Kansas State women upset No. 16 Oklahoma 79-71

Kansas State’s women may have dropped out of The Associated Press top 25 this week, but if the Wildcats keep playing the way they did Tuesday, they’ll soon be right back up there.

The Wildcats jumped out to a big early lead and held on for a 79-71 victory over No. 16 Oklahoma at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas State (20-8, 10-6 Big 12) led 24-12 after the first quarter and 41-25 at halftime. The Sooners (21-7, 12-4) cut that margin to six after three periods and pulled within 61-60 with 5:14 to play, but they couldn’t overcome the Wildcats despite shooting 50 percent from the field in the game.

Karyla Middlebrook scored 19 points for the Wildcats, Breanna Lewis added 18 and Pleasant Hill grad Kindred Wesemann put in 13 points.

Free throws played a key role in the outcome. K-State was 20 of 27 from the line, and Oklahoma was just 5 of 9.

Vionise Pierre-Louis led the Sooners with 21 points.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Kansas State women upset No. 16 Oklahoma 79-71."