Norman, Okla. ? Trisha Skibbe walked off the court, staring blankly ahead. Nina Stone dared to glance back at the scoreboard, shook her head and disappeared into the locker room.

Even Oklahoma State’s normally cheery coach, Julie Goodenough, was driven to tears.

The Cowgirls were handed their third-straight lopsided loss Saturday night, a 87-37 defeat to archrival No. 15 Oklahoma that showed again just how far Oklahoma State will have to go to compete with the elite teams in the Big 12 Conference.

“To watch our kids go through that again is painful,” said Goodenough, her eyes still wet with tears. “I hate it that this is happening to them three games in a row.

“I’m not sure how to teach our kids to get through it.”

Things might get worse for the Cowgirls (6-9, 1-3 Big 12) before they get better.

Oklahoma State is only midway through a six-game schedule as daunting as any in the nation — five top 25 teams and another game against an Iowa State team that beat No. 2 Texas Tech last week.

The Cowgirls have lost to Tech, No. 10 Kansas State and No. 15 Oklahoma by an average of 48 points and failed to score more than 44 points in any of those games.

In the loss to the Sooners, Oklahoma State had nearly twice as many turnovers (21) as field goals (12), never scored consecutive baskets and was outrebounded 62-28.

Skibbe, the Big 12’s leading scorer and third-leading rebounder, finished with eight points (14 below her average), three rebounds and eight turnovers, easily her worst performance of the season.

Skibbe is the only senior who plays significant minutes for the rebuilding Cowgirls, something that Goodenough rarely fails to mention. The second-year coach is relying on five junior-college transfers and three freshmen to bolster a team that went 8-21 last season.

The losses, obviously, have shaken the confidence of the Cowgirls and their young coach.

“After I stopped crying and gained my composure, I told our kids we have to simulate more game-like situations in practices,” Goodenough said Saturday night. “We’re coming into these game situations and not being competitive, and I take the blame for that.”