(photo credit Scott D. Weaver/K-State Athletics)
Whatever Kindred Wesemann had for breakfast Wednesday morning, it would be wise to have it on the menu for every gameday going forward.
The sophomore guard set new career highs in both three pointers made and attempted, connecting on 8 of 11 from behind the arc to lead K-State to a 66-57 win over Texas in front of nearly 4,000 at Bramlage Coliseum. And Head Coach Jeff Mittie wasn’t about to take any chances for the next game.
“Nobody’s allowed to ask Wesemann any questions”, he joked in the postgame press conference. “We’ll just keep letting her shoot”.
In a series that Texas now leads 15-13, you would expect a pretty tight ballgame, and that’s just what the fans who braved the chilly evening got. A back-and-forth affair in the first half that saw 7 lead changes and 4 ties. But Wesemann was hot from the start, hitting two long range shots before the first media timeout and an 8-7 lead for the Wildcats.
Texas countered with size, and as they often do got the majority of their first half points in the paint. The Longhorns had the game’s largest lead of four midway through the opening period. But Wesemann was on track. She had told others prior to the game that she was “feeling it”, and by the timeout with just under eleven minutes in the half she had tied her career mark for made three pointers. Texas went to the locker room up 28-25.
In the second half, the Wildcats forced Texas 6′-7″ center Imani McGee-Stafford to the bench with three quick fouls. Recognizing the lack of height for the Longhorns, K-State got more aggressive, but they still led by just one with 6:35 to go. But Texas would not connect again from the field for nearly six minutes. Meanwhile, two more three pointers from Wesemann paced the Wildcats to a 14-2 run, pleasing Mittie. “It was nice to see us step on the pedal when we had a chance to finish it”, said the first-year Wildcat coach.
K-State is now 14-7 overall, and 4-6 in conference play. Ashia Woods was nearly perfect (9 of 10) from the free throw line late to help seal the victory. She added 13 total points, while Bri Lewis and Shaelyn Martin contributed ten apiece. Texas has now lost 6 of their last 8 after bolting out to a 13-0 start. And with #3 Baylor visiting Austin this weekend, Texas is likely out of the top 25.
“I think, obviously, our team is really struggling on the offensive end”, said Texas coach Karen Aston. The Wildcats’ Big 12 leading scoring defense certainly wasn’t going to help matters for the Longhorns. Add in Wesemann’s career night, and K-State has now knocked off a Top 20 team in nine consecutive seasons.
K-State will try to make it four straight wins when they travel to Oklahoma this Saturday. Our coverage will begin at tip-off, immediately following Powercat Gameday, at 2pm. The Wildcats’ next home contest is on February 11th when Mittie faces his former team TCU.
