The Oklahoma State Cowgirls are universally seen as the favorite to win the Big 12 Conference. The league’s coaches and media think so.

OSU just needs to prove it on the court. Easier said than done in a conference where TCU has won the regular season title each of the past two seasons and TCU and West Virginia have split the last two Big 12 Tournament championships.

Head coach Jacie Hoyt had cultivated the best transfer roster, signing center Audi Crooks and guard Liv McGill, among others. She still has her best player from last year, guard Stailee Heard, a three-time all-Big 12 selection.

But for the Cowgirls to level up from being a good team to being a great team it's all about defense. Earlier this week we identified a couple of areas where the Cowgirls can find quick fixes on the defensive end. Now, it's time to identify three games in November that will give us an indication as to whether those fixes have taken hold.

South Dakota State, Nov. 15

Most high-major programs don’t go to South Dakota State, which is one of the best mid-major programs in the country and has been to the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons.  But Hoyt wanted to test her team right away and the Jackrabbits should be the perfect opportunity.

SDSU’s leading scorer is back from a season ago on a waiver that allows her to play a fifth year. Brooklyn Meyer averaged 22.6 points per game a season ago as she was named the Becky Hammon mid-major player of the year. She’s also scored more than 2,000 points for her career.

She will be a handful for whoever Hoyt selects as her primary defender. If the Cowgirls want to see how they handle a high-level individual player, this is the perfect game to find out.

St. John’s, Nov. 18

This is the return game on a home-and-home series with the Red Storm that started last season in Queens, where the Cowgirls lost, 74-67.

St. John's is a Big East school so the Cowgirls can impact expect a physical game, something they're used to playing in the Big 12. St. John's was a balanced scoring team a year ago. They had three players average between 11.7 points and 9.1 points per game, with three others averaging six points a game.

The Red Storm want to spread the ball around the floor and make things difficult defensively. St. John's does have its leading scorer from a year ago, Brooke Moore, who averaged 11.7 points per game. For the Cowgirls, this should be a good test of their team defense and how it works together to slow down opponents.

Washington, Nov. 27

The Cowgirls must go to Fort Myers, Fla., for their final big test of November when they face Washington at the Coconut Hoops Tournament. It will be just the fourth time the two teams have met, and the last meeting was in 2004. Also curious? They've never played in Stillwater. They've played two matchups in Seattle and another in Oklahoma City.

In this game the Cowgirls might defend their best guard combination of the month. Sayvia Sellers was an All-Big Ten selection last year after she led the team with career-best 18.0 points and 3.9 assists per game last season. This seems like a perfect matchup for OSU point guard Liv McGill.

The Cowgirls will also have to deal with shooting guard Avery Howell, averaged 14.2 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game in 2025-26, earning All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition. He shot 43% from the 3-point line and is one of the conference’s best rebounders, even though she’s a guard. That sounds like a job for Stailee Heard.

That’s a tough 1-2 combo for the Cowgirls to deal with.