South Dakota forward Patience Williams hit a game-winning three as the Coyotes upset Kansas State in Manhattan.
The three-pointer by Williams was her first points of the game as it gave South Dakota the 72-71 lead, which they would hold on to as K-State missed at the buzzer.
South Dakota had five players in double digits and another player with nine points, indicating their depth, even at the mid-major level.
The Wildcats were once again led by their two top guards, Taryn Sides and Gina Garcia. Sides finished the game as the leading scorer with 19 points, while Garcia added 14 points and six assists. Garcia was also impressive from the free-throw line, going 12-12.
“I think Gina [Garcia] had a really good game today,” guard Taryn Sides said. “She’s played well this whole season really, but the last two or three games, she’s really shined.”
The Wildcats started off the game slowly and were unable to find a rhythm on offense. The Wildcats turned the ball over five times in the first quarter and trailed South Dakota 16-15 after one.
However, the second quarter didn’t get much better as K-State continued to lack the intensity and focus on offense that K-State head coach Jeff Mittie wants. In the first half, K-State made 12 turnovers and failed to make any three-pointers, which are the Wildcats’ specialty.
“Today, we had to go to a high ball screen just to get any kind of offense right now, and obviously we didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Mittie said. “But there’s a lot of reasons why we’re not shooting the basketball well.”
At halftime, South Dakota led the Wildcats 34-28, having momentum and confidence for the second half.
However, K-State finally got out of its funk in the third quarter and exploded for 25 points while holding South Dakota to just 13 points. The Wildcats were able to get the ball inside more often to Ramyia White and she was able to score or get fouled by the Coyotes.
“I think [Ramiya White] improved in practice,” Mittie said. “She’s getting better positioning down low and we’ve been asking her to do that. She had some advantages there today, and I thought she had a solid game.”
White finished the game with 12 points and also did well to get the Coyotes in foul trouble. White also saw extended minutes down the stretch with two other Wildcats forwards in foul trouble.
Going into the fourth quarter, K-State led 53-47 and it appeared as though they would win the game late. However, South Dakota opened up the quarter with four straight points and forced coach Mittie into a timeout.
“We got beat off the bounce all day long, individually,” Mittie said. “So that has nothing to do with being slowed down. That has to do with you competing one-on-one with that player.”
Out of the timeout, the Wildcats turned the ball over, and South Dakota then made a three to take the lead 54-53 and force Jeff Mittie into another timeout just 40 seconds later. The Wildcats would go on to be scoreless for almost the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
South Dakota held the lead for a while in the fourth but was never able to get the margin wider than four points. With 2:11 left in the game, Taryn Sides made two free throws to give K-State the 68-67 lead.
Both teams then went back and forth until K-State recaptured the lead at 71-69 with eight seconds to go. South Dakota had an inbounds play, which K-State shut down pretty well, but the Coyotes were able to find a shooter in rhythm as they knocked down the would-be game-winning shot.
K-State, with 1.6 seconds, was able to get a decent look at the rim, but with a bad angle, made things tough for K-State and victorious for South Dakota.
The one bright spot on the game for the ‘Cats was their free-throw percentage as they went 32-39 from the line. The Wildcats’ main offense came from the free throw line, which they capitalized on throughout the game.
K-State will have a quick turnaround against a better opponent as Texas A&M comes into Manhattan, Sunday, November 16th. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m.
