Mavericks (22-10) meets Arkansas on Monday in Fayetteville, Ark., a place where the Cowgirls have won only twice in 10 trips.
“When you make a run as deep as we went last year, there’s no question that it’s a little disappointing, but you have to look at it as a chance to represent your university in postseason play and there’s a lot of teams that don’t get to do that,” Budke said.
“I would hope we’d have enough pride and character to come out and compete like we competed in the Big 12 Tournament, which was some of our best basketball of the year. I would just be very surprised if we didn’t come out (Saturday) and give a great effort in front of our home fans.”
OSU holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Mavericks, but of those seven games, three have been decided by a grand total of four points including the most recent meeting — which UTA won, 59-57, in Stillwater during the 2002-03 season.
“We can’t just come in there, ease through it and think we’re going to blow them out,” Smith said.
“We have to treat them like they’re a Big 12-caliber team. You have to play just as hard as if you were playing in the NCAA Tournament.”
Good luck Ryan!
Mixed emotions
Cowgirls enter WNIT disappointed but hopeful
Ryan Steele - NewsPress
Oklahoma State senior Shaunté Smith had mixed emotions when her team’s postseason draw was announced.
After making a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago, another trip to the NCAA Tournament seemed imminent for the Cowgirls. Instead, they’ll host the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday when Texas-Arlington comes to town.
Though it’s a disheartening fall from grace, Smith is grateful for one thing — her collegiate career lives on for at least another day.
“I don’t want my season to end — I’m having a blast right now,” she said. “I’m just happy that we can continue to play. We’re excited about who’s in our bracket and we have a good chance of going to the championship game.”
If history is any indication, a WNIT title can be very promising. In 1998, Penn State won the event and advanced to the NCAA Final Four two years later. Kansas State defeated Marquette in the 2006 WNIT final, and last year, the Wildcats claimed their first Big 12 regular-season crown.
“Everybody wants to make it to the NCAAs, but at the same time, I think this is a great opportunity to really get some momentum going into the next year,” said OSU junior Andrea Riley.
“We didn’t have the year we wanted, but we still want to go out with a bang. Nobody would’ve thought (Davidson’s) Stephen Curry would be in the NIT (after last year), but sometimes you have to go through these kind of things to get better and make you really successful in the long run.”
With the kind of the schedule the Cowgirls (16-15) played in the Big 12, no opponent in the WNIT field should come across as intimidating.
However, there are several mid-major threats on OSU’s side of the bracket including Bowling Green, New Mexico and Louisiana Tech, the school Cowgirl coach Kurt Budke guided from 2002-05.
The winner between O-State and the Mavericks (22-10) meets Arkansas on Monday in Fayetteville, Ark., a place where the Cowgirls have won only twice in 10 trips.
“When you make a run as deep as we went last year, there’s no question that it’s a little disappointing, but you have to look at it as a chance to represent your university in postseason play and there’s a lot of teams that don’t get to do that,” Budke said.
“I would hope we’d have enough pride and character to come out and compete like we competed in the Big 12 Tournament, which was some of our best basketball of the year. I would just be very surprised if we didn’t come out (Saturday) and give a great effort in front of our home fans.”
OSU holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Mavericks, but of those seven games, three have been decided by a grand total of four points including the most recent meeting — which UTA won, 59-57, in Stillwater during the 2002-03 season.
“We can’t just come in there, ease through it and think we’re going to blow them out,” Smith said.
“We have to treat them like they’re a Big 12-caliber team. You have to play just as hard as if you were playing in the NCAA Tournament.”