With temperatures dropping outside, fans headed to Bramlage Coliseum knew to get ready for the cold. Unfortunately for the home team, winter found it’s way inside and it cost the Cats their first home loss of the season. Baylor has now won 19 straight games against the Wildcats.
K-State (10-3) scored the game’s first points, and then went dry for more than eleven minutes. Meanwhile, Baylor (13-1) manufactured a 23-0 run on their way to a dominating 74-44 victory on Tuesday night. The Lady Bears got a game high 24 points from their leading scorer Nina Davis, but it was a flurry of three pointers from reserve guard Kristy Wallace that ignited the run.
“Yeah, it’s good”, said Wallace when asked how it felt to put the team on her back. “Anyone would love that feeling. I’m just happy that tonight it could be me”. Wallace, the freshman from Australia, finished with 17 points off the bench. Davis was held in check by the Wildcat defense in the first half. She scored 20 of her points after intermission. She came in averaging nearly 23 per contest.
The bench contribution pleased Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. “We have a lot of depth and they’re all getting to play”, she said. “I don’t think you win championships if you’re one dimensional”.
After Kindred Wesemann opened things with a three just two minutes in, K-State did not score again until the 6:41 mark. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears dropped in eight shots…five from beyond the arc…and took a 23-3 lead. The Cats then got buckets from Breanna Lewis and another long range basket from Wesemann, and played Baylor fairly evenly for the rest of the half. Wallace hit two more three pointers, including one with just a second left on the clock, to stake Baylor to a 36-17 halftime lead.
For the half, the Wildcats shot only 22% from the field, and missed both attempted free throws. “Give credit. Baylor’s a very talented team” said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie. “They gave us trouble right from the start”.
The second half was more evenly matched, with both teams trading baskets while the Baylor lead hovered at around 20. The Wildcats eventually cut it to 16 on a three point play from Lewis, but would get no closer. Baylor ended the game with a 19-6 run.
Lewis led K-State with 13 points, and Haley Texada added a dozen more. Ashia Woods snared 7 rebounds. With the game out of reach, Mittie cleared his bench and got everyone in the game at some point.
New women’s soccer coach Mike Dibbini was introduced to the crowd during a first half time out. The Wildcats are scheduled to play their inaguaral season in the fall of 2016. Dibbini, like Jeff Mittie and Brad Hill, was a standout coach in the Division II ranks prior to being hired in Manhattan.
The Wildcats will try again for their first conference win this Sunday when they host Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown. Tipoff is set for 1:00pm. Pregame coverage on KMAN begins at 12:30.
