STILLWATER, Okla. (Interstat) — Oklahoma State used a balanced offensive attack and a decisive second-quarter run to defeat Northwestern State 94-56 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game on Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Liv McGill scored 23 points and dished out seven assists for the Cowgirls, who improved to 3-0. KP Parr scored 18 points for the Demons, who fell to 1-2. The attendance was 3,976.

Northwestern State entered after a loss at Arkansas and a home win over Ecclesia, while Oklahoma State entered after home wins over Southern and Morgan State. The Cowgirls opened the game with a 12-2 burst. McGill made a 3-pointer 56 seconds into the game, Nene Ndiaye added a driving layup, McGill hit another 3-pointer and followed with a layup, and Yuting Deng scored on a driving layup to give Oklahoma State a 12-2 lead with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter. Northwestern State answered with a Becca Milon free throw and a pair of Karma Wynn layups, but Talexa Weeter’s layup gave Oklahoma State a 16-7 lead after one quarter.

The Demons trimmed the deficit in the second quarter. Chloe Donnell opened the period with a 3-pointer, and Parr made consecutive 3-pointers before Wynn’s driving layup brought Northwestern State within 24-18 with 6:57 remaining in the half. The Cowgirls then took control. McGill made a layup and a pullup jumper, Stailee Heard scored on a driving layup, Deng made a layup, La Sneed made two free throws, Parr made two free throws, Heard made a 3-pointer, Sneed made a free throw, Audi Crooks made a free throw, and Deng closed the half with a layup and a 3-pointer. That 20-5 closing stretch sent Oklahoma State into halftime with a 44-23 lead.

Oklahoma State kept the pressure on in the third quarter. Crooks made free throws and a turnaround jumper, Heard hit a 3-pointer, and McGill made a free throw as the Cowgirls pushed the lead to 53-25. Northwestern State got scoring from Parr, Cimiya Rideaux, Erica Carr, Payton Miller and Wynn, but Oklahoma State answered each time. Callin Hake made a 3-pointer, Sneed made free throws, Weeter made a layup, and Crooks converted a three-point play. Parr’s driving layup at the end of the quarter made it 67-41.

The Cowgirls pulled away for good in the fourth quarter. McGill made two free throws, Ndiaye made a layup and two 3-pointers, Crooks made a layup, and Hake made a free throw as Oklahoma State extended its lead to 82-49. Addisyn Bollinger and Zoe Canfield added 3-pointers, and Sneed made two driving layups. Northwestern State kept working behind Stephie Salumu, Miller and Chiara Pavitsits, but the Demons could not mount a comeback. Weeter’s tip-in layup in the final seconds set the final score.

Northwestern State’s best offensive stretch came early in the second quarter, when Donnell and Parr combined for three 3-pointers in a span of less than two minutes. The Demons also got a 3-pointer from Becca Milon in the fourth quarter, layups from Rideaux and Carr in the third, and late baskets from Salumu and Pavitsits. Oklahoma State answered with production across its rotation. Bollinger and Canfield each made a 3-pointer in the fourth, Hake made a 3-pointer in the third and a free throw in the fourth, and the Cowgirls’ bench helped maintain the lead after the starters built it.

McGill, a 5-foot-9 guard and Hopkins High School product, finished with 23 points, three rebounds, seven assists and one block in 28 minutes for Oklahoma State. McGill had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in a win over Morgan State and seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a win over Southern. Heard, a 5-foot-11 guard from Sapulpa, added eight points, four rebounds and eight assists in 25 minutes. Crooks, a 6-foot-3 center from Bishop Garrigan, had 13 points, five rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 26 minutes. Deng, a 6-foot-2 guard, scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds with one assist and one block in 22 minutes. Ndiaye, a 6-foot-1 forward from Orangewood Academy, had 12 points, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 26 minutes. Sneed, a 5-foot-6 guard from Wagner High School, added nine points, two rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes, and Weeter, a 6-foot guard from Goodland, had six points, four rebounds, one assist and one block in 13 minutes.

Parr, a 5-foot-4 guard from Waco, Texas, and a La Vega High School product, led Northwestern State with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. Wynn, a 5-foot-4 guard from Pelham, scored 11 points and grabbed two rebounds in 20 minutes. Miller, a 5-foot-11 forward from Wylie HS, had four points, two rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes.

Oklahoma State shot 31 of 55 from the floor, 12 of 25 from 3-point range and 20 of 29 from the free-throw line. Northwestern State shot 20 of 58 from the floor, 7 of 23 from 3-point range and 9 of 12 from the free-throw line. Both teams finished with seven offensive rebounds. The Cowgirls had 13 assists, seven blocks and 12 turnovers. The Demons had seven assists and 18 turnovers. Oklahoma State held a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint and a 20-12 edge in points off turnovers. Oklahoma State scored 94 points from 74 possessions for an offensive rating of 127.4. Northwestern State scored 56 points from 75 possessions for an offensive rating of 75.0.

Oklahoma State is scheduled to visit Tulsa next, while Northwestern State is slated to visit Louisiana Tech.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Oklahoma State 69, Northwestern State 62, and Interstat’s ELO system had projected Oklahoma State with a 99.5 percent probability to win.