Upset bid by K-State women ended by West Virginia’s buzzer-beater in Big 12 quarterfinals
An improbable coast-to-coast, buzzer-beating layup from West Virginia guard Kirsten Deans on Friday at Municipial Auditorium. prevented Kansas State from becoming the first No. 10 seed to reach the semifinal round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament.
It was a thrilling way for the Mountaineers to advance in the postseason with a 58-56 victory, and an agonizing way for the Wildcats to see their year come to an end.
The play took only 3 seconds to develop, and a walk-off layup for West Virginia seemed unlikely when it began with K-State trying to in-bound the basketball for a potential game-winning shot of its own. But Wildcats forward Emilee Ebert was credited with a turnover when Deans intercepted her pass in the paint and sprinted down court to win the game.
Depending on your rooting interests, it was either an epic finish for the Mountaineers or an ugly meltdown by the Wildcats.
K-State coach Jeff Mittie will probably feel like the Wildcats lost the game more than their opponents won it. And he has good reason to feel that way. K-State led for much of the game and seemed to be in total control when Rachel Ranke hit a three-pointer to give the Wildcats a 55-48 lead with 1 minute, 44 seconds remaining.
But it was all West Virginia from there. The Wildcats closed on a 10-1 run. Deans closed out the game by scoring seven straight points. She got her own personal run going with a layup with 35 seconds remaining, a key three-pointer that tied the game with 19 seconds remaining and then a game-winning layup at the buzzer.
A potential no-call with three defenders draped all over Christianna Carr on K-State’s final possession also aided West Virginia’s comeback.
Kyrse Gondrezick led West Virginia with a game-high 26 points and Deans had 11 valuable points.
Ranke and Carr led the Wildcats with 12 points apiece.
K-State finished its season at 9-19 but seemed to be an improving team near the end of the season, as the Wildcats won four of their final 10 games after a rough start to the Big 12 season.
West Virginia advances to the semifinal round of the Big 12 Tournament, where it will play the winner of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Texas got the quarterfinals action started on Friday with an exciting 84-82 victory over Iowa State. Baylor won the next game in dominating fashion against TCU 99-55. The Longhorns and Bears will play in the first semifinal game at noon Saturday.