Kansas State women's basketball battles back, but falls short to Texas in Big 12 semifinal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas State women's basketball team did not go quietly, but it is going home.
The Wildcats erased a 14-point deficit to grab their first lead midway-through the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enought as Texas took control late to claim a 69-6 Big 12 Tournament semifinal victory on Monday at T-Mobile Center.
With the victory, No. 2 seed Texas improved to 29-4 and will play Iowa State for the championship at 8 p.m. Tuesday. K-State, which fell to 25-7, will now wait for the NCAA Tournament selection show Sunday.
K-State got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Ayoka Lee, with Serena Sundell adding 12 points and six assists. Madison Booker had 17 points and Aaliyah 14 points to lead Texas.
Here are three takeaways from Kansas State's semifinal game against Texas.
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Resilient K-State battles back
K-State scored the last six points of the first half to cut a 14-point deficit to 38-30 at the break and ratcheted up its defense after the break.
The Wildcats trailed 51-44 after three quarters and started the fourth period with a 13-4 run to take the first lead, 57-55, on a Brylee Glenn 3-pointer with 3:59 left.
Alas, Texas took control down the stretch to claim the victory.
Turnovers prove costly early for Wildcats
K-State was very on offense in the early going. That is when the Wildcats weren't turning the ball over against an aggressive Texas defense.
The Wildcats trailed 24-14 after one quarter, in large because of their seven turnovers. They did a better job in the second quarter with just three, but Texas had a 12-6 advantage on points off K-State miscues in the first half.
A huge first half for Ayoka Lee
K-State went to its All-America center Lee early and often and Lee responded with a huge first half.
Lee, who moved into third place on the school career scoring chart, had 10 of the Wildcats' 14 first-quarter points and 18 by halftime on 8 of 11 shooting with a pair of free throws.
What's next for K-State?
K-State must wait for the NCAA Tournament selection committee to decide Sunday whether it gets to host the first two rounds of the tournament.
The Wildcats are currently projected to be a No. 5 seed, which means they would be on the outside looking in as far as hosting.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
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This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's basketball falls short in Big 12 semifinal
