Cowgirls win first-round game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Now the real work begins for the Oklahoma State women's basketball team. The Cowgirls got 23 points from Chantoya Hawkins on Tuesday to beat Kansas State 67-59 in the first

Tuesday, March 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Now the real work begins for the Oklahoma State women's basketball team. The Cowgirls got 23 points from Chantoya Hawkins on Tuesday to beat Kansas State 67-59 in the first round of the Big 12tournament.

That sent OSU against top-seeded Iowa State today. Oklahoma State (14-15) closed the first half with a 27-9 run to take a 38-21 lead against Kansas State. Hawkins scored 13 points in the first half.

The Cowgirls hit all 11 of their free-throw attempts in the first half, while Kansas State did not attempt a free throw. OSU led by as many as 25 in the second half. A 10-0 run by Kansas State cut the lead to 55-42, but the Wildcats never got closer than six points.

Toya Releford added 17 points and Jessica Bates had 12 for the Cowgirls. Oklahoma State's Jennifer Crow, the conference's leading scorer at 21.5 points per game, was held without a field goal in the first half and finished with 10 points.

Reserve guard Kristin Rethman led the Wildcats with 19 points. Olga Firsova and Nicky Ramage each had double-doubles for Kansas State. Each had 11 rebounds to go along with 15 points for Firsova and 11 for Ramage.