STILLWATER, Okla.—Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley has been suspended for the Cowgirls’ regular season finale against Nebraska on Saturday for violating team rules.
In a brief statement issued by the university on Friday, no further explanation was given for the suspension.
Riley got into a shoving match with team trainer Amy Shipman during the Cowgirls’ 79-49 loss at No. 10 Texas A&M on Thursday. It was unclear what started the altercation, but it ended with Riley storming away and the two avoiding each other the rest of the game.
Asked about the incident after the game, coach Kurt Budke replied, “I have no idea what you are talking about” before leaving the interview room.
Riley leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring at 23.6 points per game and is second in the league in assists, averaging 6.1 per game. But the Cowgirls, once ranked in the Top 25, have lost eight of their last nine games, a skid that began with four straight losses to ranked foes.
Oklahoma State (15-13, 4-11) will have to win next week’s Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City to make what would be a third straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Riley, a junior from Dallas, also faces a one-game suspension levied by the NCAA for an incident in the Cowgirls’ NCAA tournament loss to Louisiana State last season, when she appeared to take a swipe at the head of LSU’s Erica White during a regional semifinal game. Should the Cowgirls make this year’s tournament, Riley would not be allowed to play in the opening game.
Two weeks earlier, in a Big 12 tournament win over Texas, replays showed that Riley shoved the Longhorns’ Earnesia Williams, although no foul was called and the conference took no action.
Riley said before the season that she was making a conscious effort to work on controlling her emotions while on the court.
