Kansas State women's basketball scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points against the No. 5-seeded Texas Tech Lady Raiders on Thursday, advancing to the quarterfinals and continuing an improbable run toward an at-large bid in the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.
In a nutshell, this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening. Then again – it’s March. Nothing about it is supposed to make sense.
Wildcats cap a record-breaking run, advance with 58-51 win over Lady Raiders
The win marks Kansas State’s second victory this season over an AP Top-25 opponent, and its first since defeating Ole Miss on Dec. 7. It also secured the Wildcats’ second win over the Lady Raiders this season.
Kansas State knocked down a record-breaking 17 triples in its first tournament game, setting a new conference record for threes in a game while tying a school record.
Nastja Claessens led four Wildcats in double figures with 14 points, adding eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks. The Wildcats shot 34% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc.
Claessens’ 14-point performance marks her second straight game in double figures after entering the matchup averaging just over 11 points per contest. She also accounted for five points during Kansas State’s record-breaking run.
The scoring surge was led by senior guard Tess Heal, who poured in eight of her 10 total points during the stretch.
Everything is stacked against Kansas State in its March Madness push
This isn’t a game that the Wildcats were supposed to win – and not by a long shot. The Lady Raiders entered the game at 25-6, 11-6 in Big 12 conference play. Kansas State sat below .500 in the conference at 8-10.Â
Not to mention the Lady Raiders hadn’t been held scoreless for over five minutes during any point this season. Just another first for the Wildcats to write home about.Â
Texas Tech shot just 26% from the floor, scoring exactly 58 points in their second straight game. Funny enough, the final result was the same as its opening round game against Arizona State, they just-so-happened to be on the opposite end of it.Â
The Wildcats also forced 17 turnovers, but scored just nine points on the fast break. But hey, when your opponent is held scoreless for 7:37, that’s probably not a priority.
What’s ahead for the Wildcats
Kansas State’s next matchup against Oklahoma State awaits on Friday at 11 a.m. Seeding once again sets the Wildcats up as underdogs, but if we’ve learned anything so far – that doesn’t matter.
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