As the roar of over 5,000 local elementary school students echoed through the Octagon of Doom on annual Education Day, K-State looked to turn Tuesday morning’s game into another easy lesson. Instead, the Wildcats got a test of their own and endured a fourth-quarter Montana surge to move to 4-0 with a 67-62 victory.
In front of a season-high 7,812 fans at Bramlage Coliseum, guard Taryn Sides led the Wildcats with 18 points and seven rebounds, while forward Shaila Nde and forward Nastja Claessens added 15 points each. K-State also forced 18 Montana turnovers, 10 in the second quarter and held a 36-34 advantage on the glass.
The game opened rather sloppily with neither team able to find much offensive rhythm.
Montana jumped out to an early 5-1 lead as both teams struggled with missed shots and turnovers. It was forward Cristina Osazuwa who led the way early for the ‘Cats, scoring 6 of the first 7. Sides tied the game at 11 with a driving bucket before Claessens knocked down the first Wildcat three of the day.
K-State connected on its final three shots of the quarter, including the three from Claessens, to take a 16-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Head coach Jeff Mittie pulled center Tzoana Tampakou, who scored 15 against Southern Indiana and led the team in scoring in the win over UTRGV. Five minutes in, after two rebounds and a turnover, she did not return.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats began creating separation behind a tremendous defensive effort.
Multiple Montana turnovers led directly to K-State buckets, including a Sides three that extended the lead to 20-14 and a floater from guard Mikayla Parks. Ball handling and rebounds plagued the Lady Griz throughout the frame, and 10 total turnovers helped the Wildcats stretch the advantage.
With under two minutes to go, the Wildcats showcased some of their best offensive basketball of the season. Crisp passing around the perimeter as well as kickouts from the paint led to a wide-open splash from three for guard Gina Garcia, leading to a 34-25 halftime lead.
“We’re a really team-play team,” Claessens said. “We like to play with each other and share the ball. Sometimes when it gets hard, we start trying to solve it ourselves. We just have to keep sharing the ball because that’s how we play our best.”
K-State appeared ready to close the book early in the third quarter.
Nde scored 7 of the Wildcats’ first 10 points of the half, including an and-one finish, as K-State opened the period on a run to extend the lead to 44-27, forcing a Montana timeout in firm control. From the timeout, Montana came out determined to make the ‘Cats earn it.
The Lady Griz rattled off a 12-3 run midway through the third quarter thanks to several K-State turnovers and aggressive dribble penetration. That defense created problems for the Wildcats, as they trimmed the lead to single digits before a timely Sides three put an end to K-State’s scoring drought.
Parks added a reverse layup to help the Wildcats weather the storm late in the third quarter, and they took a 54-44 advantage into the final frame.
Despite maintaining a lead throughout the final three quarters, Mittie said K-State failed to make the necessary defensive adaptations as the game wore on.
“I’ve been a little surprised that we haven’t made an adjustment against this type of team,” Mittie said. “We’ve faced enough of them.”
Montana’s comeback push only grew in the fourth quarter.
The visitors continued to chip away at the lead through an early 3-pointer, K-State turnovers and strong rebounding. The Wildcats struggled to contain drives into the paint and allowed Montana to have quality looks in the final minutes.
“It wasn’t winning basketball,” Mittie said. “Good teams don’t do that very often and get away with it, especially us because we haven’t been a team that scores easily.”
The Lady Griz pulled within 2 points in the final few minutes, flipping what was once a comfortable K-State victory into a tense finish.
Just as momentum seemed to entirely favor Montana, Garcia delivered a crucial bucket for the ‘Cats. The second-year from Spain attacked the lane and converted a layup with 1:26 remaining, restoring the two-possession lead and allowing the Wildcats to settle back in. Mittie praised Garcia’s poise and control on the decisive play.
Montana missed a shot at the other end, giving free throws to K-State, which the Wildcats converted to ice the game.
The loudest ovation of the night came as Sides hit her second free throw with seconds remaining, causing the Wildcats to reach that magic number of 67. The students howled in celebration, with thousands of grade schoolers hitting the “6-7” emote as the buzzer sounded and the Wildcats escaped with a 5-point win.
Parks said the win, especially on Education Day, was special for the team and praised the environment the students created.
“5,000 screaming kids, and especially for them to be on our side, definitely distracts the other team a little bit,” Parks said. “It’s always a good and fun game, and being able to win for them and not just for us is also really good and fun.”
Ultimately, Tuesday’s victory was less about the final score and more about the lessons learned. With a difficult test against #17 Minnesota at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, on BIG+, the game highlighted a few corrections K-State can make going into its next challenge.
