Senior guard Angela Harris threw the ball straight up as the buzzer sounded in the women’s basketball victory over Iowa State in Bramlage Coliseum, Wednesday night.
“We’re a team that never forgets stuff, and the last time we played them—in Ames—I thought it was disrespectful. … It was like five seconds left on the clock and their point guard threw the ball up,” Harris said.
Senior forward Peyton Williams has a different memory of the game.
“I didn’t even notice that — that’s funny,” senior forward Peyton Williams said through laughter.
“I didn’t either,” Kansas State’s head coach Jeff Mittie added with a smile.
“I remembered,” Harris said.
The Wildcats got their revenge for both the ball throwing and the 73-59 lashing Iowa State gave them, but Harris turned in a cool 11 points in both games.
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On a team with two dominant forwards that command a lot of the attention from defenses, media members and their own teammates alike, Harris has been a stable point guard for her team.
The Houston transfer averages 11 points per game and has team-high numbers for assists and steals.
“The play of Angela Harris has been really big for their team moving forward. I thought she played great,” Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly said. “Senior guards are amazing. They’re a gift from God and when you don’t have one, you’re going through hell half the time.”
Harris provided two big specific lifts for her team against Iowa State: decision making and defense.
Harris, who finished the game 5-11, passed up a number of open shots to move the ball around the perimeter, seeking a hole in the Cyclone zone to get the ball to her forwards.
“Early in the shot clock, [it’s not hard to pass up shots] because as a team we’ve found our identity later on in the season,” Harris said. “We know we’re trying to get the ball inside, whether it’s a pass in to the post or drive to the rim from a guard.”
Throughout the season, Harris has found herself with the ball in her hands in last-second situations more than once, a testament to the trust Mittie has in her.
Harris also managed to turn in a game-leading six steals tonight. One of which helped to kill any Cyclone momentum at the end of the first half.
Iowa State had cut the lead all the way down to four. A pair of free throws had stretched it back out to six, but Iowa State was still making a run.
Harris picked her moment to strike. She jumped a pass and went down to the other end of the floor, draining a fast-break layup and claiming the last basket of the half.
The steal-and-score was so easy for Harris that she did it two more times, including another momentum-shifter.
This time, with a four-point lead in the third quarter, she picked off senior forward Adriana Camber and raced down for a bucket. Harris hit a transition three the next time down the floor. Her 30 second 5-0 run forced a Cyclone timeout and pushed the lead to nine.
Harris and the Wildcats have a tough test this weekend when they head to Waco, Texas, to take on the 26-1 Baylor Bears Saturday evening.
