Texas Beats Kansas State in Dramatic Big 12 Tournament Semifinal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Shay Holle was once again Texas’ savior as it beat Kansas State, 71-64, in the semifinals of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Center on Monday.
Texas (29-4) will face Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Kansas State (25-7) will wait to get its seeding from the NCAA Tournament committee on Sunday.
Holle, who played a significant role in Texas’ quarterfinal win on Saturday, broke a tie with a 3-pointer with 1:13 left to give Texas a three-point lead. After a missed layup on the other end by Kansas State, Holle made a lay-up with 35 seconds left to push the Longhorn lead to 66-61.
From there, Kansas State had to foul to stop the clock and Texas extended the lead at the free throw line to ice the game.
Holle finished with 11 points, one of five Longhorns in double figures. Madison Booker led with 17 points, Aaliyah Moore had 14 while DeYona Gaston and Shaylee Gonzales had 10 points each.
Kansas State got a huge game from center Ayoka Lee, but 20 of her game-high 25 points came in the first half. She also had 10 rebounds. Serena Sundell was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 12 points.
Texas led Kansas State by seven points going into the fourth quarter. Kansas State held Texas without a point for the first three minutes and was able to cut the lead to four points, 51-47, on a Sundell layup off a Texas turnover with 6:48 left.
From there, Kansas State and Texas traded blows, but the Wildcats finally climbed into the lead with four minutes left as Brylee Glenn drained a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 57-55 lead. Booker immediately tied the game back up, and from there the contest came down to the final possessions.
With 1:46 left Gonzales drew contact from Jaelyn Glenn on a layup and gave Texas a 61-59 lead. She missed her free throw and Kansas State tied it on Brylee Glenn’s layup, setting up Holle’s heroics.
Texas went on a 7-0 run to end the first quarter and that pushed the Longhorns out to a 24-14 lead. Gaston scored on a second-chance basket, Moore made two free throws and Moore finished off an old-fashioned 3-point play with 18 seconds left.
That put Texas in control, as it didn’t trail until the fourth quarter. Kansas State tried, but it was only able to get the lead down to eight points at halftime. In the third quarter a pair of 3-pointers from Gabby Gregory trimmed the lead to five points, but Texas quickly rebuilt the lead and both teams struggled to score in the final five minutes of the third quarter.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
