The formula that carried Kansas State to a first-round victory in the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament didn’t work in the second round.
But the Wildcats still found a way to record a remarkable win at T-Mobile Center.
K-State used a 21-0 run to finish the game and defeat Texas Tech 58-51 in the tournament’s quarterfinal round on Thursday. The Wildcats. 17-16, will meet fourth-seeded Oklahoma State in a quarterfinal game on Friday at 11 a.m.
Fifth-seeded Texas Tech was on its way to victory, and a comfortable one, when the Red Raiders took a 51-37 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But Tech wouldn’t find the basket again, missing its final 13 shots.
Meanwhile, the 12th-seeded Wildcats, 17-17, battled back. K-State trailed the entire game until Nastja Claessens made a pair of free throws with make it 51-51, and she hit another free one with 2:39 remaining to give K-State its first lead.
Tess Heal’s driving layup made it 54-51 with 52 seconds to play.
A day earlier, the Wildcats used a Big 12 tournament-record 17 three-pointers to defeat Cincinnati. On Thursday, Kansas State went 5-for-25 from beyond the arc. But the Cats nevertheless found a way to win a second game in the Big 12 tournament for the first time since 2005.
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Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
