STILLWATER — Jacie Hoyt keeps preaching to her players to keep their emotions in neutral.

Big win? Stay in neutral.

Another painful setback? Stay in neutral.

With the big emotional swings this season has brought, that focus has played a key role in the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team’s consistent nature.

With an 11-6 overall record and a 4-2 mark in Big 12 play, the Cowgirls have played a grueling schedule, with four of their six losses against teams in the top 40 of the NET ratings.

And it doesn’t get easier, with Texas coming to Gallagher-Iba Arena for a 2 p.m. Saturday tipoff. The Longhorns are ranked 11th in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in NET.

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Coming off a dominant home win over BYU, 82-50 on Wednesday night in which senior Quincy Noble dropped 30 points, Hoyt wants to see her team back in neutral.

“If something good happens, OK, let’s get back to neutral. If something bad happens, we gotta get back to neutral,” Hoyt said. “You’ve been able to see that in these last few games of our kids just being mature and poised no matter what, good or bad.”

With the rigors this Cowgirl squad has faced this season, no challenge should scare them.

The difficulties began even before the season, when it became clear the NCAA would force center Hannah Gusters to sit out until mid-December after transferring from LSU a year earlier.

The 6-foot-5 Gusters has since become a key piece of the lineup, averaging 14.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in nine games, while also being a defensive force inside. Gusters was an elite recruit who initially signed with coach Kim Mulkey at Baylor, then followed Mulkey to LSU before heading to Stillwater in December 2022.

“It’s been a long year, definitely a tough year, for sure, mentally and emotionally,” Gusters said. “But this program, my coaches, my teammates, everybody kept me locked in.

“I hadn’t played in a long time, so I’m still trying to get the hang of things and my coaches are really patient with me. They trust me. They have confidence in me, and so do my teammates, so that helps a lot.”

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Throughout November and December, attrition began to hit, with injuries to key players like veteran guard Chandler Prater. The Kansas transfer tore her Achilles tendon, ending what looked like a promising year for a player expected to bring both an offensive boost and  strong defensive capabilities.

Guard Kennedy Fauntleroy, who had been a key player off the bench, left the team after five games. To that point, she was averaging 23.2 minutes, 7.8 points and more than two assists per game.

With her roster growing thin, Hoyt pulled off a move you rarely see in college athletics — a mid-season signing.

Emilee Ebert joined the team as a super-senior. She had concluded her career at Kansas State last spring, but elected not to pursue her additional year of eligibility provided by the NCAA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Hoyt lured the 6-foot guard back to basketball, and while most of Ebert’s contributions have been on the practice floor so far, Hoyt sees promise ahead.

“She has been the best addition,” Hoyt said. “I knew she would be, because I’ve known her for a long time and she has such an awesome personality. She’s so smart. She’s really been changing the dynamics of our practice. … And when her teammates see that, then they have their eyes open to things.

“Even though she (hasn’t played much), she’s doing a phenomenal job and it’s only a matter of time before she’s out there.”

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Of course, no story of the Cowgirls’ season is complete without mention of the biggest surprise on the positive side: freshman Stailee Heard.

The 5-foot-11 guard from Sapulpa showed promise as a recruit, but has exploded onto the scene since arriving in Stillwater.

She leads the team in points (14.7) and rebounds per game (6.1), and is second in assists and steals, while also drawing one of the tougher defensive assignments on a nightly basis.

“I’ve never played with a freshman like Stailee,” Noble said. “She doesn’t act like a freshman.

“Things always fall into place for her because of how hard she works. She’s open to any type of coaching from her teammates, her coaches. She just carries herself different.”

OSU vs. Texas

TIPOFF: 2 p.m. Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Cowgirls getting 'back to neutral' for Texas showdown