On a night her jump shots weren't falling, Andrea Riley figured out a way to help Oklahoma State win.
The Cowgirls' star guard went 9 of 33 from the field but still managed to score 31 points as No. 15 Oklahoma State held off Kansas State 66-56 on Saturday night, extending the Cowgirls' winning streak to 11 games, its longest since a school-record 16-game run during the 1992-93 season.
Oklahoma State (15-2, 3-0 Big 12) is one of three remaining Big 12 teams unbeaten in conference play entering a stretch in which it will play four of five games on the road. But nothing came easy against Kansas State (10-7, 2-1), which had a six-game winning streak snapped.
That was especially true for Riley, a senior from Dallas who moved past former Kansas State star Kendra Wecker into third place on the conference's career scoring list. Riley now has 2,361 points and has scored in double figures in 75 straight games, the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I.
Riley's baskets came infrequently but always at opportune times for the Cowgirls, something she said might not have happened for her in previous years.
``I just kept my head,'' she said. ``It bothers you (when you miss), but at the same time, you can't have your head down. If I'm down because I'm not hitting my shots, then we can't win.''
That's a sentiment echoed by Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke.
``She's the go-to player,'' Budke said. ``She was getting the shots she gets on a normal night, and it just happened to be one of those nights that she wasn't on. But we're not going to go away from her. ... Andrea didn't have a great night shooting but we found a way to get it done and that's what I'm most pleased with.''
Kari Kincaid scored 16 points for Kansas State, which had won six of its previous seven games against Oklahoma State. Coach Deb Patterson said the Wildcats struggled to find any offensive continuity against the Cowgirls' zone defense.
``Defensively, they got us standing around and not necessarily taking the kind of shots that we would have preferred,'' Patterson said. ``Offensively, Andrea bided her time and like the great player she is, she worked over the course of the game and really beat us up.''
During K-State's winning streak, the Wildcats allowed opponents an average of 54.2 points per game and held them to 40.6-percent shooting. But outside of Riley, the Cowgirls went 14 of 26 from the field and they had already scored 54 points with more than 6 minutes to go. They also outrebounded Kansas State 45-30, with Megan Byford contributing a career-high 12 boards.
``Megan is the ultimate team player,'' Budke said. ``Her knees obviously limit how much she can get done but she gives you everything she has every single night.''
Kansas State, which had shot 45.9 percent from 3-point range during the winning streak, went 9 for 26 (34.6 percent) on Saturday.
``We just passed it around the perimeter all night long and never dug in,'' Patterson said.
Kansas State led by as many as six points early and Oklahoma State didn't take its first lead until Tegan Cunningham's 3-pointer more than 11 minutes into the game. That was part of a 10-2 run that put the Cowgirls ahead 23-18, and they extended that margin to 33-26 by halftime.
Riley drove through the Wildcats' defense for a layup 4 minutes into the second half to make it 39-31, causing Patterson to charge out onto the court calling timeout. But a minute later, Riley hit a 14-footer to give the Cowgirls their first double-digit lead.
Oklahoma State led 55-47 with 5:24 left when Budke received a technical foul after Cunningham was called for a turnover on a drive to the basket. Sweat made 1-of-2 free throws, but Cunningham forced a jump ball on the ensuing Kansas State possession and Riley followed with a 3-pointer to rebuild the Cowgirls' lead to double digits.
Riley ``came up with the big plays and we really didn't respond well after that,'' Kincaid said. ``We just kind of continued to let her make those plays.''
Cunningham had 10 points and eight rebounds while Precious Robinson added nine points and 10 rebounds for the Cowgirls. Taelor Karr scored 14 points for Kansas State, while the Wildcats' leading scorer, Ashley Sweat, scored 13, five below her average.
