AUSTIN, Texas – For the fourth straight game, Kansas State trailed in the fourth quarter of a game and for the third time in that stretch the Wildcats completed the comeback with a 60-54 win at Texas on Saturday afternoon at the Erwin Center.
K-State has won nine of its last 11 Big 12 road games including three straight.
K-State (13-12, 7-7 Big 12) trailed by two entering the fourth quarter and Texas improved its lead to 50-45 early in the fourth quarter. However, K-State answered with a 7-2 run highlighted by Angela Harris’s third 3-pointer of the afternoon to tie the game at 52 with 4:59 to play.
Harris then put K-State in front, 55-54, with an elbow jumper at 2:08 of the fourth quarter. Ayoka Lee would follow with a jumper of her own at 1:26 remaining to give K-State a 57-54 lead. Peyton Williams then made three of four free throws to close out the win.
This is the first time in the history of the series with Texas that K-State has won consecutive games in Austin.
Lee tied the school record for consecutive double-doubles with her fifth straight, as the product of Byron, Minnesota, carded 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Overall, this improved her freshman school record for double-doubles in a season to 16.
Harris registered her 15th games in double figures this season with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Williams tallied nine points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. With her 13 rebounds, Williams improved her two-season total to 589 which establishes a new school record for rebounds in a two-season span.
K-State opened the game with a trio of three-pointers, including a pair from Christianna Carr to hold a 15-13 lead with 3:53 to play in the first quarter. The quarter ended all square at 19, as Lee finished a pair of layups. Carr ended the games with eight points.
Both teams settled into the game in the second quarter, as the scoring slowed. The Wildcats used a 6-0 run including a pull-up jumper by Emilee Ebert to build a 27-23 advantage with 4:41 remaining in the frame.
The Wildcats increased its lead to six twice including a 31-25 edge with 3:06 to play. Texas (16-10, 8-6 Big 12) would score the final four points of the quarter, as the Wildcats went scoreless for the final 3:05 of the half.
The Longhorns raced out of the halftime locker room to build a 39-33 lead with 4:39 remaining. The Wildcats opened the frame just 1-of-7 from the field with the lone basket a layup from Harris.
The Wildcats were able to keep the Longhorns within arm’s length, as the Wildcats closed the quarter with 12 points and trail 47-45.
Kansas State ended the game shooting 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, while Texas was at 36.2 percent (25-of-69) including a 21.4 percent effort in the critical fourth quarter. The Wildcats were 6-of-18 from 3-point range and held the Longhorns to a 1-of-15 performance from deep.
K-State returns home on Wednesday, February 26, to host Iowa State at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, contact the K-State Athletics Ticket Office by calling (800) 221-CATS or by visiting kstatesports.com/tickets.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and will be available on the K-State Sports Network, for free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
--kstatesports.com--