Kansas State University Athletics
A Game of Growth
Dec 09, 2025 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Moments after Kansas State freshman Brandie Harrod's off-balance jumpshot off the glass with 2 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 61-60 victory over No. 13 Ole Miss in the Bill Snyder Classic on Sunday afternoon, 12th-year K-State head coach Jeff Mittie put his team's ability to fight through 11 ties and 14 lead changes to capture an important win into perspective.
"We grew up a lot," Mittie said.
K-State has one of the youngest rosters in the country this season, as nine of 12 players are true freshmen or sophomores, which makes it the youngest K-State squad since 2018-19. It has a freshman class that ranked among the top-10 signing classes by ESPN.com. It entered the season with no returning starters and only junior Taryn Sides had ever scored a point in a Wildcat uniform.
After storming to the Sweet Sixteen last season behind All-Americans, this young K-State team in the preseason was picked seventh in the 16-team Big 12 Conference.
On Sunday, young K-State entered with a 5-5 record after a four-game road swing, including three contests at the Cancun Challenge, and had lost five of its past seven games. Ole Miss entered at 8-0 for the first time since 2000-01 and came off its largest comeback in school history in roaring back from a 19-point deficit to beat then-No. 18 Notre Dame 69-62 behind a roster that featured 500 career starts, 15 all-conference selections, and who had helped Ole Miss to two Sweet Sixteens in three years and four straight 10-win SEC seasons.
Odds stacked against them, the Wildcats battled. Never question the heart of a team under head coach Jeff Mittie. K-State battled.
K-State and Ole Miss was tied 15-15 after the first quarter and Ole Miss led 31-28 at halftime. Then the teams were tied 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter at the 3,800-capacity St. Joseph Civic Arena.
What happened next?
"Our group was resilient," Mittie said. "They got tougher as the game went on. They made a lot of toughness plays down the stretch that maybe we hadn't been making in previous games, but against Ole Miss, we certainly did. We had a lot of players make plays."
The final 6:28 left in regulation featured four ties. Sides converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with a driving lay-up and free throw for a 59-58 lead with 31 seconds remaining before a layup by Cotie McMahon — she had a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds — with 15 seconds to go gave Ole Miss a 60-59 advantage.
That's when one of K-State's freshmen — Harrod — sprang into action.
On the ensuing K-State possession, the ball fell to Harrod in the paint, and her off-balance jumper off the glass with 2 seconds to go proved to be the game-winner.
Ole Miss's final heave fell short at the buzzer.
K-State 61, No. 13 Ole Miss 60. Final.
"I was struggling the whole game, and my teammates just kept encouraging me and making me feel better," Harrod said. "That going in? Going into the goal? That just made it better."
K-State shot 38.3% (18-of-47) from the floor, including 40.0% (6-of-15) on 3-pointers while shooting a season-high 90.5% (19-of-21) from the foul line. Ole Miss shot just 31.9% (22-of-69) from the floor and 16.7% (5-of-30) from long range.
Ole Miss outrebounded K-State, 40-39, and committed just 10 turnovers while the Wildcats committed 21. Ole Miss outscored K-State 22-8 in points off turnovers.
Freshman Jordan Speiser had a career-high 19 points and four rebounds, scoring in double digits for the fourth time in the last seven games.
"I think we just have that connection on the court," Speiser said. "Our veterans on the team, especially Taryn, gave us confidence, and we knew we could do it."
Sides had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, reaching double digits in scoring for the 25th time in her career and the seventh time in 10 games this season.
Harrod shot just 2-of-7 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds. But Harrod's second and final basket of the game came when it mattered most.
"Brandie got the ball on a dive cut, but there was a lot of contact there, and Brandie really had to gather," Mittie said. "I'm not sure she makes that early in the game. I don't think she was playing that tough. She kind of willed her way to that basket, but I thought she played tougher as the game went on."
Her last-second heroics give K-State a blast of momentum as the Wildcats prepare to face San Diego State on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at Bramlage Coliseum.
"This team has continued to grow," Sides said. "We know we're capable of playing like this. Every game we've just had a growth period. The tournament in Cancun helped us and having a full week of practice helped us learn and work on different things with such a young group.
"I'm just so proud of them and proud of this team."
Moments after Kansas State freshman Brandie Harrod's off-balance jumpshot off the glass with 2 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 61-60 victory over No. 13 Ole Miss in the Bill Snyder Classic on Sunday afternoon, 12th-year K-State head coach Jeff Mittie put his team's ability to fight through 11 ties and 14 lead changes to capture an important win into perspective.
"We grew up a lot," Mittie said.
K-State has one of the youngest rosters in the country this season, as nine of 12 players are true freshmen or sophomores, which makes it the youngest K-State squad since 2018-19. It has a freshman class that ranked among the top-10 signing classes by ESPN.com. It entered the season with no returning starters and only junior Taryn Sides had ever scored a point in a Wildcat uniform.
After storming to the Sweet Sixteen last season behind All-Americans, this young K-State team in the preseason was picked seventh in the 16-team Big 12 Conference.
On Sunday, young K-State entered with a 5-5 record after a four-game road swing, including three contests at the Cancun Challenge, and had lost five of its past seven games. Ole Miss entered at 8-0 for the first time since 2000-01 and came off its largest comeback in school history in roaring back from a 19-point deficit to beat then-No. 18 Notre Dame 69-62 behind a roster that featured 500 career starts, 15 all-conference selections, and who had helped Ole Miss to two Sweet Sixteens in three years and four straight 10-win SEC seasons.
Odds stacked against them, the Wildcats battled. Never question the heart of a team under head coach Jeff Mittie. K-State battled.
K-State and Ole Miss was tied 15-15 after the first quarter and Ole Miss led 31-28 at halftime. Then the teams were tied 42-42 heading into the fourth quarter at the 3,800-capacity St. Joseph Civic Arena.
What happened next?
"Our group was resilient," Mittie said. "They got tougher as the game went on. They made a lot of toughness plays down the stretch that maybe we hadn't been making in previous games, but against Ole Miss, we certainly did. We had a lot of players make plays."
The final 6:28 left in regulation featured four ties. Sides converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with a driving lay-up and free throw for a 59-58 lead with 31 seconds remaining before a layup by Cotie McMahon — she had a team-high 22 points and eight rebounds — with 15 seconds to go gave Ole Miss a 60-59 advantage.
That's when one of K-State's freshmen — Harrod — sprang into action.
On the ensuing K-State possession, the ball fell to Harrod in the paint, and her off-balance jumper off the glass with 2 seconds to go proved to be the game-winner.
Ole Miss's final heave fell short at the buzzer.
K-State 61, No. 13 Ole Miss 60. Final.
"I was struggling the whole game, and my teammates just kept encouraging me and making me feel better," Harrod said. "That going in? Going into the goal? That just made it better."
K-State shot 38.3% (18-of-47) from the floor, including 40.0% (6-of-15) on 3-pointers while shooting a season-high 90.5% (19-of-21) from the foul line. Ole Miss shot just 31.9% (22-of-69) from the floor and 16.7% (5-of-30) from long range.
Ole Miss outrebounded K-State, 40-39, and committed just 10 turnovers while the Wildcats committed 21. Ole Miss outscored K-State 22-8 in points off turnovers.
Freshman Jordan Speiser had a career-high 19 points and four rebounds, scoring in double digits for the fourth time in the last seven games.
"I think we just have that connection on the court," Speiser said. "Our veterans on the team, especially Taryn, gave us confidence, and we knew we could do it."
Sides had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, reaching double digits in scoring for the 25th time in her career and the seventh time in 10 games this season.
Harrod shot just 2-of-7 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds. But Harrod's second and final basket of the game came when it mattered most.
"Brandie got the ball on a dive cut, but there was a lot of contact there, and Brandie really had to gather," Mittie said. "I'm not sure she makes that early in the game. I don't think she was playing that tough. She kind of willed her way to that basket, but I thought she played tougher as the game went on."
Her last-second heroics give K-State a blast of momentum as the Wildcats prepare to face San Diego State on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. at Bramlage Coliseum.
"This team has continued to grow," Sides said. "We know we're capable of playing like this. Every game we've just had a growth period. The tournament in Cancun helped us and having a full week of practice helped us learn and work on different things with such a young group.
"I'm just so proud of them and proud of this team."
Players Mentioned
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