Kansas State women's basketball eliminates Portland in NCAA Tournament opener
MANHATTAN — The Kansas State women's basketball team lives to play another day in front of its home fans.
The Wildcats raced to an early double-digit lead, but No. 13 seed Portland refused to go away, charging back time and again before K-State, behind super-senior guard Gabby Gregory, finally closed out a 78-65 NCAA Tournament first-round victory Friday in front of a noisy crowd of 9,642 Bramlage coliseum.
With the victory, No. 4 seed K-State improved to 26-7 and will face No. 5 Colorado (23-9) at 1 p.m. Sunday in the second round. Portland finished with a 21-13 record.
Gregory scored nine of her 22 points in the fourth quarter, while Ayoka Lee add ed 21 points and nine rebounds and Serena Sundell 16 points with nine assists for K-State. Masie Burnham scored 21 points and Kianna Hamilton 12 for Portland.
Here are three takeaways from K-State's first-round game against Portland.
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Defensive intensity on high in second half
Portland did its damage with a full-court press and K-State by getting in passing lanes, but both teams ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the second half.
That was evident as both teams turned the ball over six times in the third quarter and no pass was uncontested.
Portland eventually settled in
After K-State scored the first seven points and raced to a 20-4 advantage, Portland recovered from the initial shock, clawing back into the game with its defense, which forced five second-quarter turnovers.
The Pilots still struggled to score, but ended the half on a five-point run.
K-State, Serena Sundell jump on Portland early
Portland had no answer for K-State point guard Sundell, who scored nine points in the first quarter and had 12 at the half as the Wildcats led 40-28 at the break.
Sundell made 4 of 5 shots, including both of her 3-pointers, to go with four rebounds and three assists in the half.
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.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's basketball beats Portland in NCAA opener
