K-State women beat Houston in a game that featured five ejections and a scuffle
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State turned a 4th-quarter scuffle into 6 free throws, possession and a lead change.
- Five players, four from Houston and K-State’s Jenessa Cotton, were ejected.
- Coach Jeff Mittie credited player and staff discipline as the Wildcats capitalized.
The Kansas State women’s basketball team benefited from a scuffle that led to five player ejections during a 71-62 road victory against Houston on Wednesday.
Here’s how the Wildcats took advantage of an unusually physical and heated moment that featured shoving from both teams, a lengthy review and, ultimately, eight points on one trip down the court for K-State.
The skirmish began with 6:38 remaining in the fourth quarter. Houston led 53-49 as K-State guard Gina Garcia missed a driving layup. K-State forward Jenessa Cotton and Houston player Amirah Abdur-Rahim both fought for the rebound.
In an attempt to secure the ball, Cotton pushed Abdur-Rahim to the ground. That prompted several Houston teammates to approach Cotton, which led to plenty of shoving under the basket.
The incident only lasted a few seconds before game officials were able to separate the players.
Still, that was enough for five players to earn ejections for fighting.
Four Cougars were tossed from the game. Three of them (TK Pitts, Briana Peguero and Abdur-Rahim) were involved in the scuffle. Kyndall Hunter was also ejected for leaving the bench. Cotton was also forced to leave the floor for K-State.
When the dust settled, K-State was awared six free throws and possession of the ball. Tess Hall made all six shots from the line and then hit a jumper before Houston got the ball back. Just like that, the Wildcats surged ahead 57-53 and never trailed again.
K-State women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie was proud of how his team handled the incident.
“We catch a break in the altercation and we get some freebie points,” Mittie said. “But our kids showed some discipline by not punching back.
“Our kids showed some discipline. Staff did a great job of keeping our group off the floor. They didn’t come onto the floor right away when it kind of got going, because those things happen so fast, and staff did a great job of keeping them off ... Every point was important.”