Ex-Cowgirls Assistant Killed When She Falls Off Overpass In Motorcycle Crash

Former Oklahoma State University basketball player and assistant coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair was killed in a motorcycle wreck on Friday in Austin, Texas.

Rippetoe-Blair, 52, was a four-year starter as a player and remains in the top 10 of several Cowgirl career categories. She was an Ardmore native and last coached at OSU during the 1999 season before coaching at the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners for 13 seasons before resigning in August.

Police told KEYE in Austin that Rippetoe-Blair was riding a motorcycle when she lost control and hit the concrete barrier on the northbound MoPac to northbound Highway 183 ramp. She was killed after falling onto the road below.

The CBS affiliate in San Antonio said Rippetoe-Blair apparently lost control of her motorcycle on an overpass in north Austin. No other cars were involved in the accident, according to reports.

Rippetoe-Blair had sold her motorcycle and was on her way to deliver it to the buyer in Austin when she had the accident, her mother told the San Antonio station on Saturday morning.

"She had it sold to someone who wanted it in Austin," Anita Rippetoe told KENS. "They were going to meet at a bank and Rae was going to get paid and get rid of it. I don't know how far she was from the bank, but I don't think it was too far."

Rippetoe-Blair was going to return home with friends who drove to Austin in her car. The friends were ahead of Rippetoe-Blair when the accident occurred, KENS reported.

"They kept looking in the rear-view mirror to make sure they could always see her," Anita Rippetoe said. "There was a lot of traffic, her friends told me, and then they didn't see her. The friend that was driving got off on the next exit to try to see her, and then they saw what had happened."

Rippetoe-Blair started her coaching career in 1985 as an assistant coach at Southern Nazarene in Bethany.

After two rebuilding seasons at Phillips, Rippetoe-Blair coached three consecutive 20-win teams. Phillips went 29-7 in 1989-90 and she earned conference coach of the year honors. In 1990-91, Phillips was 23-8 and it posted a 20-9 in her final season before returning to Oklahoma State.

As an Ardmore High School athlete, she ran on the 1980 state-champion mile relay team, played on the 1980 Oklahoma-Texas All-Star softball team and was an all-state pick in basketball and track and field. She was the team's MVP in softball and was named the outstanding female athlete of the year, her biography on the UTSA website says.

During the 2004-05 season, she became the winningest basketball coach in UTSA history.

She lived in Boerne, Texas, with her husband Craig.