Achol Akot poured in a season-high 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds as eighth-seeded Oklahoma State rolled past ninth-seeded Princeton, 82-68, at Los Angeles.
Oklahoma State (24-9) will face the California Baptist-UCLA winner in Monday’s second round after shooting 52.5% from the field in the opening round.
Jaydn Wooten came off the bench for 18 points, Micah Gray posted 16 points and Haleigh Timmer added 10 points for the Cowgirls, who led 48-33 at halftime.
Madison St. Rose had 17 points and Ashley Chea and Skye Belker both had 14 points for ninth-seeded Princeton (26-4). Olivia Hutcherson added 10 points, but the Tigers didn’t have enough strength in the lane to contend with the Cowgirls.
Princeton got within 61-53 by the end of the third quarter and Belker’s 3-pointer supplied the first points of the fourth quarter. Wooten responded with two baskets to ignite a 9-0 run that helped Oklahoma State take its edge to 72-58.
A 35-26 rebounding edge for Oklahoma State included 11 offensive boards.
Akot entered the game averaging less than 12 points per game.
–Field Level Media
