Haley Texada scored a career-high 30 points and Kansas State took control early on its way to an 86-68 win over Akron Thursday night in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament before an announced crowd of 1,704 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State scored the first 10 points of the game and led by as much as 14-2 with 16:04 left in the first half before the Zips out of the Mid American Conference fought back to cut the margin to 16-10 with 14:31 left in the half.
With Texada scoring 19 of her points in the first half and Ashia Woods adding eight, the Wildcats were able to build up a 50-32 halftime advantage.
In the second half, the Wildcats who were playing their first game since the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals on March 7 showed very few signs of rust as the lead swelled to as much as 74-50 with 9:39 left in the second half. From there, K-State cruised to its 19th win of the season and 12th consecutive win on its home court against a non-conference opponent.
The news wasn’t all good for the Wildcats as Woods was injured during the second half battling for a loose ball and ended up having to be taken to the locker room. She is expected to be evaluated further on Friday.
Three other K-State players were in double figures with 11 points from Breanna Lewis and 10 apiece from Woods and Bri Craig. Anita Brown led Akron with 22 points while Sina King added 20 and Hannah Plybon chipped in with 15.
Kansas State (19-13) will see a familiar foe in its second round game when Missouri visits Bramlage Coliseum. The Tigers won their first round contest 69-61 Thursday night at Northern Iowa. The game will mark the first meeting between K-State and Missouri in a high-profile sport since the Tigers departed the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference in 2012. The two teams split their regular season series in their most recent meetings during the 2011-12 season with each team winning on its home floor.
Tip-off on Sunday is set for 2 p.m.
