Cowgirls Earn First NCAA Tournament Win of Hoyt Era — Akot, Wooten Carry OSU Past Princeton 82-68

Oklahoma State has its first NCAA Tournament win of the Jacie Hoyt era.

The Cowgirls beat 9-seed Princeton 82-68 in the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. And if anything, Hoyt and Co. have junior forward Achol Akot to thank.

The former UCF transfer saved her best performance of the season for the biggest stage, and it couldn't have come at a better time for OSU.

OSU trailed Princeton 6-2 early in the first quarter, but momentum shifted quickly. The Cowgirls (24-9) outscored the Tigers 21-7 for the rest of the quarter. 

OSU took a 48-33 lead into halftime, but the Tigers (26-4) didn't waver. The Cowgirls' 15-point halftime lead all but evaporated as they went scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter. But after Princeton opened the period on an 11-0 run, back-to-back 3-pointers from senior guard Micah Gray weathered the storm.

Then, Akot took over. She stole the spotlight in the second half, and practically waltzed away with it.

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Akot's size certainly factored into her dominance, but her facilitating and playmaking abilities outweighed all else. She shot 12-for-15 from the floor, en route to a career-high 28 points, to go with 10 rebounds as she made easy work of the Tigers in the paint.

Additionally, Gray scored 16, while guard Haleigh Simmer had 10 of her own. Sophomore guard Jadyn Wooten also logged her second-career double-double in an 18-point, 10-assist outing.

As the game clock wound down, Hoyt couldn't help but let a small dose of emotions seep out. A grin swiftly evolved into a widened smile as she embarked on the traditional postgame handshake with the opposing team. After all, she'd clinched her first win in March Madness as OSU's coach.

It only took three appearances, but as the old saying goes: "Third time's a charm."

Concurrently, Saturday marked OSU's first NCAA Tournament win since 2021, when the Cowgirls lost to top-seeded Stanford in the second round.

Now, a greater test lingers.

Awaiting is a clash with top-seeded UCLA on Monday at 9 p.m. central standard time at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are coming off a 96-43 win against 16-seed Cal Baptist in the first round. While the Lancers hung with UCLA early, trailing only by 10 into halftime, the second half was a stark contrast. UCLA outscored Cal Baptist 52-9 in the second half, altering the score into a form that was more anticipated heading in.

As for the list of teams that have bested UCLA this season?

Texas.

That's all.

Downing the Bruins certainly won't come easy. But should OSU accomplish that feat, it would clinch a Sweet 16 berth for the first time since 2014.

And perhaps most importantly, it would signify Hoyt's most monumental victory in her four seasons at the helm.

Oklahoma State at UCLA

When: Monday, March 23 (9 p.m.)
Where: Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, California)
Where to watch: ESPN