An Unforgettable Night in Iowa
Nov 17, 2023 | Women's Basketball
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Where were you at, say, 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, 2023? While Bramlage Coliseum slept, a purple frenzy took over Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, as Kansas State pulled past No. 2 Iowa, 65-58, in one of the greatest wins in school history.
In what was dubbed a premier matchup between two of the nation's top players in All-Americans Ayoka Lee and Caitlin Clark, Lee and the Wildcats stole the show and hushed the sold-out crowd of 14,998 by coming from behind to score the game's final 12 points and pull away from the 2023 NCAA Tournament runner-up with one of the biggest non-conference wins so far in this women's college basketball season.
Nearly one year ago to the day that K-State came from behind to upset then-No. 4 Iowa, 84-83, in Manhattan – which was the highest-ranked foe K-State had ever defeated at Bramlage Coliseum – the Wildcats penned a nail-biting sequel that was particularly nice.
K-State, 3-0, held Iowa, 3-1, well under its season average of 92 points, and scoreless over the final three minutes, as the Wildcats captured a victory over their highest-ranked foe since 1982.
Lee, who missed last year's victory while recovering from knee surgery, scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added two blocks for her 51st career double-double on Thursday, and emerging force Zyanna Walker came off the bench to add 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 1-for-2 on 3-pointers, as K-State outshot Iowa, 39.4% to 36.1%, and forced the Hawkeyes into 16 turnovers. That included three turnovers in the final 2 minutes, 43 seconds, as the Wildcats began to claw back from a 58-53 deficit.
First Gabby Gregory hit a layup, then Lee made a layup as well. Then Lee made a pair of free throws following a personal foul. Gregory provided the dagger with a 15-foot jumpshot to make it 61-58 with 30 seconds remaining. Then freshman Taryn Sides made a pair of free throws, and Walker darted downcourt for a layup just before the final buzzer to cap the dramatic comeback.
Biggest K-State win during Jeff Mittie's 10 years in Manhattan?
"I don't think there's any question," Mittie said. "On the road, in front of a sellout crowd, I mean, this is a team that played in the national championship game."
Clark entered averaging 32.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists. She finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-for-32 shooting, including 2-for-16 on 3-point attempts, and had six rebounds and three assists, but she also committed four turnovers against a K-State defense that collectively clamped down on her for all of her 37 minutes on the floor.
"We talked before that there'd be a ton of people guarding her because we were going to do some things differently in transition defense," Mittie said. "I thought they all did their part. We were aggressive enough and had a good balance of being in the shot line and getting enough of a crowd around her, and then she just had an off night as well."
K-State and Iowa were tied 13-13 after the first quarter and the Hawkeyes took a 30-29 lead into halftime. Iowa led 44-42 after three quarters. The game featured eight ties and nine lead changes. K-State led for 18:04 and Iowa for 13:21.
"It just wasn't very good Iowa basketball," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "It really came down to that fourth quarter. They beat us at crunch time."
That's an ideal trait to carry into the remainder of the season.
"Our team is developing trust in each other," Mittie said. "There's a big number of girls that didn't play in this game last year. I knew we were going to learn a lot about our team. This is a big win for us."
And one that the Wildcats and Hawkeyes might not soon forget.
Where were you at, say, 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, 2023? While Bramlage Coliseum slept, a purple frenzy took over Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, as Kansas State pulled past No. 2 Iowa, 65-58, in one of the greatest wins in school history.
In what was dubbed a premier matchup between two of the nation's top players in All-Americans Ayoka Lee and Caitlin Clark, Lee and the Wildcats stole the show and hushed the sold-out crowd of 14,998 by coming from behind to score the game's final 12 points and pull away from the 2023 NCAA Tournament runner-up with one of the biggest non-conference wins so far in this women's college basketball season.
Nearly one year ago to the day that K-State came from behind to upset then-No. 4 Iowa, 84-83, in Manhattan – which was the highest-ranked foe K-State had ever defeated at Bramlage Coliseum – the Wildcats penned a nail-biting sequel that was particularly nice.
K-State, 3-0, held Iowa, 3-1, well under its season average of 92 points, and scoreless over the final three minutes, as the Wildcats captured a victory over their highest-ranked foe since 1982.
Lee, who missed last year's victory while recovering from knee surgery, scored 22 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and added two blocks for her 51st career double-double on Thursday, and emerging force Zyanna Walker came off the bench to add 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 1-for-2 on 3-pointers, as K-State outshot Iowa, 39.4% to 36.1%, and forced the Hawkeyes into 16 turnovers. That included three turnovers in the final 2 minutes, 43 seconds, as the Wildcats began to claw back from a 58-53 deficit.
First Gabby Gregory hit a layup, then Lee made a layup as well. Then Lee made a pair of free throws following a personal foul. Gregory provided the dagger with a 15-foot jumpshot to make it 61-58 with 30 seconds remaining. Then freshman Taryn Sides made a pair of free throws, and Walker darted downcourt for a layup just before the final buzzer to cap the dramatic comeback.
Biggest K-State win during Jeff Mittie's 10 years in Manhattan?
"I don't think there's any question," Mittie said. "On the road, in front of a sellout crowd, I mean, this is a team that played in the national championship game."
Clark entered averaging 32.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists. She finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-for-32 shooting, including 2-for-16 on 3-point attempts, and had six rebounds and three assists, but she also committed four turnovers against a K-State defense that collectively clamped down on her for all of her 37 minutes on the floor.
"We talked before that there'd be a ton of people guarding her because we were going to do some things differently in transition defense," Mittie said. "I thought they all did their part. We were aggressive enough and had a good balance of being in the shot line and getting enough of a crowd around her, and then she just had an off night as well."
K-State and Iowa were tied 13-13 after the first quarter and the Hawkeyes took a 30-29 lead into halftime. Iowa led 44-42 after three quarters. The game featured eight ties and nine lead changes. K-State led for 18:04 and Iowa for 13:21.
"It just wasn't very good Iowa basketball," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "It really came down to that fourth quarter. They beat us at crunch time."
That's an ideal trait to carry into the remainder of the season.
"Our team is developing trust in each other," Mittie said. "There's a big number of girls that didn't play in this game last year. I knew we were going to learn a lot about our team. This is a big win for us."
And one that the Wildcats and Hawkeyes might not soon forget.
Players Mentioned
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