MANHATTAN – Kansas State needed a pair of late three-pointers and crucial free throws with under two minutes to play to hold off a furious fourth quarter rally from Omaha to secure a 66-59 win on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (4-2) held a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but Omaha (1-3) would tie the game at 51 with 4:51 to play, using a 7-0 burst in two minutes and force a K-State timeout.
Following the timeout, K-State received back-to-back 3-pointers from Rachel Ranke and Christianna Carr to retake a six-point lead, 59-53, with 1:55 to play. Sydney Goodson then made five of her next six free throw attempts to push the Wildcats into a nine-point lead, 64-55.
Omaha would close to within five, 64-59 with eight seconds remaining, but Ayoka Lee ended any comeback hopes with two free throws.
“Credit to our group for winning the last five minutes of the game," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie. "We are not efficient enough right now to run away from anybody. I think fatigue is a part of that in those stretches of games. That’s just a part of it. I think that the bright spots of this were that late, we had some players make some big shots. We did some good things under a tight game. (Sydney) Goodson knocked some free throws down and that was good to see and the threes also went down. Chrissy and Rachel hit some big shots and we can build off of those things.”
For the second straight game, K-State had three players reach double figures as Lee led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting and a 9-of-12 effort from the free throw line. Lee also tied her career-high with three steals and blocked two shots.
Joining Lee in double figures were Carr and Goodson. Carr registered her first career double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Goodson reached double figures for the first time at K-State with 10 points and added three assists and two rebounds.
Omaha was led by Ella Ogier with 18 points, including 16 in the second half.
K-State turned a one-point lead into a 10-point advantage, 18-8, with a 12-3 run over a three-and a half minute stretch near the end of the first quarter. Lee scored four points during the run.
Lee scored K-State’s first six points to begin the second quarter and keep the Wildcats in front, 24-18, with 4:55 remaining in the opening half.
After freshman Jada Moore connected on a 3-pointer with 3:48 remaining to give the Wildcats a 27-18 lead, Omaha narrowed the gap to two points with a 7-0 run. Moore finished the afternoon with seven points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Lee ended the run by the Mavericks with three points to close the quarter and give the Wildcats a 30-25 lead at halftime. Lee notched 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a 5-of-6 effort from the foul line in the first half.
K-State completed the afternoon with a 39.6 percent (19-of-48) effort from the field but were buoyed by a 20-of-30 (.667) performance from the free throw line. For the fifth time this season, K-State held an opponent to under 40.0 percent from the field as Omaha ended the day shooting 37.7 percent (23-of-61).
K-State ends its non-conference schedule on Monday night, as the Wildcats host Kansas City at 6:30 p.m. Monday’s game will be limited to 15% capacity. A limited number of single-game tickets are available by calling (800) 221-CATS or online at kstatesports.com,
Monday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
– kstatesports.com –