Cowgirls Ready to Challenge No. 2 UCLA in NCAA Second Round

Mo. Basuony

Published: March 23, 2026 9:32 PM ET

Cowgirls Ready to Challenge No. 2 UCLA in NCAA Second Round

Oklahoma State travels to Los Angeles to face No. 2 UCLA in the NCAA Second Round. Tip is set for March 23, 2026, at 9:00 p.m. CST at Pauley Pavilion.

Game details

The Cowgirls enter the game 24-9 overall and 12-6 in Big 12 play. UCLA comes in 32-1 and 18-0.

Venue: Pauley Pavilion (capacity 13,800).
TV/Stream: ESPN and WatchESPN.com. Announcers Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty.
Radio: KGFY 105.5 FM and the Varsity Network App. Casey Kendrick and Latricia Trammell call the game.
Stats and tickets: statbroadcast.com and NCAAtickets.com.
Follow team social: @osuwbb on Twitter and Instagram, and the Cowgirl Basketball Facebook page.

Coaches and records

Jacie Hoyt coaches Oklahoma State in her ninth season, holding a 165-109 overall mark. Cori Close leads UCLA in her 15th season with a 353-144 record.

Series context

This will be the fourth meeting between the programs. UCLA leads the series 2-1, with both wins at home.

Oklahoma State’s lone victory over the Bruins came on December 8, 2017. The Cowgirls seek their fourth Sweet 16 appearance.

Key players and team notes

OSU relies on a consistent starting five that never changed during the season. The continuity helped balance scoring and defense.

Micah Gray ranks 14th nationally with 92 made three-pointers. She hit her 300th career trey in the first round.
Achol Akot posted a career-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the opening round. She ranks sixth in the nation by field-goal percentage (.633).
Stailee Heard produced a double-double last season in NCAA play, finishing with 20 points and 10 boards against South Dakota State.
OSU boasts five players averaging double figures for the first time in program history.

The Cowgirls rank among the nation’s leaders in offense. They sit 14th in scoring (81.5) and 15th in scoring margin (17.9).

Tournament background

Oklahoma State is 13-18 all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Their best seed was No. 3 in 2008.

The Cowgirls are 10-9 in first-round games. They have reached the Sweet 16 in 1991, 2008, and 2014.

As the higher seed, OSU is 10-6. As the lower seed, they are 3-12.
Seed-by-seed record includes wins from Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, and 9 seeds.
Several players from last year logged meaningful NCAA minutes, including Gray, Heard, Jadyn Wooten, and Praise Egharevba.

Tournament history and milestones

In 2010, OSU erased a 19-point deficit in a first-round win over Chattanooga.
Jaden Hobbs made eight threes against Syracuse in 2018, a top-four single-game total in tournament history.
OSU sank 37 free throws in a 1991 game versus DePaul, ranking among the tournament’s best totals.
The Cowgirls have played in four NCAA overtime games, including a rare triple-overtime contest against Michigan State in 1991.
Notable individual tournament scorers include Lisa McGill, Andrea Riley, Tegan Cunningham, and Natasha Mack.

OSU enters the NCAA Second Round ready to challenge a No. 2 UCLA squad. Coverage and updates will be available at Filmogaz.com.