Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, November 29
Cancun, Mexico
10 a.m.
Kansas State University
5-5,0-0Big 12
70
vs
82
South Dakota State
6-2,0-0Summit League
1
2
3
4
F
South Dakota St.
18
19
29
16
82
Kansas St.
16
14
22
18
70
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: K-State Photo
Photo by: K-State Photo
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
Photo by: Reece Bachta Photography
K-State Falls in Cancun Challenge Finale
Nov 29, 2025 | Women's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico – K-State received 27 points from Taryn Sides on Saturday as the Wildcats looked to end action at the Cancun Challenge with a win, but South Dakota State downed K-State, 82-70, in the Mayan Division of the 2025 Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya.
Sides paced K-State (5-5) for the second time in the Cancun Challenge with 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. She also added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. In the three games in Cancun, Sides averaged 23.3 points and shot 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from beyond the arc in the three games.
Joining Sides in double figures were sophomore guard Izela Arenas with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Arenas averaged 14.0 points in the three games of the Cancun Challenge.
Sophomore Nastja Claessens and freshman Jordan Speiser each chipped in with 10 points apiece.
South Dakota State (6-2) was guided by preseason Summit League Player of the Year selection Brooklyn Meyer with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- South Dakota State distanced themselves from K-State with a 12-2 run to build a 33-22 advantage with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter. The Wildcats cut into the margin with a 6-0 run to close to within five, 33-28, with 2:41 to play. Sides scored four points during the run.
- The Jackrabbits answered back by going to the free throw line six times in the final minute and a half and make four to hold a 37-30 halftime lead. With the halftime deficit, K-State has trailed at the break in four straight games.
- Trailing 43-32 early in the third quarter, Sides attempted to bring the Wildcats back into the game on her own, scoring 10 straight points to pull K-State to within nine, 51-42. South Dakota State quickly rebuilt its edge to 14, 56-42, with 4:38 remaining.
- Sides connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 2:43 left in the third stanza to pull the Wildcats to within 10, 60-50. The Jackrabbits would hold a 66-52 lead entering the fourth quarter. Sides registered 13 points in the third quarter.
- K-State pulled to within 12, 68-56, on a fastbreak layup from Arenas with 9:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. South Dakota State would push its lead back to 17 twice in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats could trim the game back to 12, 80-68, on an Arenas three-pointer with 2:20 remaining in the final frame.
- The Wildcats shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, while the Jackrabbits carded a 52.0 percent (26-of-50) effort from the field including 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from 3-point range.
- South Dakota State held the edge on the glass, 38-22.
QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with South Dakota State, 7-2. This was the fifth game in the series played at a neutral site. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 2-4 in his career against South Dakota State. The Wildcats are 44-8 against members of the Summit League, including a 1-2 record this season.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 677-383 (.639), including a mark of 223-148 (.601).
- The Wildcats are 3-10 all-time in games played in Mexico, including a 2-10 mark in games played in Cancun. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 6-8 in his career in games played in Mexico, including a 3-4 mark at the helm of the Wildcats.
- The Wildcats are 171-60 (.740) in games played in the month of November. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 57-17 (.770) in games during the 11th month. K-State has now ended the month of November with a winning record in 15 consecutive seasons and 46 times in its 58 seasons.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Taryn Sides and forwards Jenessa Cotton and Nastja Claessens. This was the third time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 10th career start for Harrod. This was the ninth career start for Sides. This was the eighth career start for Garcia. Cotton made her sixth career start. Claessens made her sixth career start.
- Since the 2014-15 season, K-State is 135-25 (.844) when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
- Since the 2011-12 season, the Wildcats are 204-91 (.692) when three or more players score in double figures in the same game. K-State is 4-4 this season when three or more players score 10 or more points in a game.
- Since the start of the quarter system in 2015-16, K-State is 164-69 (.704) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game. K-State has 17 quarters this season with 20 or more points scored.
- K-State has 16 quarters this season with an effort of 50.0 percent or better including 56.3 percent in the third quarter on Saturday.
- K-State scored 25 points from its bench. The Wildcats have received 20 or more points from its bench in nine games this season.
PLAYER NOTES
- Sides reached double figures for the 24th time in her career and the sixth time this season. This was her fifth career game with 20 or more points and her second in the Cancun Challenge.
- Sides buried five 3-pointers on Saturday. This was her seventh game this season and the 38th of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range.
- Sides hauled in five rebounds on Saturday. This was the sixth time this season and 22nd time in her career with five or more rebounds in a game.
- Claessens achieved double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season and fourth straight game.
- Arenas registered her fifth game this season and the 10th of her career with 10 or more points.
- Speiser scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and third time in the last four games.
- Speiser knocked down two 3-pointers on Friday. This was her fifth career game with two or more connections from long range.
- Gina Garcia registered seven assists. This was her sixth career game with five or more assists. She has led K-State in assists in seven games this season.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the growth of the roster...
"The tough thing, I think, just with any team is, you got to do what it takes to be successful in the game. They tend to think of the result of a play as the basket, or whether the other team doesn't score. That's successful for them right now. Well, you may have played horrible defense. The other team just missed a wide open one where that's not what we're evaluating. So to get them to understand that being consistent, competing like crazy every play, right? Not taking a possession off, that's where we're at with this team right now, and the schedule has been unforgiving in the sense that we have played a really good schedule. And every team we've played has punished us when we've made mistakes. So the learning's been hard and to keep their confidence up. Yes, I'd rather us win a game and be able to feel better and then go in and work on it, but we'll get back into practice this week and just tell them to keep grinding. I think we've made progress. It didn't show on the scoreboard today. We got beat. That team made more winning plays than we did."
On Taryn Sides' offensive production this week...
"I thought she had a good week. I thought she made good decisions. I thought she played with the right pace, but I also thought her teammates delivered the basketball to her when she was hot. I thought her teammates delivered the ball to her when she was open. Prior to coming into this tournament, we did not feel like we were playing that way. And so Taryn is the type of player that she needs the ball on time. She doesn't have great size. There are small windows to get her the ball now, I think she's making all the right reads, and that's exciting, because she's a smart player, and so she's taking advantage of the windows she got today."
On what he wants to see from the team in the next week...
"We just got to play tougher. We got to individually, win more individual battles, and then defensively, we got to cover up more mistakes. Then you got to build the team defense to where team players are always going to make mistakes, right? Good team defenses cover up those mistakes because of effort, because of competitiveness. I mean, technique is important, but it's probably the least important of any of those things - effort, pride, toughness, all those things, those things will play and you can work on the other things."
UP NEXT
K-State will have a week before its next game, as the Wildcats face (13/13) Ole Miss in the 3rd annual Bill Snyder Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Sunday, December 7, at 2 p.m.
The game can be heard online at kstatesports.com, on the K-State Sports app and the flagship stations of K-State women's basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.
Sides paced K-State (5-5) for the second time in the Cancun Challenge with 27 points on 11-of-21 shooting including 5-of-11 from 3-point range. She also added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. In the three games in Cancun, Sides averaged 23.3 points and shot 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from beyond the arc in the three games.
Joining Sides in double figures were sophomore guard Izela Arenas with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Arenas averaged 14.0 points in the three games of the Cancun Challenge.
Sophomore Nastja Claessens and freshman Jordan Speiser each chipped in with 10 points apiece.
South Dakota State (6-2) was guided by preseason Summit League Player of the Year selection Brooklyn Meyer with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- South Dakota State distanced themselves from K-State with a 12-2 run to build a 33-22 advantage with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter. The Wildcats cut into the margin with a 6-0 run to close to within five, 33-28, with 2:41 to play. Sides scored four points during the run.
- The Jackrabbits answered back by going to the free throw line six times in the final minute and a half and make four to hold a 37-30 halftime lead. With the halftime deficit, K-State has trailed at the break in four straight games.
- Trailing 43-32 early in the third quarter, Sides attempted to bring the Wildcats back into the game on her own, scoring 10 straight points to pull K-State to within nine, 51-42. South Dakota State quickly rebuilt its edge to 14, 56-42, with 4:38 remaining.
- Sides connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the game with 2:43 left in the third stanza to pull the Wildcats to within 10, 60-50. The Jackrabbits would hold a 66-52 lead entering the fourth quarter. Sides registered 13 points in the third quarter.
- K-State pulled to within 12, 68-56, on a fastbreak layup from Arenas with 9:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. South Dakota State would push its lead back to 17 twice in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats could trim the game back to 12, 80-68, on an Arenas three-pointer with 2:20 remaining in the final frame.
- The Wildcats shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, while the Jackrabbits carded a 52.0 percent (26-of-50) effort from the field including 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from 3-point range.
- South Dakota State held the edge on the glass, 38-22.
QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with South Dakota State, 7-2. This was the fifth game in the series played at a neutral site. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 2-4 in his career against South Dakota State. The Wildcats are 44-8 against members of the Summit League, including a 1-2 record this season.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 677-383 (.639), including a mark of 223-148 (.601).
- The Wildcats are 3-10 all-time in games played in Mexico, including a 2-10 mark in games played in Cancun. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 6-8 in his career in games played in Mexico, including a 3-4 mark at the helm of the Wildcats.
- The Wildcats are 171-60 (.740) in games played in the month of November. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 57-17 (.770) in games during the 11th month. K-State has now ended the month of November with a winning record in 15 consecutive seasons and 46 times in its 58 seasons.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State's starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Taryn Sides and forwards Jenessa Cotton and Nastja Claessens. This was the third time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 10th career start for Harrod. This was the ninth career start for Sides. This was the eighth career start for Garcia. Cotton made her sixth career start. Claessens made her sixth career start.
- Since the 2014-15 season, K-State is 135-25 (.844) when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
- Since the 2011-12 season, the Wildcats are 204-91 (.692) when three or more players score in double figures in the same game. K-State is 4-4 this season when three or more players score 10 or more points in a game.
- Since the start of the quarter system in 2015-16, K-State is 164-69 (.704) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game. K-State has 17 quarters this season with 20 or more points scored.
- K-State has 16 quarters this season with an effort of 50.0 percent or better including 56.3 percent in the third quarter on Saturday.
- K-State scored 25 points from its bench. The Wildcats have received 20 or more points from its bench in nine games this season.
PLAYER NOTES
- Sides reached double figures for the 24th time in her career and the sixth time this season. This was her fifth career game with 20 or more points and her second in the Cancun Challenge.
- Sides buried five 3-pointers on Saturday. This was her seventh game this season and the 38th of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range.
- Sides hauled in five rebounds on Saturday. This was the sixth time this season and 22nd time in her career with five or more rebounds in a game.
- Claessens achieved double figures in scoring for the fifth time this season and fourth straight game.
- Arenas registered her fifth game this season and the 10th of her career with 10 or more points.
- Speiser scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and third time in the last four games.
- Speiser knocked down two 3-pointers on Friday. This was her fifth career game with two or more connections from long range.
- Gina Garcia registered seven assists. This was her sixth career game with five or more assists. She has led K-State in assists in seven games this season.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the growth of the roster...
"The tough thing, I think, just with any team is, you got to do what it takes to be successful in the game. They tend to think of the result of a play as the basket, or whether the other team doesn't score. That's successful for them right now. Well, you may have played horrible defense. The other team just missed a wide open one where that's not what we're evaluating. So to get them to understand that being consistent, competing like crazy every play, right? Not taking a possession off, that's where we're at with this team right now, and the schedule has been unforgiving in the sense that we have played a really good schedule. And every team we've played has punished us when we've made mistakes. So the learning's been hard and to keep their confidence up. Yes, I'd rather us win a game and be able to feel better and then go in and work on it, but we'll get back into practice this week and just tell them to keep grinding. I think we've made progress. It didn't show on the scoreboard today. We got beat. That team made more winning plays than we did."
On Taryn Sides' offensive production this week...
"I thought she had a good week. I thought she made good decisions. I thought she played with the right pace, but I also thought her teammates delivered the basketball to her when she was hot. I thought her teammates delivered the ball to her when she was open. Prior to coming into this tournament, we did not feel like we were playing that way. And so Taryn is the type of player that she needs the ball on time. She doesn't have great size. There are small windows to get her the ball now, I think she's making all the right reads, and that's exciting, because she's a smart player, and so she's taking advantage of the windows she got today."
On what he wants to see from the team in the next week...
"We just got to play tougher. We got to individually, win more individual battles, and then defensively, we got to cover up more mistakes. Then you got to build the team defense to where team players are always going to make mistakes, right? Good team defenses cover up those mistakes because of effort, because of competitiveness. I mean, technique is important, but it's probably the least important of any of those things - effort, pride, toughness, all those things, those things will play and you can work on the other things."
UP NEXT
K-State will have a week before its next game, as the Wildcats face (13/13) Ole Miss in the 3rd annual Bill Snyder Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Sunday, December 7, at 2 p.m.
The game can be heard online at kstatesports.com, on the K-State Sports app and the flagship stations of K-State women's basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.
Team Stats
SDSU
KState
FG%
.520
.467
3FG%
.500
.391
FT%
.870
.625
RB
38
22
TO
16
10
STL
3
11
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
11
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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