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No. 20 Kansas State (26-7, 13-5 Big 12), the five-seed, fell to the hands of a tough West Virginia squad to end their Big 12 tournament play. After a record-high 33 points in the first quarter, K-State scored only 36 the rest of the game. The Wildcats offense nearly went silent after shooting 13-15 in the first quarter, including five deep balls. Kennedy Taylor had her best game of K-State career with 21, going a perfect 9-9 in the 73-69 defeat.
The Wildcats looked nearly unstoppable in the first quarter. It was a red-hot shooting from everyone who touched the ball. A 6-0 Mountaineer run in the last 1:20 of the game was all it took. K-State seemed to run out of made shots in the game as they only shot 27 percent in the final quarter. The Mountaineers outscored K-State 37-25 in the second half, to move on in the tournament.
Wildcat Warm-Up
Opponent Matchup
No. 16 West Virginia (24-6, 13-5 Big 12), the four-seed, came into Kansas City after an impressive run in conference play. One of the best defensive teams in the country, and dominated K-State in their one meeting during the regular season. The Mountaineers are led by JJ Quinerly, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Quinerly is one of the best defensive guards in the country and led this tough squad all season.
Tip-Off to Buzzer
Quarter Breakdowns
First Quarter-
K-State started quickly, unlike the last time these teams faced off. K-State only saw two shots that did not go through the net and had 11 assists. Temeria Poindexter led K-State with nine points, as Serena Sundell dished out six assists. Sundell broke the single-season assist record for K-State in the 33-23 lead.
Second Quarter-
K-State’s red-hot shooting started to slow in the second, after shooting 86 percent in the previous quarter, the Wildcats only shot 41 percent. K-State would extend their lead out to 12 before a final Mountaineer push in the half. West Virginia went on a 6-2 run to trail K-State 44-36.
Third Quarter-
K-State came out of the half slow, shooting again under 50 percent at 46. West Virginia finally regained the lead with just over a minute left in the quarter. Poindexter hit a buzzer-beater three, K-State’s only in the quarter, to regain the lead 58-56.
Fourth Quarter-
West Virginia’s defense shut K-State down in the final quarter. The Wildcats failed to make a shot for over five minutes. K-State then went on a mini run, a Sundell layup, Poindexter three, and Taylor knocked down a shot to go up 69-67, just under two minutes. West Virginia would close on their 6-0 run to win, 73-69.
Courtside Conclusions
K-State looked strong to start and then limped down the stretch. The Wildcats saw some career records broken in this game. Sundell broke the season assist record, improved upon her school record for career starts, and owns the school record for career games played. K-State’s 33 points in the first was a school record for most points in a quarter. Despite that K-State dropped a game they needed for NCAA Tournament seeding. Jeff Mittie shared his thoughts after the defeat.
“Heck of a game,” Mittie said. “Both teams battled I thought extremely hard, both teams played well, both teams shot the ball well. It wasn’t because of bad defense, I think both teams did some good things.”
Mittie saw his Wildcats struggle here of late, only winning two of their last six.
“I think going forward we got a lot to play for,” Mittie said. “We got a lot here in the next couple of weeks to get better. We feel like we’re going to get [Ayoka] Lee back.”
Lee has not been in the lineup since February 22, but Taylor stepped up big today and of late. Taylor was asked how she was able to go perfect from the field.
“I was trying to get a good position and make the pass easy for my teammates,” Taylor said. “I did exactly what coach told me to do, just stay poised and patient in my shot.”
Future Focus
A Look Ahead at the K-State Schedule
K-State will now wait until Selection Sunday on March 16. The Wildcats currently are on the four-seed line, which would have them hosting the NCAA Tournament. K-State might need some help for other teams to stay in that spot. Mittie gave his case to the committee on why his team is one of the top 16.
“As I’ve said numerous times, we are an interesting case,” Mittie said. “Missing the preseason player of the year for 13 games. I think this team has done enough, this team has shown that we’re a really good basketball team.”
Mittie and the Wildcats will find out their fate on ESPN at 7 p.m. on March 16. For the remaining men’s games and all the K-State sports talk imaginable, tune into Wildcat 91.9.
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