Women’s basketball beats Oklahoma to break 3-game losing streak

After a three-game losing streak, the K-State women's basketball team finally caught that same fire they started Big 12 Conference season off with when they beat the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 67-56 on Saturday.

Led by junior Brittany Chambers, who scored 23 points and connected five shots from behind the arc, the Wildcats stole a quick lead against the Cowgirls, and held that lead the entire game.

Now sitting at 5-3 in Big 12 play, K-State knocked OSU out of the third place tie they sat in for the conference season, and now K-State is in true third.

"To see our team step up and just be so focused and determined to get back to that caliber of competitiveness was awesome," said K-State head coach Deb Patterson about their win.

The game began with a moment of silence as players, coaches and fans remembered the loss Oklahoma State suffered 11 years ago on Jan. 27, 2001, when 10 people, including two of their men's basketball players and other athletic staff members, were tragically killed in a plane crash.

Oklahoma State has suffered a lot over the past 10 years, and two months ago, they lost their women's basketball coaches, head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna, to another plane crash. Playing at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., was an emotional game for many.

At tipoff, senior Jalana Childs put the first points on the board with a quick layup for the Wildcats, then turned around and blocked the Cowgirls' attempt at scoring.

While the Wildcats snatched the first points of the day, two K-State turnovers gave the Cowgirls a quick 6-2 lead. While it was the only lead Oklahoma State would see the entire game, K-State knew they could not afford mistakes if they wanted to come away with a win.

"We can't win just shooting one shot. We really tried to work on our rebounding this week and I think it showed a more aggressive team out there," said junior Brittany Chambers.

Rebounding was not the only area where K-State capitalized. At the close of the first half, K-State went 7-11 from behind the arc. Four Wildcats connected with the basket in 3-pointers in the first half, and Chambers came away with the game-high lead of 15 points.

The Cowgirls' Tiffany Bias did pose a threat the Wildcats' defense as she closed the half also scoring in the double digits at 11 points. Bias' high scoring was not enough to keep up with the competitiveness K-State brought to the court, and as the half came to a close, the scoreboard read 35-24 in the Wildcats' advantage.

Giving up leads in the second half has been a big problem for the Wildcats when looking at why they lost their past three games. Although they closed the first half with a 9-point lead over the Cowgirls, in order for the Wildcats to win, they would need to bring the same first-half intensity back on the court.

"On the offensive end we kept our focus and kept the intensity that we need to be competitive," Patterson said about the opening of the second half. "It was great to see that because we hadn't done that in our last couple of losses."

The second half opened just as strong for the Wildcats as the first half.

K-State caught fire and took as much as a 26-point lead over the Cowgirls. When sophomore Chantay Caron sunk a 3-pointer for the Wildcats, there were five K-State players with 3-pointers on the board. The Wildcats went on to connect 11 shots from behind the arc.

Although K-State gained a lead of up to 26 points, Oklahoma State came back hard with a 27-7 run and brought the score as close as an uncomfortable 6 points in the final minutes of play.

Oklahoma State's Tiffany Bias carried her team as she finished the game putting away 21 points, many of which were scored on the Cowgirls' 27-7 run.

Chambers broke through the Cowgirls' defense and came away with a game-high 29 points and 10 rebounds, her third double-double this season.

"Brittany Chambers had an unbelievable night," said Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell. "She hit tough shots. A lot of that was heavily contested, and a lot of it was due to some of our defensive mistakes. You have to credit K-State that they shot the ball extremely well."

While the Cowgirls kept the fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena on their toes with their second-half comeback, it was not enough to stop the Wildcats, who came away with their fifth Big 12 Conference season win this year.

Senior guard Tasha Dickey also scored in the double digits for K-State as she put away 15 points. Dickey said in practices the Wildcats have worked hard on practicing their rebounding. Dickey herself had 8 rebounds, and K-State ended the game with 40 total rebounds compared to Oklahoma State's 30.

"Our big focus this week was rebounding and going to the rim and getting the ball," said Dickey. "We did the best we could and I think it was pretty good."

So far K-State is 3-1 on the road during conference play, and their hopes to continue a good away record will be tested as they take on Texas (13-7, 3-5) in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.