MANHATTAN, Kansas (Kansas State Athletics) – K-State looked for its third win over an Associated Press top-15 opponent this season, but (11/12) Texas used a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to prevent the Wildcat comeback and left Bramlage Coliseum with a 62-51 win on Wednesday night.
“Their offensive rebounding was a huge problem,” said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about Wednesday’s contest. “And then the pressure, while the turnover number isn’t horrible, the fact that we couldn’t get into offense as well as we’d like and play well under duress. Where the turnovers reared its head is where we had the chance, when we cut the lead, and then we had turnovers in the transition, that ultimately just killed us because it went from four points back to 11.”
The Longhorns outrebounded the Wildcats, 41-29, including 19 offensive boards that led to a 16-8 advantage in second chance points. Texas forced K-State into 15 turnovers which resulted in a 16-12 edge in points off turnovers.
K-State (18-9, 8-7 Big 12) trailed 34-23 at halftime but closed the gap to five points twice with the assistance of an 8-0 run midway through the third quarter. The last time K-State pulled to within five came on a jumper from Ayoka Lee with 3:33 left in the third to move the score to 40-35.
Texas (20-6, 10-5 Big 12) answered with a 5-0 run to increase their lead back to 10, 45-35, with 1:13 left in the third. K-State halted the momentum for the Longhorns with a backcut and layup from Serena Sundell and then answered a Texas jumper with a jumper from Lee to close the quarter down eight, 47-39.
A Sundell layup to open the fourth quarter brought the Wildcats to within six, 47-41, with 9:27 remaining. After a delay for an official’s review, the Wildcats ended the ensuing Longhorn possession with a stop. K-State then received two free throws from Cymone Goodrich with 8:57 to play to close to within four, 47-43.
K-State would be unable to get any closer, as the Longhorns used a 9-0 run including the fourth 3-pointer of the night from Aliyah Matharu, to build a 56-43 lead with 6:56 left. Matharu, who entered the game off the bench, ended the night with a team-high 16 points.
The Wildcats made just two field goals in the fourth quarter, shooting 2-of-10 from the field but stayed close with an 8-of-8 effort from the foul line.
Sundell led K-State with 16 points while also carding three assists, three rebounds and two blocks. This was the freshman’s 14th game in double figures.
Lee joined Sundell in double digits with 10 points, five rebounds and two blocks. With her point total on Wednesday night, Lee moved up three spots on the K-State career scoring list and ranks ninth in program history with 1,556 career points.
With her two blocks, Lee set the school record for blocks in a junior season with 83, passing Breanna Lewis’s total of 82 from the 2015-16 season.
For the night, K-State shot 35.7 percent (15-of-42) and shot 82.6 percent (19-of-23) from the free throw line. Texas tallied a 36.5 percent (23-of-63) shooting performance and were 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
K-State will take to the road on Saturday, as the Wildcats visit (20/15) Oklahoma at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman at 4 p.m.
