Liv McGill Scores 24 and Audi Crooks Reaches 100 Straight Double-Digit Games as No. 22 Oklahoma State Routs Morgan State 92-38

Audi Crooks keeps finding her way into double figures, and Friday made it 100 games in a row. The center scored the first two baskets of the night, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and reached 100 consecutive double-figure games as No. 22 Oklahoma State buried Morgan State 92-38 on Nov. 6 at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater.

Liv McGill ran the show around her. The guard led everyone with 24 points, added eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals, and moved past 400 career assists. Nene Ndiaye did not miss a shot all night on the way to 16 points, Yuting Deng added 13, and Talexa Weeter chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Cowgirls improved to 2-0. The Lady Bears fell to 1-2.

Here is the box score (opens in a new tab) and Oklahoma State's recap (opens in a new tab).

A seven-minute drought sets the tone

Morgan State's problem showed up early and never left. Oklahoma State held the Lady Bears to six points in the first quarter, a stretch that included a scoreless run of about seven minutes, and led 19-6 after 10 minutes. Crooks scored the game's first two baskets, and by the time Morgan State found the rim again the game already had the look of a mismatch.

The second quarter belonged to McGill. She scored 10 of her points in the period, and Ndiaye added nine more in the quarter. Oklahoma State won the quarter 23-9 and went into the locker room ahead 42-15.

The halftime shooting numbers told the story. Morgan State made 7 of 37 shots in the first half, under 19 percent, according to the Associated Press. Oklahoma State, meanwhile, was getting whatever it wanted inside and at the free throw line.

The third quarter turns it into a rout

If Morgan State had any hope of making the second half interesting, it disappeared in the third quarter. Deng and Crooks scored eight points apiece in the period, McGill handed out four assists in it, and the Cowgirls won the quarter 26-8. They closed it on a 19-2 run to take a 68-23 lead into the fourth.

That was the best stretch of the night for the Oklahoma State defense. Morgan State scored eight points in the third quarter after scoring six in the first, and finished the game 16 of 68 from the field, about 24 percent. The Lady Bears made 2 of 19 from 3 and 4 of 8 at the free throw line, and they turned it over 18 times.

The fourth quarter was mostly about minutes for the bench. Oklahoma State still scored 24 points in the final 10 minutes, and the lead peaked at 55. The Cowgirls led for 39 minutes and 53 seconds and never trailed or were tied.

McGill does a little of everything

McGill's line is the one coaches circle. She went 8 of 16 from the field and 8 of 12 at the line in 27 minutes, and her eight assists came on a night when Oklahoma State assisted on 17 of its 28 made field goals. According to the school, the game extended her streak of at least two assists to 55 straight games.

The guard was one of the headliners of a transfer class that remade this roster in the spring. She came to Stillwater from Florida, where she averaged 22.5 points and 6.1 rebounds last season, according to Sports Illustrated's Oklahoma State site. Through two games, she looks like a player who can run an offense built around a dominant post rather than one who needs the ball to score.

That post is Crooks, the former Iowa State star who stayed in the Big 12 for her final season. She averaged 25.8 points last season, second in the country, and arrived at Oklahoma State as an AP second-team All-American. On Friday, she did not need to carry the scoring. She went 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 2 at the line in 19 minutes, and 10 of her 11 rebounds came on the defensive end. It was her first double-double in an Oklahoma State uniform.

The streak is the bigger number. Oklahoma State said Crooks is the third player in Big 12 history and the 12th in NCAA history to score in double figures in 100 consecutive games.

Perfect nights from Ndiaye and Deng

The efficiency did not stop with the stars. Ndiaye, a transfer from Rutgers, went 4 of 4 from the field, 2 of 2 from 3 and 6 of 6 at the line for 16 points in 26 minutes. Oklahoma State said it was her eighth straight game in double figures.

Deng, who played at Auburn and Baylor before coming to Stillwater, matched her with a perfect shooting night of her own: 3 of 3 from the field, both of them 3s, and 5 of 6 from the line for 13 points. She also grabbed six rebounds.

Weeter was the most productive player off the bench. The former Fort Hays State standout, who was the Division II player of the year after averaging 27.5 points, went 4 of 6 for 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 24 minutes. Callin Hake hit both of her 3-point tries for six points and passed 800 career points, per the school. LA Sneed added three points, five rebounds and three assists, and Zoe Canfield knocked down a 3 in five minutes. Stailee Heard, the veteran with 97 career starts at Oklahoma State, scored two points and dished three assists but had four turnovers.

Eleven Cowgirls played, and nine scored. The bench produced 23 points.

The numbers that tell it

Oklahoma State won this game in the paint and at the line. The Cowgirls outscored Morgan State 38-20 in the paint, 15-5 in transition and 10-0 on second-chance points, according to the team's postgame notes. They went 28 of 35 at the free throw line while Morgan State attempted only eight free throws all night. The foul count was lopsided too: Morgan State was whistled 23 times, Oklahoma State 10.

Oklahoma State shot about 53 percent from the field and won the rebounding battle by roughly 20, its second straight game with at least 50 rebounds, per the school. Crooks, McGill and Weeter combined for 27 boards.

The one area where Morgan State held its own was ball security, sort of. The Cowgirls turned it over 17 times, almost matching Morgan State's 18, and both teams scored 17 points off turnovers. With a roster this new, the turnovers are the clearest item on the to-do list.

For Morgan State, Yonta Vaughn and Alexiz Graise led with six points each. Graise got hers in seven minutes. Kamari Forrest grabbed 10 rebounds, six of them on the offensive glass, but went 1 of 11 from the field. Kenya Ramsey and Jahzara Leamon each scored five.

What it means for Oklahoma State

Two games in, the defense has been as impressive as the new talent. Oklahoma State held Southern to 39 points in its opener and Morgan State to 38 here. According to the school, it is the first time the Cowgirls have held their first two opponents under 40 since the program's inaugural season, and the first time they have held back to back opponents under 40 since 2010-11. The 38 points were also the fewest a Division I opponent has scored under head coach Jacie Hoyt.

Home cooking helps too. The win extended Oklahoma State's nonconference home winning streak to 29 games, and the school said the Cowgirls are 35-2 at Gallagher-Iba Arena over the past three seasons.

There are caveats. Southern and Morgan State are not the teams that will decide where this group lands in March, and the real tests start on the road. Still, the early returns on Hoyt's rebuild are hard to argue with. Oklahoma State won 24 games and made the NCAA Tournament last season, and it now has an elite post scorer, a lead guard who can do everything, and shooters around them who are not missing.

The Cowgirls have since beaten Northwestern State 94-56 on Nov. 9 and moved up to No. 19 in the second AP poll. Next up is a trip to Tulsa on Thursday, Nov. 12, followed by a game at South Dakota State on Sunday, Nov. 15. Morgan State was scheduled to visit No. 21 Oklahoma on Nov. 8.

Elsewhere in the Top 25, catch up on Michigan's upset of UConn and UConn's bounce-back win over Iowa. For more on the Cowgirls, visit our Oklahoma State team page.

Sources: ESPN box score, Oklahoma State Athletics recap and postgame notes, Associated Press, Sports Illustrated (Oklahoma State On SI), Just Women's Sports.

Photo: Oklahoma State Athletics.