STARKVILLE — Adjustments come naturally to Loryn Goodwin.
When you have been a part of four basketball programs, you find a way to build chemistry with teammates, especially when you have the ball in your hands as much as Goodwin.
But Goodwin’s fourth and final stop at Oklahoma State has produced some of the best results. The 5-foot-9 graduate transfer from Cypress, Texas, led the Big 12 Conference in scoring and paced the Cowgirls in assists (161) in her first season in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
“The system and just playing in a faster pace with better players and having to adjust and be able to get my teammates open and get them in better positions to score was the toughest thing because I am a scoring point guard,” Goodwin said. “I need to know where everybody else is on the court. If Kaylee (Jensen) can go off for 30, I need to make sure she is in good position.”
Goodwin hopes she will be able to keep that run going at 8 tonight (ESPN2) when No. 9 seed Oklahoma State (21-10) will take on No. 1 seed Mississippi State (33-1) in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Humphrey Coliseum.
The winner of that game will advance to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri to take on No. 4 seed North Carolina State (26-8), which beat No. 5 seed Maryland 74-60 on Sunday. The two Sweet 16 games will be Friday at times to be determined.
Goodwin started her career at North Texas before a coaching change prompted a transfer to Butler. She received an extra year of eligibility and transferred again to Texas-Arlington before moving on to Oklahoma State, where she in involved in an entrepreneurship Master’s program.
Goodwin earned unanimous first-team All-Big 12 honors and the league’s newcomer of the year honor after leading the team in scoring. She enters the second-round match averaging 20.8 points per game. Jensen, a senior center, follows closely behind at 18.6 ppg.
Jensen leads the team with 10.8 rebounds per game.
“She’s been a joy to coach from day one,” Oklahoma State coach Jim Littell said of Goodwin. “She came in and said, ‘Coach, how can I help our team win? I will do whatever it takes to help our team win.’ We’d like to take the credit that we made her a great player, but she was a talent when she came in to our place.”
Jensen said the Cowgirls’ strength is they play together. They also have a knack for taking care of the ball. They enter tonight’s game with the third fewest turnovers in the nation (358) behind Lamar and Mercer. Last season, Oklahoma State committed 490 turnovers. This is the first season in Littell’s seven as head coach that the Cowgirls have had less than 400 turnovers in a season.
“We had the early Australia trip, so we’ve been playing a bit longer than other teams. I think that helped chemistry wise. Those extra games kind of allowed us to know where people would be on the court and kind of get a feel for that. I think we’ve just done a really good job of knowing where other peoples’ strengths on the team are.”
Goodwin’s ability to create offense off her defense and to push the tempo has aided Oklahoma State’s cause. Goodwin entered the NCAA tournament first in the Big 12 and eighth in the nation in steals per game (3.5). But she said she had to watch plenty of film of past Oklahoma State point guards and teams and to learn to critique herself and to receive constructive criticism to become more comfortable in Littell’s system.
“It was really tough for me at the beginning,” Goodwin said. “In Australia, I didn’t quite play how I am playing now then. I got that opportunity to prepare for what is to come.”
Goodwin said she has continued to watch film throughout the season with associate head coach Bill Annan to find ways to get better. She feels watching former Oklahoma State point guards like Tiffany Bias has helped her get her teammates open and pass them the ball in better spots to help them score.
Being in a system that includes more sets and gives players the freedom to pick their spots to push the pace has allowed Goodwin to flourish. MSU coach Vic Schaefer said there is no doubt Goodwin is someone who will play at the next level. Goodwin feels she has improved on knowing when to go and when not to go. She laughed as she said it “took time” for her to hear Littell yell at her six, seven, eight, nine times to “slow the ball down.”
Littell smiled and said the “yelling” has been “coaching” and “constructive criticism” designed to get the most out of Goodwin and to help fuel the Cowgirls’ attack.
“She comes in a long line of (great players),” Littell said. “She works so hard on her game, and what has made her special is what she does when no one is watching. You will go back up to the arena sometime at nine o’clock and you will hear the ball bouncing and Lo will be in there working on her game.
“It has been a fine line of not toning her down, but helping her realize that she’s playing with a prolific scorer inside (Jensen). That was her biggest adjustment. We didn’t want to take away from her ability to score.”
Littell said this is the first time Goodwin has played with a talented post player like Jensen, who led the Big 12 in scoring, rebounding, and double-doubles last season. He said the adjustment has taken time, but it has paid immense dividends in the program’s first NCAA tournament victory in 2014.
The road to the second round included its share of bumps in the road, including a season-ending injury to Areanna Combs, who started 14 games and was averaging 8.5 ppg. when she went down.
Goodwin, who had 35 points and 10 rebounds in Oklahoma State’s 79-76 loss to MSU on Dec. 3 in Starkville, said the team’s confidence is a little higher going into the game. She said she isn’t sure if the Cowgirls are approaching the rematch any differently, but she said they are anxious to be in front of a sell-out crowd for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16.
“We know it’s a one-and-done thing now,” Goodwin said. “As seniors, it’s our last go around and if we lose, then we’re out. That’s a lot of motivation for us. We’ve played against them in their place, so we know their feel and have heard their fans. That’s a plus for us. We want to keep the same mentality, and do all that we can. We want to get everyone involved and get other people open looks so they can score.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
