Summary
The Kansas State Wildcats women’s basketball team beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 82-62 Monday night in Bramlage Coliseum.
Senior center Breanna Lewis led the way with 18 points and six rebounds. She also had two steals and was responsible for both of K-State’s blocks. She was the highest scorer for either team.
Offense
The Wildcats offset strong 3-point shooting by Tulsa in the first half with 36 points in the paint and 10 fastbreak points. The Cats also shot 51.4 percent from the floor and seven of eight from the free-throw line, good for 87.5 percent, their highest percentage from the line in a half this season.
The Wildcats shot worse in the second half but were able to expand their lead to as many as 24 points with 3:32 remaining. The Cats ended up with five players scoring in double-figures.
Defense
In the first half, the Wildcats struggled to defend the 3-pointer. The Golden Hurricane shot 46.7 percent from beyond the arc, going seven of 15. Outside of that, however, the Wildcats played strong defense. They held Tulsa to 12 of 30 shooting from inside the arc, and only allowed six points in the paint.
The Wildcats helped slow the Golden Hurricane down from 3-point range, holding them to just one of five beyond the arc in the third quarter and three of 11 in the fourth. Though the Wildcats allowed the Golden Hurricane to shoot a higher percentage from the floor, the diminishing of 3-point shooting in the second half put Tulsa at a disadvantage, which K-State exploited.
Quote of the game
“Defensively, I told (the team) I thought we probably won the Mannequin Challenge at times,” K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “We did seem frozen at times out there so I guess I wasn’t part of it. I thought they shot the ball very well so give them credit. They did; they shot the ball very well and we’ve got to have a better awareness in that area and hopefully we’ll improve.”
Up Next
The Wildcats finish their three-game homestand against the Lamar Cardinals (0-2) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Bramlage Coliseum.
