Despite trailing by 11 points in the second half, the UTEP women’s basketball team rallied past K-State 52-50 on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum. The Cats led the Miners 39-28 with 10:12 to play when sophomore guard Haley Texada made a layup. K-State pushed their lead to 10 at 48-38 on a Chantay Caron jumper with 5:27 to go, but UTEP would score 14 of the final 16 points in the game. The Miners’ Anete Steinberga connected a layup with 1:24 to go and was fouled, but would miss the free throw to keep the score 50-48, K-State. UTEP pulled down the rebound, and Kayla Thornton tied the game at 50 with 1:03 remaining. Thornton gave the Miners a 51-50 edge with 27 seconds left on a free throw, and Kelli Willingham added another with 12 ticks to go. K-State missed a pair of three pointers in the final minute, and Haley Texada threw the ball away in the lane with two seconds on the clock.
The Cats lost leading scorer Brittany Chambers to an apparent injury to her right ankle with 15:59 left in the first half, as she chased a pass near the K-State basket on a fast break. Chambers did not return after scoring three points and grabbing a rebound in four minutes of action. Wildcat head coach Deb Patterson says Chambers’ status for games during the team’s trip to the World Vision Classic in Las Vegas this week is unknown.
K-State will open the tournament at Cox Pavilion against former Big 12 foe Texas A&M on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30pm central time. Pregame coverage will begin at 2:00 from the K-State Sports Network. The Cats will play two other games in Vegas on Thursday and Friday, and could potentially play traditional powers Notre Dame and Old Dominion.
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