STARKVILLE — Oklahoma State guard Loryn Goodwin went into the stands and hugged friends and family after her team beat Syracuse and won its first NCAA tournament game since 2014.
Those same supporters were in the house when Goodwin went 5 of 19 for 15 points in OSU’s Big 12 Conference tournament loss to West Virginia two weeks ago.
Goodwin, a graduate student who played previously at Butler University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, had just experienced the first NCAA tournament win of her career, and so did her teammates.
“It’s a priceless feeling,” Goodwin said. “Just everybody we care about to see us play and get the win. My dream was always just to get to this moment. I’ve been to four schools and haven’t done this until now.”
Goodwin, OSU’s leading scorer, and senior post Kaylee Jensen showed up as expected, combining for 38 points. Fellow senior forward Mandy Coleman played 32 minutes and had six points and three rebounds.
“We were really excited to play and be here,” OSU coach Jim Littell said. “We had not won a tournament game in our seniors’ time there. It was the motivation to get here, win and see how deep we can go. I thought our preparation this week was really good. We played as good as we could possibly play.”
Cowgirls lock down Mangakahia
Australian international Tiana Mangakahia found a brick wall anytime she crossed over and got into the lane.
There, OSU post players Coleman and Jensen shut down any of her attempts to get to the basket. OSU’s mix of zone and man frustrated the Orange’s leading scorer and nation’s leader in assists — 9.9 per game — into 3-of-14 shooting and six turnovers.
Mangakahia, who capped her first season at Syrcause after transferring from junior college, said OSU’s physicality was as advertised, particularly up front.
“Their conference is physical, more than ACC, which is fast paced,” Mangakahia said.
“We knew what was coming, but mentally, getting out on the court and getting into that physicality was tough.”
Mangakahia led Syracuse (22-9) with eight rebounds and seven assists, but she was outdueled by Goodwin, who had 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting and eight assists.
“I’m a fan of Tiana,” Littell said. “But I was thinking, ‘I have a pretty good point guard, too.’ I think (Goodwin) did a good job of locking (Mangakahia) up and frustrating her.”
Orange youth struggle
As Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman tried to make sense of how his team went from leading by three close to halftime to losing by nearly 30, he gladly offered “an excuse.”
“At the end of the day, we have a very young team, the second youngest in country to make the tournament,” Hillsman said. “We’ve been undermanned in the post … young posts playing against some of the best posts in the country. We were outmanned, but what a great experience for our team.”
The loss marked the first time since 2013 the Orange haven’t made it past the first round of the tournament. Syracuse, a No. 8 seed and 2016 national runner-up, has earned six-straight tournament berths.
“We grew up this year,” Hillsman said. “We needed to win all five to get in the tournament. We beat Duke and North Carolina, but we ran into a buzz saw tonight.”
The buzz saw was evident at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third, when OSU made a pair of runs to take a halftime lead and blow the game open by playing in Syracuse’s fast-paced, perimeter shooting style.
Syracuse shot 25 percent from the field in the third quarter, while OSU hit 52 percent.
“We’re all coming back, so the experiences we are gaining this year and the minutes our kids are playing are only going to help us moving forward,” Hillsman said.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.