MANHATTAN – K-State built a double-digit lead at halftime with a strong night from Emilee Ebert and needed a near perfect performance from the foul line including clutch free throws from Christianna Carr in the second half to defeat Texas Tech, 86-79, on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
With its win on Wednesday night, K-State women’s basketball secured its 350th win in the 33-season history of Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcat women’s program owns an all-time mark in Bramlage of 350-146. K-State has won 10 or more games in Bramlage Coliseum 22 times since the building opened in the 1988-89 season.
K-State (7-14, 2-12 Big 12) used a pair of 8-0 runs in the first half to secure a 44-30 lead at halftime. Ebert sparked the Wildcats in the opening 20 minutes with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.
Ebert finished the night with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and pulled in five rebounds and pocketed a steal. The product of Frankfort, Kansas, has reached double figures in four games this season.
“I thought she had a good pace to her game,” said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about Ebert’s career night. “I thought she had the right amount of aggressiveness in the drives that she had. She’s playing through contact better which is something that we wanted her to keep improving on.”
Carr finished the first half strong with K-State’s final five points of the frame to stake the Wildcats to the 14-point lead. Carr recorded an old-fashioned 3-point play with 28 seconds left for a 42-30 lead.
After a Lady Raider turnover with eight seconds left, Carr drove to the basket completely unguarded to finish a layup at the buzzer to end the half.
Carr notched her second career double-double by tying her career-high with 24 points which included a 10-of-11 effort from the foul line while pulling in a career-high 11 rebounds. She also handed out three assists. This was Carr’s 11th career game with 20 or more points, including her third this season.
The 44 first half points by the Wildcats were a season-high for an opening half. It marked the most points scored in a first half by K-State since scoring 45 against Oklahoma on Jan. 25, 2020.
Texas Tech (10-13, 5-12 Big 12) narrowed the game to eight, 70-62, at the end of the third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats, 32-26, in the frame. K-State was 10-of-11 from the foul line and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the third period.
K-State opened the third quarter shooting 4-of-5 from the field, including 3-pointers from Ebert and Rachel Ranke to increase K-State’s lead to 54-37 with 6:51 remaining and force a Texas Tech timeout.
Ranke finished the night with 14 points, including four connections from beyond the arc. She also hauled in four rebounds and handed out three assists. She needs nine points to become the 43rd player in program history to score 1,000 or more career points.
The Lady Raiders closed the margin in the third quarter with the aid of 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc and an 11-of-17 effort overall from the field in the quarter.
In the final quarter, K-State led by as many as nine on two occasions but Texas Tech trimmed the deficit to one, 80-79, with 1:44 remaining as Naje Murray made her third 3-pointer of the quarter. Both teams would be held without a field goal in the final minute and a half.
With 27 seconds remaining and in possession of the ball, Texas Tech’s Bryn Gerlich threw an errant cross court pass which landed in the hands of Cymone Goodrich. After a K-State timeout to advance the ball, Carr was immediately fouled and calmly buried her two free throws for an 82-79 K-State lead with 21 seconds left.
After a Texas Tech timeout to advance the ball, the Lady Raiders found an open look for Murray but her attempt clanked off the back of the rim and into the arms of Carr. Carr was fouled and made her two free throws to put the Wildcats up 84-79 with 15 seconds left.
Another missed three by the Lady Raiders again found the arms of Carr, who was fouled with four seconds to play. She made both free throws to provide the final margin.
“It feels good when the ball is going in,” said Carr about her 6-of-6 effort from the line in the closing second. “I was going through my head saying, ‘don’t miss don’t miss’ and I just had to concentrate and take deep breaths.”
In the fourth quarter, K-State was 9-of-10 from the free throw line and were 19-of-21 for the entire second half.
The Wildcats finished the game shooting 40.0 percent (26-of-65) from the field including a season-high 11-of-27 from beyond the arc. The 11 made 3-pointers were the most since K-State made 11 against UIC on Nov. 11, 2019.
Texas Tech registered a 46.6 percent (27-of-58) effort from the field and were 11-of-25 from the beyond the arc. The Lady Raiders were paced by Murray with 26 points including 8-of-11 from 3-point range. Vivian Gray added 24 points and six rebounds.
K-State will make its final trip to the state of Texas this season, as the Wildcats travel to Waco, Texas, to face (7/7) Baylor at 11 a.m., on Saturday. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also air on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
– kstatesports.com –