Oklahoma State's Head Women's Basketball Coach And Assistant Die In Plane Crash

Well, this is very sad: Oklahoma State's women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna died in a plane crash in Perry County, Ark., on Thursday night. There were no survivors in the crash, which also killed the pilot of the plane and another individual not directly affiliated with the university. The coaches were traveling for a recruiting trip in Arkansas.

The crash comes just 10 months after the Oklahoma State community observed the 10th anniversary of the Jan. 27, 2001 plane crash that killed 10 men affiliated with the men's basketball program.

Budke, whose Cowboys were 1-0 in the young season, was in his seventh year as head coach in Stillwater. The 50-year-old had a 112-83 mark and three NCAA tournament berths at the school. In the 2009-10 season—just three seasons after they'd gone without a win in conference play—the Cowboys earned a top-10 ranking for the first time in school history and advanced to the second round of the tournament.

Serna, the team's recruiting coordinator, came to Stillwater with Budke after working under him at Louisiana Tech. She won a national championship as a player for Budke's Trinity Valley Community College team in 1996, and then again as his assistant in 1999.

The school has canceled the team's games for this weekend.

OSU coach Kurt Budke, assistant coach Miranda Serna killed in plane crash [OKState.com] Kurt Budke, Miranda Serna die in crash [ESPN]