Kansas State Women Stop #16 Oklahoma
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas State Women’s Basketball team picked up one the biggest wins of the season on Tuesday. The Wildcats upset #16 Oklahoma 79-71.
Jeff Mittie’s team has been preparing for a game like this all season. After an early February road trip that saw them fight but drop a tough battle against Texas, the ‘Cats jumped out to another early lead and won big.
The earned their 20th win of the season (10th win in the conference) with outstanding defense and rebounding.
Kansas State forced 16 Sooner turnovers and limited the Sooners to just 23 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats also dominated the game on the glass with a 23-19 advantage. Senior Breanna Lewis grabbed 8 rebounds to go along with her 18 points on 6-11 shooting and she hit 6 of 9 free throws.
Junior guard Karyla Middlebrook led the ‘Cats in scoring with 19 points on 5-of-10 shooting, and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
Senior guard Kindred Wesemann added 13 points. Off the bench, freshman Eternati Willock contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Kansas State was mentally tough throughout the second half. The Sooners used a 6-0 run behind a 3-pointer by Gabbi Ortiz and a traditional 3-point basket by Chelsea Dungee to bring Oklahoma within six, 57-51, at the end of the third quarter, according to a media release from Kansas State Athletics. OU was desperate but the Wildcats were in control
Kansas State shot 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field, including 50 percent (5-of-10) from downtown and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the free throw line
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The ‘Cats knocked down nine free throws in the last minute and a half to hold off the Sooners.
This is the first 20-win season for Kansas State since the 2011-12 season. Let’s hope the Bramlage magic continues for the Wildcat men’s team against Oklahoma State on Wednesday.