Just two years removed from going winless in the Big 12, the Oklahoma State Cowgirls are in the NCAA tournament's round of 16 for the first time in 17 seasons.

Junior Taylor Hardeman -- who remembers those days -- acknowledges that OSU's rise from the depths has made her appreciate this season's success even more. Hardeman says some people don't understand how hard it really is to come from that to this.

OSU (27-7) faces LSU (29-5) on Saturday in the New Orleans regional semifinals.

The constant drubbings were enough to test the perpetually positive attitude of Kurt Budke, the coach Oklahoma State hired to return the program to respectability.

Budke says the first year was tough, especially since he knew his team had little or no chance to win.

But after his first season, Budke used his junior-college connections to quickly retool the roster, adding Central Arizona transfers Maria Corderord and Danielle Green and the program-changing player, Andrea Riley.

Riley leads OSU in scoring (23 points per game), assists (4.2) and steals (2.9).

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