Junior guard Ashia Woods had a strong return from injury, scoring a career high 16 points, but K-State wasn’t able to hang on and fell to undefeated SMU 68-57 in the Junkanoo Jam.
Woods, who hasn’t played since suffering an achilles injury back in January, logged 31 minutes. Haley Texada added 13 points and Leticia Romero dropped in 10. Texada and Brianna Lewis both set career highs in rebounds; Texada grabbed 9 boards and Lewis snagged 11. For the game, the Cats shot 35% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc. They hit on 6 of 14 free throws. Defensively, Deb Patterson’s squad held the Mustangs to just 33% from the field…their lowest output of the season.
This is the Cats’ first appearance in the Jam since 2004. They’re now 2-3 in the tournament.
The Wildcats (2-3) started strong, scoring the first five points, and played the Mustangs (7-0) tight for the entire first half. They trailed by only eight going into halftime at 38-30, and opened the second half with another 5-0 run, but SMU gradually extended their lead as the K-State shooters cooled off. A late flurry by the Cats whittled away a 15 point deficit.
Associate Head Coach Kamie Ethridge mentioned the shooting in her postgame comments. “In part, that might be some of the stuff we’re running…but in part, people aren’t making shots”.
K-State will play Virginia in the consolation round of the tournament Friday, with a 4:45pm tip-off from St. George’s High School Gymnasium in Freeport, Bahamas. Coverage will begin at 4:15pm on Newsradio 1350 KMAN.
The Wildcats’ next home game is next Saturday (December 5th) when they host Grambling State at Bramlage Coliseum.
