Kansas State women top Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament opener

Three times they’ve met this season, and three times, the general script has been the same.

A rugged, grinding, often ugly game. Little offense. Low shooting percentages. And a Kansas State victory.

The Wildcats completed their season sweep of arch-rival Kansas with a 57-49 win in Friday night’s opening round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament at American Airlines Center, holding off the Jayhawks with some steely nerves down the stretch after letting a big lead get away.

“These games have been grind-it games,” said K-State coach Jeff Mittie, whose eighth-seeded team will next face top-seed Baylor at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

“You can see the similarities. They’ve had mini-runs — they haven’t had huge runs because both of us struggle offensively at times. They’ve been grind-it games, and we’ve been fortunate to come out on top.”

Twenty minutes in, ninth-seeded Kansas, 15-17, was fortunate to simply still be in the game after perhaps the worst offensive half of basketball imaginable. The Jayhawks appeared mystified by the Wildcats’ 2-3 zone defense, unable to make a shot or hold onto the ball.

KU — which entered the game third in the conference in field-goal percentage and first in three-point percentage — made one of its first 11 shots. The Jayhawks d finished the first half shooting a horrendous three for 22, including zero for six on threes 3s, with 11 turnovers. And yet the Wildcats, 18-12, couldn’t pull away, leading only 23-12 after shooting a mere 27.6 percent.

“I told them, ‘We’re probably lucky we’re not down 30,’” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “Over in (Mittie’s) locker room, he’s probably saying, ‘They just shot 13 percent and we’re only up 11.’ I told our kids, ‘That’s how I would feel. I wouldn’t say that to you, but that’s how I would feel.’ ”

K-State almost ended up regretting having allowed KU to hang around. After the Wildcats ran their lead to 17 when Breanna Lewis’ baby hook put them up 31-14 2 minutes into the second half, the Jayhawks finally found their touch.

A three-pointer by Lauren Aldridge and two by Terriell Bradley powered an 11-0 KU run that cut the margin to six.

And when Bradley made two free throws with 7:08 left in the game, Kansas took an improbable 40-39 lead. The Jayhawks wound up hitting eight of their 12 three-point attempts after halftime, with Aldridge making four of five, one of which pulled KU within a point with 2:41 to go.

But when the game tightened, the Wildcats regained their composure, took the ball to the basket and began taking it away again on defense.

Haley Texada gave them some breathing room with a jumper and made five big free throws in the final 3 minutes to finally put the game away. K-State was 13 of 14 from the line for the game.

Ashia Woods contributed two of K-State’s three steals in the late going. And in a critical sequence with just over a minute left, Lewis blocked Kansas star Chelsea Gardner’s follow shot seconds after a potential tying three from KU’s Chayla Cheadle barely rimmed out.

“We kind of came out of focus and were kind of losing our heads and gave them open looks,” Texada said.

“But when we really want to get after it, we get it done. That’s what happened late in the game with Ashia getting a couple of tips, pressuring a couple of players … and just really being amped up there on our defensive end.”

Lewis finished with 18 points on eight-of-14 shooting. She also had 10 rebounds and four blocks. Texada contributed 17 points and six rebounds.

Gardner led KU with 14 points, 12 boards and three blocks.

And the best part, Texada said, was another victory over Kansas.

“Every single one matters with them,” she said. “Every second we pour our hearts out, because it’s not only KU, it’s our rival. And it’s always nice to sweep them anytime we can.”

Big 12 women’s tournament schedule

At Dallas

Friday’s first round

(8) Kansas State 57, (9) Kansas 49

(7) West Virginia 59, (10) Texas Tech 40

Saturday’s quarterfinals

(4) Oklahoma State vs. (5) Iowa State, 11 a.m. (Fox Sports KC)

(1) Baylor vs. (9) Kansas State, 1:30 p.m. (Fox Sports KC)

(2) Oklahoma vs. (7) West Virginia, 6 p.m. (Fox Sports KC)

(3) TCU vs. (6) Texas, 8:30 p.m. (Fox Sports KC)

Sunday’s semifinals

Quarterfinal winners, 1:30 and 4 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)

Monday’s championship

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Kansas State women top Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament opener."