No. 12 Kansas State hangs on to turn back No. 10 Texas 61-58

Billy Gates
·2 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Kansas State’s Zyanna Walker drained a deep 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to put her team up a point, and the Wildcats never relinquished the lead after that in a 61-58 win over No. 10 Texas on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.

The big bucket capped a 7-0 K-State run to end the frame, and a tremendous defensive play allowed the Wildcats to take the final shot. The Longhorns took possession with around 0:20 left, themselves looking for the last shot of the quarter, but Amina Muhammad’s close-range attempt was blocked by K-State’s Serena Sundell with 5.6 seconds on the clock. Sundell gathered the loose ball and fired an outlet pass to Walker, streaking down the right side of the floor, and Walker calmly planted her feet and hoisted a 30-foot shot that hit nothing but net as the horn sounded.

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Kansas State took a 46-45 lead after the clutch shot and hung on to stay unbeaten in Big 12 Conference play.

“One possession was the difference,” Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer said. “I could go down the list of every player that played today and they can tell you they had one possession where they didn’t do something right. Our kids fought, I’m proud of them. They competed, but we gotta be better.”

Freshman Madison Booker scored a game-high 23 points on 8 of 21 shooting for the Longhorns. She made all seven of her foul shot attempts and pulled down five rebounds with four assists, as well. As a team, Texas shot 35.5% from the field, 22 of 62, and 18% from 3-point range at 2 of 11. Coming into the game, Kansas State’s field goal percentage defense was the second-best in the country, allowing teams to shoot 31.5%.

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Kansas State’s 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee notched a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with four blocked shots. She was 8 of 12 from the field and helped the Wildcats outrebound the Longhorns 35-33, 26-18 on the defensive glass. Sundell chipped in 12 points and Jaelyn Glenn scored 10. The Wildcats made all 13 of their foul shots and were able to overcome 18 turnovers.

For Texas, Aaliyah Moore scored 15 points with six rebounds and Shaylee Gonzales made the team’s two 3-point field goals and pulled down eight rebounds.

“They were a little tougher than we were today,” Schaefer said of Kansas State. “You gotta give them credit. We gotta get more out of more players, but I’m proud of our competitive spirit.”

Texas (16-2, 3-2 Big 12) jumps back into conference play Tuesday at Moody Center against the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas State (17-1, 5-0) travels to Fort Worth to take on TCU on Wednesday.

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