Oklahoma State Blasts Rice In Season Opener

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls dominated Rice in the opening half and cruised to a 96-60 win over the Owls in their season opener.

OSU took hold early, rattling off an 11-3 run in the game's first five minutes, capped off by back-to-back jumpers from Liz Donohoe. However, the wheels fell off for Rice just three minutes later.

Leading 19-9 with 12 minutes left in the half, Kendra Suttles scored seven consecutive points, sparking a 13-5 run to take a 32-14 advantage with less than three minutes later. Oklahoma State expanded that to a 19-7 run thanks to six points from Donahoe to lead by 25 with just 7:23 left in the first half.

The Cowgirls closed the half strong to take a commanding lead to close the half. Leading 46-24 with 3:10 remaining, Oklahoma State put together a 12-3 run, including seven from Suttles and a buzzer-beater by Tiffany Bias to go into the second half with a 31-point lead.

Suttles was lights-out in the first half, hitting nine of her 10 field goals in the first half, hitting all three from behind-the-arc, leading all scorers with 21 points, while grabbing five rebounds. Donahoe added in 12 points, while Bias and Vicky McIntyre both recorded 11 each.

Maya Adetula and Candace Ashford led the Owls in scoring with five points each, with Jessica Goswitz and Brittany Hypolite contributing three each.

The Cowgirls will take nearly a week off before their next game, taking on Grambling State at 2 p.m. Saturday at home.