KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sophomore Stailee Heard scored 24 of her 34 points in the second half to rally No. 21 Oklahoma State to a 62-59 victory over Texas Tech on Friday night in a Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal at T-Mobile Center.
The third-seeded Cowgirls (25-5) will play No. 2 seed Baylor in Saturday’s semifinals.
Tenin Magassa had a three-point play and a layup and Heard added two free throws as the Cowgirls scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 46-40 lead. They never trailed again, but the 14th-seeded Lady Raiders (17-17) had a shot to tie it until Jada Wynn missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Heard made 7 of 21 shots with three 3-pointers and 17 of 20 free throws in matching her career high. She grabbed 13 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season and added four steals. Magassa totaled 10 points and 12 rebounds for her third double-double.
Loghan Johnson scored 17 to lead the Lady Raiders (17-17.) Jasmine Shavers and Bailey Maupin scored 16 apiece.
Oklahoma State missed 10 of 14 shots from the floor and Texas Tech missed 10 of 13 as the two teams played to an 8-all tie after one quarter.
Johnson came off the bench in the second quarter to score 12 on 5-for-6 shooting with two 3-pointers to help the Lady Raiders take a 28-24 lead into halftime.
Texas Tech did not trail in the third quarter until Heard buried a 3-pointer with 69 seconds left to put Oklahoma State up 39-38. Johnson followed with a layup and Texas Tech led by one heading to the final period.
