SE: K-State WBB Finding Different Ways to Win Down the Stretch
Feb 27, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State's women's basketball team has won four of its last five games, with all those victories coming on the road, to put itself back in the NCAA Tournament picture.
The Wildcats (17-10, 8-7) are not winning in any one particular way, either. If they do have a tendency, it's one to mount a comeback.
They rode Peyton Williams (26 points) and Kayla Goth (19) to beat Kansas by 10 in overtime, after erasing their rival's seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. They hit 10 treys to erase a 14-point second half deficit and knock off a ranked Texas team for the second time this season — a first in program history. Then they led almost wire to wire in a win at Oklahoma. Last Saturday, the Wildcats made only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc but still found a way to overcome an 11-point TCU advantage in the second half.
"In terms of our last two victories, at Texas we got back in that game because we shot ourselves back in the game. At TCU, we go 3-for-17 from three," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We kind of willed our way back into that game. We did it a different way."
Against TCU, K-State found a way from inside the arc. The Wildcats converted 25-of-40 (62.5 percent) from 2-point range, topping their previous season-high in that category (58.3 percent against Oklahoma on January 5).
Goth credited the success to a matured mindset within her team.
"Against TCU, it was one play at a time, one possession at a time," she said. "We got down 11 in the third quarter and it didn't matter. We were there a week ago, so knowing that we have that experience and knowing that there are no 40-point plays were huge for us.
"I think that shows a lot of growth in our team."
K-State's growth will be tested in its rematch against West Virginia (19-7, 10-5) in Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats had their worst offensive night of the season against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia, on January 26. K-State lost 60-30, shot 20 percent from the floor and went 0-for-18 from beyond the arc. The latter ended the program's 393-game streak with at least one 3-point make. It started a three-game losing slide ended by K-State's win at Kansas.
"It's a focus for us to get better shots," Mittie said of this matchup with West Virginia. "If you go back to that West Virginia game, West Virginia did a great job of taking us out of things. We did a poor job of handling that physicality. We feel like we've improved in that area. We will have to answer that against West Virginia."
Goth agreed.
"They're obviously really talented," she said. "They love to pressure on defense. They have all four years I have been here, but it's kind of up to us to execute what we need to execute and not let them stop us."
K-State's veteran guard also said it's important to try and get the most out of every practice left, let alone the games. Because, one way or the other, time is running out. All Big 12 season, Mittie has broken down his team's stretches into three-game segments. Right now, K-State enters its last one of the regular season.
After West Virginia, K-State hosts Texas Tech on Saturday for Senior Day. Then, the Wildcats travel to Oklahoma State on Monday for their regular season finale before starting the Big 12 Championship next week in Oklahoma City. K-State could enter its conference tournament anywhere from the third to sixth seed, depending on how it finishes and everything falls.
"It's huge for us," Goth said of this final stretch. "Making sure everyone knows that and knows how important not only the games and playing the full 40 minutes are, but also these practices leading up to those games are huge. We can still get a whole heck of a lot better here in the next three weeks, so being able to stay focused in practice and have the right energy and do what we need to do is the main thing."
K-State's women's basketball team has won four of its last five games, with all those victories coming on the road, to put itself back in the NCAA Tournament picture.
The Wildcats (17-10, 8-7) are not winning in any one particular way, either. If they do have a tendency, it's one to mount a comeback.
They rode Peyton Williams (26 points) and Kayla Goth (19) to beat Kansas by 10 in overtime, after erasing their rival's seven-point lead in the fourth quarter. They hit 10 treys to erase a 14-point second half deficit and knock off a ranked Texas team for the second time this season — a first in program history. Then they led almost wire to wire in a win at Oklahoma. Last Saturday, the Wildcats made only 3-of-17 from beyond the arc but still found a way to overcome an 11-point TCU advantage in the second half.
"In terms of our last two victories, at Texas we got back in that game because we shot ourselves back in the game. At TCU, we go 3-for-17 from three," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "We kind of willed our way back into that game. We did it a different way."
Against TCU, K-State found a way from inside the arc. The Wildcats converted 25-of-40 (62.5 percent) from 2-point range, topping their previous season-high in that category (58.3 percent against Oklahoma on January 5).
Goth credited the success to a matured mindset within her team.
"Against TCU, it was one play at a time, one possession at a time," she said. "We got down 11 in the third quarter and it didn't matter. We were there a week ago, so knowing that we have that experience and knowing that there are no 40-point plays were huge for us.
"I think that shows a lot of growth in our team."
K-State's growth will be tested in its rematch against West Virginia (19-7, 10-5) in Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats had their worst offensive night of the season against the Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia, on January 26. K-State lost 60-30, shot 20 percent from the floor and went 0-for-18 from beyond the arc. The latter ended the program's 393-game streak with at least one 3-point make. It started a three-game losing slide ended by K-State's win at Kansas.
"It's a focus for us to get better shots," Mittie said of this matchup with West Virginia. "If you go back to that West Virginia game, West Virginia did a great job of taking us out of things. We did a poor job of handling that physicality. We feel like we've improved in that area. We will have to answer that against West Virginia."
Goth agreed.
"They're obviously really talented," she said. "They love to pressure on defense. They have all four years I have been here, but it's kind of up to us to execute what we need to execute and not let them stop us."
K-State's veteran guard also said it's important to try and get the most out of every practice left, let alone the games. Because, one way or the other, time is running out. All Big 12 season, Mittie has broken down his team's stretches into three-game segments. Right now, K-State enters its last one of the regular season.
After West Virginia, K-State hosts Texas Tech on Saturday for Senior Day. Then, the Wildcats travel to Oklahoma State on Monday for their regular season finale before starting the Big 12 Championship next week in Oklahoma City. K-State could enter its conference tournament anywhere from the third to sixth seed, depending on how it finishes and everything falls.
"It's huge for us," Goth said of this final stretch. "Making sure everyone knows that and knows how important not only the games and playing the full 40 minutes are, but also these practices leading up to those games are huge. We can still get a whole heck of a lot better here in the next three weeks, so being able to stay focused in practice and have the right energy and do what we need to do is the main thing."
Players Mentioned
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