K-State comeback falls short vs. Texas in semifinals of women’s Big 12 Tournament
Kansas State’s dream of playing for a championship at the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament came to a disappointing end on Monday when the Wildcats lost to Texas 71-64 in the semifinal round of the event inside T-Mobile Center.
It was a downer ending for the No. 3 seed Wildcats because they played with more than enough passion and grit to pull off an upset against the No. 3 seed Longhorns. They just couldn’t close out the game.
“Getting on that bus and getting back to the hotel, it’s going to be a team that is really disappointed that they don’t have the opportunity to play tomorrow,” K-State coach Jeff Mittie said. “We know we’re going to get to play down the road, but we’re not going to get to play tomorrow. There’s going to be a championship game tomorrow night and we fell a little bit short. That’s hard to swallow right now.”
K-State fell short by a whisker.
The Wildcats fought back valiantly from a 14-point deficit and took a lead with 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Brylee Glenn knocked down a 3-pointer to put them ahead 57-55.
Mittie’s team had momentum and the crowd on their side. They were going to advance if they could find a way to match the Longhorns basket for basket down the stretch. An entertaining game between two quality teams was going down to the wire.
“If we play like we did today,” K-State guard Gabby Gregory said, “there is a lot of basketball ahead for us.”
That may be. But things didn’t play out the way K-State wanted against Texas.
The Longhorns threw a knockout punch of sorts when Shay Holle drained a 3-pointer 1:13 left on the clock. That gave the Longhorns a 64-61 lead. Then they came up with a stop and scored on a perfectly executed inbounds play to Holle, which she converted for an easy layup.
Suddenly Texas was ahead by five and there was no longer enough time for K-State to mount another comeback.
“That’s the sign of a great team,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “When they tied it we didn’t flinch.”
Iowa State and Texas will play for a trophy at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Too bad. A rivarly game between K-State and Iowa State would have turned T-Mobile Center into a madhouse.
Ayoka Lee led K-State with an impressive stat line that featured 25 points and 10 rebounds. She was productive all game long and scored her points on 17 shots. She just needed a little more help in the paint to keep up with talented players that Texas put on the floor.
Serena Sundell had 12 points and six rebounds for K-State.
Texas countered with five different players in double figures. Madison Booker led the way with 17 points.
The Wildcats will now wait to learn where they are heading in the NCAA Tournament. K-State is a lock to play in the tourney after winning 25 games and spending the entirety of the season ranked inside the Top 25.
But no one will know their seed or starting location until the bracket is revealed Sunday.
K-State is holding out hope that it has earned the right to host postseason games at Bramlage Coliseum as one of the top 16 seeds. A win on Monday would have increased the odds of that happening. A loss could prevent it.
Still, the Wildcats are hoping for better days on the basketball court even after letting this one slip away.
“I don’t think that anybody is hanging their head about this game that we played today,” Gregory said. “I think that we proved that we’re one of the best teams in the country, just like Texas is. We had moments. If a couple plays could have gone a different way maybe we could have came out with a win.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 at 6:19 PM with the headline "K-State comeback falls short vs. Texas in semifinals of women’s Big 12 Tournament."