The Kansas State women’s basketball conference slate ended the same way it began: with an overwhelming defeat at the hands of Texas.
The Wildcats (16-15, 5-13 Big 12) fell to the 12th-ranked Longhorns 80-52 Saturday to close their regular-season schedule. Much like the first matchup — an 87-41 K-State loss on Dec. 31 — this was one in which the Wildcats were outgunned from the start.
Texas (23-8, 14-4 Big 12) scored the first eight points of the game before K-State got on the board with a layup from Eliza Maupin 4 ½ minutes in. That six-point deficit was the closest the Wildcats got for the remainder of the contest.
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said two factors affected the game before it even started. For one thing, the Longhorns needed a victory to claim a share of the conference title and thus, had extra motivation. And for another, the Wildcats were fresh off a “physically, mentally tough” overtime loss at Oklahoma last Wednesday, one in which they overcame a 22-point deficit before falling short.
“We just couldn’t quite seem to get our energy and our focus where it needed to be,” he said.
Statistically speaking, the story of the game was turnovers and offensive rebounds. K-State surrendered possession 21 times in the game — including 10 in the first quarter — which led to 24 Texas points. Meanwhile, the Longhorns grabbed 15 offensive boards and tallied 19 points off of them.
Texas scored more than half of its points off of turnovers and second opportunities, while the Wildcats managed a combined six points in those categories. Unsurprisingly, the Longhorns put up 25 more field-goal tries in the game.
“Their guard pressure has really forced us where we have not been able to run offense very well, and their size gives a lot of people trouble,” Mittie said. “They have two things, and those two things really gave us two really big problems.”
K-State shot 38% (15-of-39) from the floor, made 6-of-14 3-point attempts and went 16-of-20 at the free-throw line. The Wildcats grabbed 21 rebounds — equal to their number of turnovers — compared to Texas’s 36.
No Wildcat player made a second individual field goal until three minutes into the second half. Serena Sundell led the way with 12 points and six assists, while Sarah Shematsi added 11. K-State’s leading scorer this season, Gabby Gregory, finished with just three points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Mittie said the team struggled to move the ball well enough to get Gregory open looks. He added that when Gregory did have windows to shoot, they closed quickly, leading her to question whether she should attempt it at all.
The Longhorns hit 47% (30-of-64) of their shots and scored 38 points in the paint. Shaylee Gonzales went off for 21 points, Taylor Jones had 17, DeYona Gaston had 16 and Shay Holle had 10.
After going ahead 8-0, Texas stretched its lead to 20-9 by the end of the first quarter. It was a familiar spot for the Wildcats, who fell behind 24-8 after one period at Oklahoma last Wednesday and 23-9 at West Virginia last Saturday. In both those games, K-State rallied and leveled the score in the second half before eventually losing.
But there was no great comeback on Saturday. The Longhorns blitzed the Wildcats 19-5 in the second quarter to go to the intermission with a 37-14 advantage. K-State’s 14 points in the first half were two off its lowest total ever in a conference game, having just made five field goals as opposed to handing out 15 turnovers.
Mittie said his halftime speech wasn’t related to “X’s and O’s,” but rather about playing with the “energy” and “pride” he didn’t see from his squad in the first two frames.
“I saw glimpses of it (in the second half),” he said. “I’ll have to take a look at the film. As painful as it’ll be, it’ll be a necessary evaluation.”
He added that he was pleased to see Shematsi hit some shots after going through a tough scoring stretch. Additionally, he said Jaelyn Glenn — who scored nine points — “had a better look in the second half,” while Brylee Glenn appeared to be healthy after only playing four minutes at Oklahoma because of a lingering ankle injury.
The Wildcats matched their first-half scoring with 14 points in the third quarter and put up 24 in the fourth. They limited their turnovers to six in the second half.
And now it’s on to the postseason.
K-State earned the No. 9 seed in this week’s Big 12 Tournament and will play No. 8 Texas Tech at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City. The Wildcats lost both games to the Lady Raiders in the regular season, falling 85-65 at home on Jan. 14 and 78-68 on the road on Feb. 7.
Unless K-State wins the conference tournament, it is likely out of contention for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. However, it is a prime candidate for the WNIT, which would allow for further practice time and game experience for a squad that continues to be young and relatively inexperienced.
With an extra day of preparation than they’re used to getting between weekend and midweek games, Mittie said the Wildcats need to “regroup” mentally and physically in preparation for what’s ahead.
“It’s a new season,” he said. “You’ve got to put this one in the rearview mirror. You’ve got to get momentum. The only way you get momentum is to go play well in Kansas City. And when we’ve played well, we’ve had opportunities to beat the very top of this league.”
