The return of the nation’s leading scorer and a promise of fast paced action should make the Connors State Cowgirls a fun team to watch in 2025.
Head coach Jaylen Thompson, who coached at Tulsa East Central, was hired in the summer of 2024 and had to put together a team in short order that had three returning sophomores and a previously signed freshman. He recruited a handful of players, among them Kiaya Davis, a 5-7 forward from Little Rock. Beset by injury in the early part of the season, Davis emerged as a force in the second semester to lead the nation in scoring, averaging 22.8 points per game and putting the Cowgirls on her shoulders to go 11-8 in the second semester and finish 13-18 for the season. Davis was named the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year.
“I want us to be a more up-tempo team this year,” said Thompson. “My assistant coach, Tor’e Alford, played on some teams that routinely averaged in triple figures and is helping us plan how to do that.”
The Cowgirls also return Aaliyah Scott, a 5-6 guard from Lewisville, Texas who averaged 10 points a game last year, Alexis Fowler from Warner and Brooklyn Austin from Wagoner who was injured a good part of last year playing in just 16 games.
The second-year coach brought in some more size this year including 6-1 players Bella King from the Dallas area, Noel Renfro from Anna, Texas, Tay Parks from Wichita Falls and Yeva Semeniuk from Ukraine. He is particularly excited about the addition of Coweta freshman Jaycee Meissinger who helped take the Lady Tigers to the Class 5A state semifinals the past two years.
“I think Jaycee can be an immediate impact player for us. She’s a strong defensive presence, has played on excellent high school teams and is already showing signs of becoming a team leader,” said Thompson.
Other new faces on the Warner campus this year will include Brynna Wiginton from Pryor, Bre Overstreet from Tulsa and Adrianna Hernandez from Springdale, Arkansas.
“I think these girls really have a willingness to learn and get better. They enjoy being in the gym and those are the kind of players you want to have in your program,” said Thompson.
“We’re still very young and working with all of these new freshmen to establish our identity but not being rushed like we were last year will help us get there and with Kiayah and a desire to play fast, I think we’ll be exciting to watch this year.”
