Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, January 30
Manhattan, Kan.
7 p.m.
Kansas State University
13-8, 4-5
47
vs
61
TCU
15-5, 5-4
1
2
3
4
F
TCU
18
9
15
19
61
Kansas State
9
9
12
17
47
K-State Downed by TCU on Wednesday Night
Jan 30, 2019 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State struggled through a rough shooting effort in the first half on Wednesday night, as TCU handed K-State its second home loss of the season with a 61-47 decision at Bramlage Coliseum.
In the first five minutes of Wednesday's game, Kansas State's offensive struggles continued from Saturday's loss at West Virginia. K-State was forced into six turnovers and an 0-of-3 start from the field, as TCU (15-5, 5-4 Big 12) led 7-0 with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
K-State (13-8, 4-5) would score on four straight possessions following the media timeout to pull within five, 12-7, with 2:51 remaining. TCU would hold an 18-9 lead at the end of the quarter following a pair of three-pointers from Kianna Ray.
TCU increased its lead to 11, 24-13, with 6:23 remaining in the second quarter. A layup from Kayla Goth with 7:58 remaining brought K-State to within seven, 20-13, but four straight points from Amy Okonkwo forced the K-State timeout.
The Horned Frogs built a 14-point lead, 27-13, following a corner three-pointer from Lauren Heard with 5:44 remaining. This marked the final points of the quarter for TCU, as K-State cut the deficit to nine at the half, 27-18, as Kali Jones converted a layup just before the halftime buzzer.
In the opening half, Kansas State shot 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from the field and turned the ball over 13 times. TCU shot 34.5 percent (10-of-29) and held a 12-6 edge in points off turnovers.
K-State opened the third quarter with a steal and fastbreak layup from Jasauen Beard to cut the TCU lead to 27-20 with 9:43 remaining in the frame. The Horned Frogs then used a 10-0 run to build a 37-20 lead with 6:46 to play, as Ray made her fourth 3-pointer of the night to force a K-State timeout.
For the first time in seven-plus quarters, K-State made a 3-pointer as Christianna Carr ended the drought from beyond the arc and bring K-State to within 14, 37-23, with 4:42 to play in the third. Before Carr's connections, the Wildcats were 0-of-25 from 3-point range with their last three coming with 5:57 to play in the third quarter by Rachel Ranke against Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats would outscore the Horned Frogs for the remainder of the quarter, 10-5, to pull back to within 12, 42-30, entering the fourth quarter. Jones beat the buzzer again, this time connecting on a baseline jumper.
K-State forced a TCU timeout early in the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats scored the first four points of the final frame to pull within eight, 42-34, with 8:11 to play.
The Wildcats were able to pull to within six, 44-38, with 6:36 to play but TCU sealed the win with a 15-5 run to build a 59-43 lead with just over a minute to play.
Kansas State was led by Goth with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. With her 17 points, she jumped from 34th on the K-State career scoring list to 31st as she has 1,100 points for her career.
TCU had three players in double figures and were led by Lauren Heard with 20 points and five assists.
For the night, K-State shot 35.6 percent (16-of-45) and were 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. TCU finished at 41.7 percent (20-of-48) including a 9-of-25 effort from 3-point range. The Horned Frogs ended the night with a 23-15 edge in points off turnovers, as K-State was forced into 21 turnovers compared to TCU's 16.
K-State concludes its two-game home stand on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats host Iowa State at 1 p.m. The Big 12 matchup between the Wildcats and the Cyclones will be K-State's annual Play 4 Kay game. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free pink K-State women's basketball t-shirt when entering Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State will also hold a pregame clinic at 10 a.m., for girls in first through eighth grades for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The pregame clinic will be hosted by K-State female student-athletes and feature stations highlighting many different sports. All participants in the clinic will receive a free rally towel and free admission to the women's basketball game at 1 p.m.
All general admission tickets for the February 2 game are available for just $5 when purchased in advance. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit www.kstatesports.com.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On the offense…
"I think right now we are struggling with some confidence coming out of the West Virginia game. You can see we are hesitant. We are having trouble doing the other things that lead to good offense - make good passes, pass fake, dribble penetrate, find an open player. We are struggling doing the other things that lead to good offense and we are hesitant in some areas right now."
On TCU's zone…
"We hit one shot right away against it but late we really struggled passing against it. When we got it down to six or eight they went zone and there would have been some opportunities but we just did not pass it very well against it."
On the confidence issues…
"I was trying to get them to focus off of the three and trying to get them to do the other things in practice. We tried to do the other things in practice but obviously that did not work. It did not work for Rachel [Ranke] and it did not work for some others. It is a funny thing when you go through that as a player. Even some of her threes looked good tonight and they just are not going down right now. It is not like she is airballing and missing. A lot of them looked good and looked like they were [going in] but when you are struggling like that it is hard. It is a hard way to play and every player that has ever played has gone through it. You have to find other ways. You have to find other ways to contribute and as a group right now we are kind of collectively struggling on how to help each other. Coaches are included in that. I am trying to figure out how to help them and we just seem to not be pushing the right buttons. They are trying. I think early we did not play as hard as we needed to. We lost Rachel early in the game but after that our defensive effort was pretty solid. We did a good job on [Jordan] Moore and did a good job on some people. So yeah, I know that is a long answer but I do not know that it is a real easy solution. If it was an easy solution we would obviously solve it."
On their three-point shooting…
"It is a concern. It is definitely a concern and I think even a bigger concern is the fact that we are turning the ball over. We had 13 turnovers at halftime. So not only are we not shooting it well but we are turning the ball over so our possessions are really bad. We are really struggling in finding easy plays. Our turnovers early in this game really were costly. I think just being out of sync, confidence and all those things all tie together."
On the decision making, passing down to Peyton Williams…
"I thought they were fighting that play pretty hard. You would have to ask Peyton but they were contesting that play pretty hard. That is a home run play in that it is a layup if you complete it but yet it is not as easy as people think it is to throw that lob pass and then you have to compete against the other post or forward. That is a play that was available. It is a play that was an opportunity but TCU battled that play very well."
On his strategy for next game…
"At this stage I think they need to clear their heads a little bit and try to get as much rest as we can because a lot of it is between the ears right now. It's not a physical thing right now, it's more of a mental thing right now so we'll try to get back in there, try to simplify some things, help them where we can, reevaluate how we can best help them. It's a hard feeling as a player, it's a great feeling when things are going good, you're not even thinking. The ball's coming and it's a great feeling when it's going that way. How do we find the feeling like the one we had against Texas? We were moving the ball to the right spots, where we're doing those things, we're scoring, we're playing free. Now we have to try to find that back and so we'll try to get some rest here and we've got a great opportunity on Saturday. There's many more opportunities down the road. We're at the halfway point so let's see if we can finish the second half strong."
On being frustrated with being close towards the end…
"I don't know if frustrated is the word, I think the word is when you're down six, seven, or eight, it's still within reach, you know you have to have good possessions and you know you have to have stops at the other end. We're capable of putting together a stretch like that. I told them at one point that we're going to have some opportunities here, and that's when we were down 17, I said but we have to play here. We're going to have some opportunities here, put yourselves in position. And they did that, they put themselves in position. But your margin of error gets very slim, when it was at the six minute mark and we had some windows. To TCU's credit, they made some big shots in that stretch and they got some big offensive rebounds that were hotly contested plays that we just didn't come up with and at the end they made the right plays and we have to make more in order to win a game like this."
PEYTON WILLIAMS, JUNIOR FORWARD
On adjusting their game according to TCU's zone…
"You have to look for openings that normally you wouldn't be. I mean, obviously, and that just wasn't happening. I think it rattled us a little bit, they put a lot of pressure on our wings and everyone was just kind of rattled, I think. We were trying to look for opportunities that we are used to seeing but they covered up in that particular zone."
On being a leader among younger players…
"When they get that glazed look on their face. Rachel (Ranke) is having a rough go right now so it's just saying, 'hey, you gotta get back on defense, you gotta do what you can,' constantly. They'll forget, as soon as you say it. It is in one ear and out the other. So you gotta constantly be saying, 'hey, we're still in this. You're still a contributor if you play.' It's just a constant communication, over communicating that they're contributing even if it's not going good. That's basically what we have been saying."
On making plays against TCU's Jordan Moore…
"She was a focal point coming into this game. We talked a lot about her and trying to squeeze her as much as possible, because we knew that, she's obviously a good player. Traditionally coming in she had a lot of good points, so that was a battle down in the paint, obviously throughout the whole game. There was a lot of elbows and stuff flying down there. It was hard work down there for both sides, I would say."
On the mindset of the team tonight…
"We came in like any other game, especially coming off of West Virginia, just knowing that we have to try and grind it through. I mean, it's hard to say whether or not it felt any different. We're just trying to move on and play basketball. I don't think it felt any different. The warm-up was the same and everyone had their head at the right spot, at least at the beginning, I would say."
RAEGAN PEBLEY, TCU HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"Kansas State is a team that we prepared for as the team that beat Texas. They are a very good team and a team that has a lot of offensive weapons and a lot of discipline in what they do. Our team persevered through a lot in that first half with some foul trouble. I'm proud of our whole squad, people stepped up in a lot of different ways. To get a road win in the Big 12 means a lot, no matter how you can get it done, so we will cherish this win."
On their defensive performance…
"We were trying to stay active off the ball. We are big believers in off the ball defense makes you successful. There were definite mistakes, like a lot of fouls, but we were just trying to be active and have great vision, and have good communication."
On scouting K-State…
"We couldn't do much about the home court advantage here. They have been so good at home. We thought it was going to be really important that we play from the opening tip, and that we didn't let (K-State) be the aggressor and start off the stronger team. With Jordan (Moore) getting into immediate foul trouble, I was really proud of how the team stepped up."
On limiting K-State's offense...
"They have a lot of different players that have the potential if you make a mistake to show up big. Rebounding was also important, only giving (K-State) nine second chance opportunities."
On K-State playing zone…
"I wasn't surprised. I think they built a lot of confidence in their zone as of late. (Jeff Mittie) seems to be a zone coach, that's what they do is run a lot of zone, so we prepared hard for that."
In the first five minutes of Wednesday's game, Kansas State's offensive struggles continued from Saturday's loss at West Virginia. K-State was forced into six turnovers and an 0-of-3 start from the field, as TCU (15-5, 5-4 Big 12) led 7-0 with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
K-State (13-8, 4-5) would score on four straight possessions following the media timeout to pull within five, 12-7, with 2:51 remaining. TCU would hold an 18-9 lead at the end of the quarter following a pair of three-pointers from Kianna Ray.
TCU increased its lead to 11, 24-13, with 6:23 remaining in the second quarter. A layup from Kayla Goth with 7:58 remaining brought K-State to within seven, 20-13, but four straight points from Amy Okonkwo forced the K-State timeout.
The Horned Frogs built a 14-point lead, 27-13, following a corner three-pointer from Lauren Heard with 5:44 remaining. This marked the final points of the quarter for TCU, as K-State cut the deficit to nine at the half, 27-18, as Kali Jones converted a layup just before the halftime buzzer.
In the opening half, Kansas State shot 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from the field and turned the ball over 13 times. TCU shot 34.5 percent (10-of-29) and held a 12-6 edge in points off turnovers.
K-State opened the third quarter with a steal and fastbreak layup from Jasauen Beard to cut the TCU lead to 27-20 with 9:43 remaining in the frame. The Horned Frogs then used a 10-0 run to build a 37-20 lead with 6:46 to play, as Ray made her fourth 3-pointer of the night to force a K-State timeout.
For the first time in seven-plus quarters, K-State made a 3-pointer as Christianna Carr ended the drought from beyond the arc and bring K-State to within 14, 37-23, with 4:42 to play in the third. Before Carr's connections, the Wildcats were 0-of-25 from 3-point range with their last three coming with 5:57 to play in the third quarter by Rachel Ranke against Oklahoma State.
The Wildcats would outscore the Horned Frogs for the remainder of the quarter, 10-5, to pull back to within 12, 42-30, entering the fourth quarter. Jones beat the buzzer again, this time connecting on a baseline jumper.
K-State forced a TCU timeout early in the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats scored the first four points of the final frame to pull within eight, 42-34, with 8:11 to play.
The Wildcats were able to pull to within six, 44-38, with 6:36 to play but TCU sealed the win with a 15-5 run to build a 59-43 lead with just over a minute to play.
Kansas State was led by Goth with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. With her 17 points, she jumped from 34th on the K-State career scoring list to 31st as she has 1,100 points for her career.
TCU had three players in double figures and were led by Lauren Heard with 20 points and five assists.
For the night, K-State shot 35.6 percent (16-of-45) and were 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. TCU finished at 41.7 percent (20-of-48) including a 9-of-25 effort from 3-point range. The Horned Frogs ended the night with a 23-15 edge in points off turnovers, as K-State was forced into 21 turnovers compared to TCU's 16.
K-State concludes its two-game home stand on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats host Iowa State at 1 p.m. The Big 12 matchup between the Wildcats and the Cyclones will be K-State's annual Play 4 Kay game. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free pink K-State women's basketball t-shirt when entering Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State will also hold a pregame clinic at 10 a.m., for girls in first through eighth grades for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. The pregame clinic will be hosted by K-State female student-athletes and feature stations highlighting many different sports. All participants in the clinic will receive a free rally towel and free admission to the women's basketball game at 1 p.m.
All general admission tickets for the February 2 game are available for just $5 when purchased in advance. To purchase tickets, please contact the K-State Athletic Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS or visit www.kstatesports.com.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On the offense…
"I think right now we are struggling with some confidence coming out of the West Virginia game. You can see we are hesitant. We are having trouble doing the other things that lead to good offense - make good passes, pass fake, dribble penetrate, find an open player. We are struggling doing the other things that lead to good offense and we are hesitant in some areas right now."
On TCU's zone…
"We hit one shot right away against it but late we really struggled passing against it. When we got it down to six or eight they went zone and there would have been some opportunities but we just did not pass it very well against it."
On the confidence issues…
"I was trying to get them to focus off of the three and trying to get them to do the other things in practice. We tried to do the other things in practice but obviously that did not work. It did not work for Rachel [Ranke] and it did not work for some others. It is a funny thing when you go through that as a player. Even some of her threes looked good tonight and they just are not going down right now. It is not like she is airballing and missing. A lot of them looked good and looked like they were [going in] but when you are struggling like that it is hard. It is a hard way to play and every player that has ever played has gone through it. You have to find other ways. You have to find other ways to contribute and as a group right now we are kind of collectively struggling on how to help each other. Coaches are included in that. I am trying to figure out how to help them and we just seem to not be pushing the right buttons. They are trying. I think early we did not play as hard as we needed to. We lost Rachel early in the game but after that our defensive effort was pretty solid. We did a good job on [Jordan] Moore and did a good job on some people. So yeah, I know that is a long answer but I do not know that it is a real easy solution. If it was an easy solution we would obviously solve it."
On their three-point shooting…
"It is a concern. It is definitely a concern and I think even a bigger concern is the fact that we are turning the ball over. We had 13 turnovers at halftime. So not only are we not shooting it well but we are turning the ball over so our possessions are really bad. We are really struggling in finding easy plays. Our turnovers early in this game really were costly. I think just being out of sync, confidence and all those things all tie together."
On the decision making, passing down to Peyton Williams…
"I thought they were fighting that play pretty hard. You would have to ask Peyton but they were contesting that play pretty hard. That is a home run play in that it is a layup if you complete it but yet it is not as easy as people think it is to throw that lob pass and then you have to compete against the other post or forward. That is a play that was available. It is a play that was an opportunity but TCU battled that play very well."
On his strategy for next game…
"At this stage I think they need to clear their heads a little bit and try to get as much rest as we can because a lot of it is between the ears right now. It's not a physical thing right now, it's more of a mental thing right now so we'll try to get back in there, try to simplify some things, help them where we can, reevaluate how we can best help them. It's a hard feeling as a player, it's a great feeling when things are going good, you're not even thinking. The ball's coming and it's a great feeling when it's going that way. How do we find the feeling like the one we had against Texas? We were moving the ball to the right spots, where we're doing those things, we're scoring, we're playing free. Now we have to try to find that back and so we'll try to get some rest here and we've got a great opportunity on Saturday. There's many more opportunities down the road. We're at the halfway point so let's see if we can finish the second half strong."
On being frustrated with being close towards the end…
"I don't know if frustrated is the word, I think the word is when you're down six, seven, or eight, it's still within reach, you know you have to have good possessions and you know you have to have stops at the other end. We're capable of putting together a stretch like that. I told them at one point that we're going to have some opportunities here, and that's when we were down 17, I said but we have to play here. We're going to have some opportunities here, put yourselves in position. And they did that, they put themselves in position. But your margin of error gets very slim, when it was at the six minute mark and we had some windows. To TCU's credit, they made some big shots in that stretch and they got some big offensive rebounds that were hotly contested plays that we just didn't come up with and at the end they made the right plays and we have to make more in order to win a game like this."
PEYTON WILLIAMS, JUNIOR FORWARD
On adjusting their game according to TCU's zone…
"You have to look for openings that normally you wouldn't be. I mean, obviously, and that just wasn't happening. I think it rattled us a little bit, they put a lot of pressure on our wings and everyone was just kind of rattled, I think. We were trying to look for opportunities that we are used to seeing but they covered up in that particular zone."
On being a leader among younger players…
"When they get that glazed look on their face. Rachel (Ranke) is having a rough go right now so it's just saying, 'hey, you gotta get back on defense, you gotta do what you can,' constantly. They'll forget, as soon as you say it. It is in one ear and out the other. So you gotta constantly be saying, 'hey, we're still in this. You're still a contributor if you play.' It's just a constant communication, over communicating that they're contributing even if it's not going good. That's basically what we have been saying."
On making plays against TCU's Jordan Moore…
"She was a focal point coming into this game. We talked a lot about her and trying to squeeze her as much as possible, because we knew that, she's obviously a good player. Traditionally coming in she had a lot of good points, so that was a battle down in the paint, obviously throughout the whole game. There was a lot of elbows and stuff flying down there. It was hard work down there for both sides, I would say."
On the mindset of the team tonight…
"We came in like any other game, especially coming off of West Virginia, just knowing that we have to try and grind it through. I mean, it's hard to say whether or not it felt any different. We're just trying to move on and play basketball. I don't think it felt any different. The warm-up was the same and everyone had their head at the right spot, at least at the beginning, I would say."
RAEGAN PEBLEY, TCU HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"Kansas State is a team that we prepared for as the team that beat Texas. They are a very good team and a team that has a lot of offensive weapons and a lot of discipline in what they do. Our team persevered through a lot in that first half with some foul trouble. I'm proud of our whole squad, people stepped up in a lot of different ways. To get a road win in the Big 12 means a lot, no matter how you can get it done, so we will cherish this win."
On their defensive performance…
"We were trying to stay active off the ball. We are big believers in off the ball defense makes you successful. There were definite mistakes, like a lot of fouls, but we were just trying to be active and have great vision, and have good communication."
On scouting K-State…
"We couldn't do much about the home court advantage here. They have been so good at home. We thought it was going to be really important that we play from the opening tip, and that we didn't let (K-State) be the aggressor and start off the stronger team. With Jordan (Moore) getting into immediate foul trouble, I was really proud of how the team stepped up."
On limiting K-State's offense...
"They have a lot of different players that have the potential if you make a mistake to show up big. Rebounding was also important, only giving (K-State) nine second chance opportunities."
On K-State playing zone…
"I wasn't surprised. I think they built a lot of confidence in their zone as of late. (Jeff Mittie) seems to be a zone coach, that's what they do is run a lot of zone, so we prepared hard for that."
Team Stats
TCU
K-STATE
FG%
.417
.356
3FG%
.360
.167
FT%
.750
.750
RB
29
27
TO
16
21
STL
15
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
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