Five things to know about Oklahoma State women's basketball for 2023-24 season

STILLWATER — The Oklahoma State women’s basketball team is set to open the second season of the Jacie Hoyt era Monday night.

Coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last March, the Cowgirls will lift the lid on the season with a 5 p.m. tipoff against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Here’s a look at five things to know about this Cowgirl squad:

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Familiar stars

Though the Cowgirls went through a good amount of roster turnover in the offseason, two key players from last year’s primary rotation are in line for even bigger roles.

Forward Lior Garzon and point guard Anna Gret Asi, who both shot better than 41% from 3-point range last season, are in pivotal starting roles as scorers and leaders.

Garzon ended the season as the second-leading scorer a year ago at 10.8 points per game, despite almost exclusively coming off the bench. Asi was third on the team in assists at 2.1 per game.

They are the only players to return from the primary seven-player rotation Hoyt used late last year.

“It has felt similar to Year 1, just so many new faces and a roster reload,” Hoyt said. “But this team has been a lot of fun. Very, very competitive. Probably more competitive than any team that I’ve coached, top to bottom.

“And then trying to figure out how we can make things mesh.”

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Filling voids

With several players lost to graduation or the transfer portal, Hoyt reloaded with transfers just like she did prior to her first OSU season.

Among the key additions, 5-foot-10 guard Quincy Noble came in from North Texas, where she has scored more than 1,300 points in her career. Chandler Prater, a 5-foot-11 guard, posted 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season at Kansas.

Additionally, 6-foot-3 forward Brianna Jackson came from Old Dominion to boost the size of the OSU frontcourt. And Norman native Rylee Langerman transferred in from Arkansas, where she was a prototypical glue player, bringing defense, rebounding and toughness.

In addition to transfers, Hoyt added an exciting group of high school signees with Sapulpa product Stailee Heard, who averaged 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game while helping Sapulpa to a second state title in three years last season.

Mia Galbraith is a 5-foot-9 guard who was a prolific scorer at Lake Travis High School in the Austin, Texas, area as well.

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New opportunities

Garzon and Asi aren’t the only returning players, though the other two never saw the floor last season.

Hannah Gusters, a 6-foot-5 junior, transferred from LSU in the middle of last season and has not yet been ruled eligible by the NCAA since it was her second time to transfer.

And 6-foot-3 forward Praise Egharevba arrived last December as a high school signee, but redshirted. Both have the size to be impactful players in the paint for an otherwise guard-heavy lineup.

Defensive focus

Hoyt isn’t backing away from her preferred playing style, which is an up-tempo offensive attack. But with some of the players who joined the roster this year, the team naturally migrated toward more of a defensive focus.

Langerman is a defense-first player, and others like Prater and Heard are much the same way.

“This is a very defensive-minded team, which is very different from last season,” Hoyt said. “Of course, we still wanna play the same style and do everything we do, but I think this team is a little more bought in on the defensive end.”

Garzon, who is an offensive-minded player, says the defensive intensity from some of the new teammates is overflowing to others.

“(Prater) is our leader on the defensive side,” Garzon said. “I know I need to match her level on the defensive end.

“We’re all more comfortable on the defensive side. We know we have these guys that are gonna help us and do the hard work, but we all need to level up and match their energy.”

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Langerman comes home

Rylee Langerman was a star at Christian Heritage Academy in Del City, but snuck out of state when it came time to sign for college. She landed at Arkansas, where she was an ideal fit coming off the bench to boost energy.

The 5-foot-9 guard appeared in 82 games in her three years there, finishing with 64 steals and 58 assists. She played just over 17 minutes per game last season, and showed her capability with 11 rebounds in OSU’s exhibition win over Oklahoma Christian last week.

Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.

OSU vs. SIUE

TIPOFF: 5 p.m. Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State women's basketball players to watch, storylines 2023-24