The Cowgirls (13-11, 5-8 Big 12), after their devastating home loss to Texas in overtime on Saturday, have been all but eliminated from consideration for an NCAA Tournament berth.

"Before that game we thought our hopes were still alive," OSU coach Dick Halterman said. "Now we have to play for something else, for pride, for an WNIT berth. But Missouri is very much alive and still playing for the NCAAs."

OSU travels to Missouri (16-8, 7-6) tonight in what has become a must-win for the Tigers, who can break a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12 with No. 24 Baylor and No. 22 Texas.

With six nationally ranked teams in the conference, there is a good chance that the fifth or sixth seed in the Big 12 will be a cinch to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament, but don’t tell that to MU coach Cindy Stein.

"I don’t think it’s any pressure," Stein said. "We just have to take care of business, one game at a time. We’re trying to get better. We just don’t put all our eggs in one basket talking just about one game.

"Obviously we have the NCAAs in our sight, and we’ll still continually work at that. I’m not going to tell them that they have to win this game, and if they don’t know at this point it’s too bad."

The Tigers had won three in a row before a lopsided loss at Baylor on Saturday.

Marlena Williams led the team with a career-high 34 points and Amanda Lassiter and Kerensa Barr each added 15 points, but the Tigers only managed seven points off the bench.

"I thought Pep and Kerensa played very good ball games and I don’t think anybody else did," Stein said. "And two out of 12 isn’t very good. Obviously it’s something we have to continuously strive for, but sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way."

Oklahoma State brings in a strong frontcourt duo in sharp-shooting forward Kara Faulk and powerful center Jessica Bates. But the Cowgirls lack additional punch and are last in the Big 12 in scoring (62.9 points per game) and field goal percentage (.371).

The news recently got worse for OSU with injuries to starters Faulk (back) and forward Trisha Skibbe, who turned her ankle against the Longhorns. Both have missed practices this week but are expected to play.

Faulk has played through the back injury in games against Texas A&M and Texas, scoring a team-high 21 points versus the Longhorns on 5 of 16 shooting. She leads the team with 10.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

"Faulk will play, whether she’ll be 100 percent that’s a different matter," Halterman said. "She’s really been hampered by this injury, which affected her shooting and limits her mobility out there on the court."

Stein said that Faulk is typical of the rugged post players Oklahoma State produces.

"Oklahoma State has always had physical inside kids and solid post players," said Stein. "Faulk is a good shooter. They’ve got some good shooters and I don’t think their shooting percentage is indicative of the type of shooters they have.

"Our goal is not to give them good looks. We have to make sure we’re challenging every look."