Kansas State women’s basketball fell behind early but mounted a quick comeback in a 77-63 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers, moving to 2-0 on the season.
The circumstances of the game itself were unique, being played at the home of the Milwaukee Brewers’ American Family Field. Early on in the game, the Brewers’ infield seemed to be the only subject to write home about for the Wildcats.
Scoring proved difficult from the start. After the first quarter, the team trailed 23-13 while shooting 23.5% from the field compared to the Badgers’ 64.3%.
A quarter was all the Wildcats needed to adjust to the baseball environment. The tables turned in the second quarter as K-State dominated, closing the Badger lead to just three points into the half.
The Wildcats kept their momentum after the break. In the third quarter, they grabbed a 43-37 lead over the Badgers after three consecutive three pointers fell. Better shooting alongside defensive pressure allowed the Wildcats to comeback. The Wildcat attack on defense forced 20 turnovers, some of which were caused by head coach Jeff Mittie using a full court press.
Although the Badgers tied the game going into the fourth quarter, that would be their last bit of hope. The fourth quarter was all K-State who outscored Wisconsin 31-17 in that time.
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It took a complete team effort to storm back in such a dominating fashion, but a few players shined for the Wildcats. Oklahoma transfer guard Gabby Gregory led the scoring and rebounding for the second time this season in as many games with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Serena Sundell joined Gregory with nine rebounds and put up 19 points, and guard Jaelyn Glenn trailed just behind with eight rebounds and 16 points. Those three will look to keep contributing this season as K-State is without star Ayoka Lee.
The win also marks the 1,000th in program history and 601st of Mittie’s career. This puts K-State as one of just three schools with 1,000 wins and its current head coach with 600 or more career wins — Stanford and Connecticut being the other two.
The Wildcats look to stay undefeated in a difficult matchup against No. 4 Iowa and superstar guard Caitlin Clark, the nation’s leading scorer last year, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at Bramlage Coliseum.
