In a bout between the Big 12’s best, No. 12 Kansas State women’s basketball planted its flag atop the conference with a gusty 59-50 win over No. 9 TCU on Wednesday night.
“It was a competitive game. Both teams, I think, struggled to play well, but were highly competitive,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “The second half liked our efficiency numbers. Played well there, but it was just a grinding game. And you get some of these, and you got to find a way to win.”
Behind a season second-best 7,477 in attendance, All-Big 12 standout Serena Sundell, the nation’s leader in assists, proved why she is one of the best overall players in the country with 27 points, six rebounds and four assists. 23 of her 27 points came in the second half which she made 9-13 field goals, dominating in the paint.
“It was a turnaround from the first half, credit my teammates for, just keeping me in the game mentally at halftime,” Sundell said. “That was just one of those games where you got to stay the course on defense.”
While Sundell shined, Mittie was quick to point out that the Wildcats do not win the contest without senior guard Jaelyn Glenn, who finished with 14 points on 6-7 shooting, including a perfect 2-2 from distance, and four rebounds.
“Jae is the one that kind of kept us in it,” he said. “It seemed like when the offense was really struggling, Jae was making enough plays to keep us going.”
Behind budding energy at Bramlage, K-State’s defensive intensity was apparent right off the bat, holding the Horned Frogs to just three field goals in the first quarter. However, shots struggled to fall for K-State in the period, 4-16, leading to an 8-8 deadlock between the two heavyweights.
“There’s nowhere in the Big 12 that we go that is even close to that environment,” Sundell said on the crowd. “Women’s basketball in general throughout the country, you do not see that…they were big time tonight. They were so huge for us, just keeping us in it when we’re struggling.”
The same defensive trend poured into the second quarter before the Horned Frogs bounced to a 12-2 run in the final four minutes of the half. TCU led 25-19 at the break, finishing with a mark of 9-21 on first-half field goals with four 3-pointers while K-State carded 9-31 mark with just one triple.
K-State came out with the response it needed in the third frame, as Sundell and Glenn combined to score the Wildcats first 17 points of the half. Sundell took over an isolation offense in the half, posting up to score in the paint.
“I thought she had a look in her eye that she wanted the ball,” Mittie said. “I felt like we were able to get her just enough rest. You know, that’s not an easy play (at the post). It’s going to require some energy, and she absolutely delivered.”
Behind 15 third-quarter points from Sundell, and seven from Glenn, K-State outscored TCU and took its largest lead at 43-36.
“She lived at the rim,” TCU head coach Mark Campbell said. “She’s a unique basketball player. They kind of use her as a 1-4. They use her as a point guard. Today, in the second half, they used her as a center. She absolutely destroyed us in the post.”
After struggling from 3-point land for a majority of the contest, Gisela Sanchez and Temira Poindexter stepped-up in key moments in the fourth quarter, keeping K-State’s lead at least a possession out of TCU’s reach. As Sundell continued to star in the second half, K-State’s defense held TCU scoreless for the final four minutes.
“Nothing better. There’s nothing better,” Sundell said on dominating late. “That was so much fun. Once again, just our fans like they just create that environment. They create it. They bring energy that gets gets me going.”
With a 22-2 record, and 10-1 mark in conference, first place K-State has another big-time matchup in store as it heads to No. 25 Oklahoma State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
