Kansas State Wildcats Scare Sooners, earn respect

The Kansas State Wildcat women’s basketball team lost a tough battle on Wednesday night in Norman. Jeff Mittie’s team gave the Sooners all they could handle but fell in overtime.

After a New Year’s Day upset of 12th ranked West Virginia, the Kansas State Wildcats were more than ready for a big road test.

They led the 24th ranked Sooners late in the fourth quarter before allowing a three-point shot that sent the game to an extra five minutes.

You can’t criticize this team for effort. They lost to a higher ranked team on the road. They deserve all the attention they can get from the national polls.

They were down13 after one period but overcame the slow start.

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They really turned things up with a better defensive effort in the second quarter, holding the Sooners to just eight points to pull to within seven at the half 33-26.

Shaelyn Martin drained a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter, including a buzzer beater to end the half.  She had only three 3-pointers coming into Wednesday night’s contest, according to a media release from KSU Athletics.

Among the positives for the ‘Cats:

They outscored the Sooners 23-13 in the final quarter to pull even and used a 10-3 run to record a 63-61 lead with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter.

They held Oklahoma to 36.4 percent shooting (12-of-33) on the night.

Kansas State also had five players in double figures led by a career-high from junior guard Karyla Middlebrook with 27 points and seven rebounds.

Senior center Breanna Lewis added 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman Eternati Willock added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Kansas State shot 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the floor and held a 45-42 edge on the boards.

Unfortunately, the game marked the end to the ‘Cat’s 31-game win streak when leading in rebounds.

Despite this, the rest of the season looks very bright for Jeff Mittie’s team.

Kansas State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday and will host Texas Tech at 7 p.m.