The Kansas State women’s basketball team defeated in-state rival Kansas 72-62 in overtime in Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.
It was a closely contested game from beginning to end, but Kansas State pulled away in a 12-2 overtime period to seal the win.
Both teams started the game hot, the score was tied seven times during the first quarter until Kansas went on a 7-1 run in the final minute and a half to go into the second quarter with a 27-21 lead.
The Wildcats started the second quarter strong cutting Kansas’ lead to one at 26-27 less than three minutes into the quarter. They were able to hold the Jayhawks to just seven points in the second quarter and scored enough points to tie the game up at 34-34 with a jumper from senior guard Kayla Goth to close out the half.
The game remained closely contested in a third quarter that featured two ties until the Jayhawks pulled off a 9-0 run starting at the four-minute mark to give themselves some distance from the Wildcats with a 49-40 lead.
The Wildcats bounced back and came up with five-unanswered points to end the quarter to inch themselves closer. They were only down by four going into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was filled with twists and turns. At 8:31 the Wildcats got the game tied up at 51-51; then Kansas went on a 9-2 run to put themselves in position to close out the game with a 60-53 lead with 3:46 remaining.
But the Wildcats didn’t let the game get away from them as Goth and junior forward Peyton Williams combined for five points to cut the lead to 60-58 with 1:28 remaining.
Williams led all scorers with 26 points in the contest and 13 total rebounds. Goth had 19 points and 10 assists.
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The Wildcats were in need of one more basket to tie the game up to force an overtime.
That one basket game as time expired in regulation when Williams dropped in a layup assisted by freshman guard Christianna Carr.
The Wildcats came back to force overtime that gave them momentum, ultimately carrying them through to the buzzer.
They dominated the Jayhawks in overtime with the stellar performances of Goth and Williams. They combined to score 10 of the team’s 12 overtime points to give the Wildcats a 72-62 win.
The Wildcats are now 14-9 overall and 5-6 in conference play as they head to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Oklahoma Sooners on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and on air on K-State Sports Radio Network.
