Kansas State women bow out of Big 12 Tournament following quarterfinal loss to Texas
The Texas women’s basketball team is difficult to beat under any circumstance.
But the challenge becomes much harder when two of your key players spend long amounts of time on the bench because of foul trouble.
Kansas State found itself in that situation during a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal game against the Longhorns on Friday at Municipal Auditorium and the Wildcats were unable to overcome it on their way to a 72-65 loss.
Jeff Mittie’s team never backed down and pushed Texas for a full four quarters and pulled within five points in the closing minute. But it simply couldn’t make enough plays to survive and advance with Serena Sundell and Brylee Glenn, a pair of starters, battling fouls most of the evening.
“I could go on and on about some things in terms of fouls,” Mittie said, “but I think Texas did a nice job of driving at us. They were a step quicker in some areas. If you’re late to a play you’re going to pick up a foul.”
Sundell only played 25 minutes while picking up four fouls, all before the fourth quarter. That made it difficult for her to pile up many stats. She finished with 11 points and five assists. Glenn fouled out with 3 minutes, 16 seconds remaining. She finished with eight points and three rebounds.
K-State made 51% of its shots and reached 60 points after struggling in previous games against Texas, but it didn’t matter.
It takes more than that to beat a team like Texas, which improved to 24-6 with the victory.
Ayoka Lee led K-State with 16 points and seven rebounds. Emilee Ebert had 15 points.
Lauren Ebo paced Texas with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Rori Harmon added 16 points.
The Wildcats were at their best late in the second quarter when they closed out the period with eight straight points to make Texas sweat at halftime. The score was 32-27 at that point, and K-State went on to pull within four. But it never got any closer.
The Longhorns were simply too strong and more or less clinched the game when they closed out the third quarter by scoring 10 straight points to take a 57-43 lead.
“I thought It was a heck of a game,” Mittie said. “We made a really good push back at them after they pulled away from us. That end to the third quarter was critical, and it happened quick. That was the turning point.”
No. 3 seed Texas will play Iowa State in the semifinals on Saturday. No. 6 seed K-State will head back to Manhattan and wait to learn its destination for the NCAA Tournament.
There is still much for K-State to look forward to this March. The Wildcats are projected to land anywhere between a No. 7 and a No. 10 seed after leaving the Big 12 Tournament with a 19-12 record.
“There are some good things we can take away from this game,” Lee said. “And we are excited the season isn’t over. We just have to move forward.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 9:39 PM.