Cowgirls open up tonight in Preseason WNIT

Regular-season openers always carry a little more excitement, a little more energy than most nonconference games.

But if you notice even a little more jump is Oklahoma State’s step tonight, don’t be surprised. Tonight’s opponent will make sure the joint is jumping.

The Cowgirls host Arkansas-Little Rock in the first round of the Preseason WNIT at 6 p.m. tonight at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

It’s the same UALR team that beat OSU 65-51 last year in Little Rock, Ark., en route to a school-record 26 wins. The Trojans return four starters from that team, including junior forward Chastity Reed, who scored 18 points in last year’s win and averaged 18.1 points on the season.

“The first thing we all remember is what a good team they were last year and will be this year,” OSU coach Kurt Budke said. “We were disappointed on how we played and let them set the tempo for 40 minutes. But they had a really good team last year and they’re almost all back this year.”

The Cowgirls trailed UALR 28-23 at the half last year, then were outscored 37-28 in the second half. OSU committed 17 turnovers.

“We’re very excited for a team like this to come in for the first game,” said OSU senior point guard Andrea Riley, who scored 15 points against the Trojans. “We’re ready to play. I had to get it across to the newcomers that it’s a game that’s going to be full of passion and intensity. They executed a lot better than we did and just beat us. But now we get the chance to play on our home floor and we should come out and play excited and give it our all.”

The Preseason WNIT guarantees each team a minumum of three games over the next two weeks.

The winner tonight moves on to play Sunday. If the Cowgirls advance, they’ll host a game at 2 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The loser plays next Saturday and Sunday in a four-team pool format.

“I think it’s a good thing for us,” Budke said. “We get to play some games against teams we don’t normally see. We’ll find out something about our team on Friday.”

UALR at Oklahoma State

• THE STORY: The Cowgirls begin play for real tonight in the Preseason WNIT by hosting Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans beat the Cowgirls 65-51 in Little Rock last year.

• WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. tonight/ Gallagher-Iba Arena

• RADIO: 105.5 FM (KGFY)