Survive and Advance
Mar 20, 2026 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The large purple letters upon the white long-sleeved warmup shirts that Kansas State women's basketball players wore read "LOCK IT IN." In the final minutes of a close game that turned wild in the final seconds, the theme for the Wildcats might well have been "LOCK IT UP." No. 2-seed K-State did lock it up with a 69-65 win over Georgia Tech in the opening round of the WBIT at Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday.
K-State, which saw Georgia Tech rally from an eight-point deficit to 68-65 with 12 seconds remaining when star sophomore guard Talayah Walker drilled a 3-pointer, put the game away after Walker missed a 3-pointer to tie the game with 5 seconds remaining, and an ensuing foul put Gina Garcia at the foul line.
That ended things as the Wildcats, 19-17, who hadn't played a game since the Big 12 Tournament 12 days ago, now will play their second-round WBIT game against California (20-14, 9-9 ACC) at 6 p.m. Sunday at Bramlage. The Golden Bears were 72-68 winners over Santa Clara on Thursday night.
"A hard-fought game and we knew it was going to be," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I'm proud of our group. It's hard to recreate the momentum you had in Kansas City, so you have to restart this a little bit. We made a lot of winning plays.
"What I told them in the locker room was, 'You can be really proud of yourself because it's hard to make winning plays, and we made a lot of them, but we have to clean up the plays that can lose the game.' We've had trouble with that recently in making some panicky type plays that give other teams a window. But we're making an awful lot of winning plays, and certainly we can build off that."
Nastja Claessens led with 15 points and five rebounds and Taryn Sides added 14 points and five assists for K-State, which led by eight points time and time again, while Georgia Tech, 14-19, kept coming back behind Walker, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and led the Yellow Jackets' fight.
"We knew coming in it was going to be a battle, get a grind, and they didn't stop," Sides said. "They just kept going, kept going. We made a few mistakes, and they took advantage of it, but thankfully, we closed it out."
The teams were tied 52-52 heading into the fourth quarter after Catherine Alben hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds to go in the third. The final 10 minutes tested the stamina of both squads who shot about the same while also creating turnovers. K-State shot 41% from the floor and forced 20 turnovers, and Georgia Tech shot 39% and forced 15.
"This group has been so resilient all season long," Georgia Tech head coach Karen Blair said. "I don't know if I've ever had a group that handles runs as well as they have. I've seen us handle runs of 12-0 and us turnaround and go on 12-0 runs. There's a steadiness about them. They don't get too high or too low. When things get hard a lot of teams fall apart. When things get hard for us, they get more focused and more together."
K-State opened the fourth quarter scoring the first eight points to take a 60-52 lead on a Brandie Harrod layup with 5:52 left in the game.
Back and forth the teams went — until Jordan Speiser was called for a questionable offensive charge about 10 feet from the basket with 45 seconds remaining on a call that was upheld upon official review.
K-State led 66-62 at that point. But Georgia Tech had possession.
Things continued to get wild.
Sides corralled the ball after a Georgia Tech missed basket and was fouled instantly. Her two free throws made it 68-62 with 30.3 seconds left.
Alben missed a 3-pointer and the Wildcats rebounded and called timeout with 24.1 to go. Seconds later, Walker nailed a 3-pointer to make it 68-65 with 12 seconds remaining.
"I was like, 'We need to score, I'm going to shoot it and see what happens,'" Walker said "I made it, thankfully. It was just a bunch of excitement and a sense of urgency."
Alben stole a ball from Sides, but Walker missed a wide-open 3-pointer. Alben then fouled Garcia, who made the front end of two free throws with 3 seconds left to put the game away at 69-65.
The game, coming on the heels of an exciting showing at the Big 12 Tournament, demonstrated the growth once again of a K-State team that has come far since the beginning of the season.
"The Big 12 was the push for us," Claessens said. "We also learned to play together and have fun and how fun it actually is when the ball moves and everybody touches the ball. We try to put that into our game right now, too. It's really fun playing like that."
K-State advanced to the Sweet 16 last season behind a pair of All-Americans and another player who tried out for the WNBA. This year's squad, which entered the season with 10 of 13 players having not scored a point in a K-State uniform, continues to perform admirably and grow before the eyes of fans while playing in the postseason.
"It's a testament to how much everyone has grown individually," Sides said. "We have a young team and being in situations throughout the year has helped us at this point now. The Big 12 Tournament was a huge boost of confidence for us. We believe in one another even more now."
And now this K-State team will be together for at least a few more days. At home.
"We're back in it now," Mittie said. "We had a good, tough game. Now you're into the tournament. We'll get into a little bit of a routine. This was a hard-fought one. We'll get a little bit of rest Friday. Then we'll get ready to play on Sunday."
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech will remember its trip to face K-State in the postseason.
"The high they rode in the Big 12 Tournament is still going strong," Blair said. "This was a great crowd and environment. When you're in March these are the kind of environments you want to play in."
The large purple letters upon the white long-sleeved warmup shirts that Kansas State women's basketball players wore read "LOCK IT IN." In the final minutes of a close game that turned wild in the final seconds, the theme for the Wildcats might well have been "LOCK IT UP." No. 2-seed K-State did lock it up with a 69-65 win over Georgia Tech in the opening round of the WBIT at Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday.
K-State, which saw Georgia Tech rally from an eight-point deficit to 68-65 with 12 seconds remaining when star sophomore guard Talayah Walker drilled a 3-pointer, put the game away after Walker missed a 3-pointer to tie the game with 5 seconds remaining, and an ensuing foul put Gina Garcia at the foul line.
That ended things as the Wildcats, 19-17, who hadn't played a game since the Big 12 Tournament 12 days ago, now will play their second-round WBIT game against California (20-14, 9-9 ACC) at 6 p.m. Sunday at Bramlage. The Golden Bears were 72-68 winners over Santa Clara on Thursday night.
"A hard-fought game and we knew it was going to be," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I'm proud of our group. It's hard to recreate the momentum you had in Kansas City, so you have to restart this a little bit. We made a lot of winning plays.
"What I told them in the locker room was, 'You can be really proud of yourself because it's hard to make winning plays, and we made a lot of them, but we have to clean up the plays that can lose the game.' We've had trouble with that recently in making some panicky type plays that give other teams a window. But we're making an awful lot of winning plays, and certainly we can build off that."
Nastja Claessens led with 15 points and five rebounds and Taryn Sides added 14 points and five assists for K-State, which led by eight points time and time again, while Georgia Tech, 14-19, kept coming back behind Walker, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and led the Yellow Jackets' fight.
"We knew coming in it was going to be a battle, get a grind, and they didn't stop," Sides said. "They just kept going, kept going. We made a few mistakes, and they took advantage of it, but thankfully, we closed it out."
The teams were tied 52-52 heading into the fourth quarter after Catherine Alben hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds to go in the third. The final 10 minutes tested the stamina of both squads who shot about the same while also creating turnovers. K-State shot 41% from the floor and forced 20 turnovers, and Georgia Tech shot 39% and forced 15.
"This group has been so resilient all season long," Georgia Tech head coach Karen Blair said. "I don't know if I've ever had a group that handles runs as well as they have. I've seen us handle runs of 12-0 and us turnaround and go on 12-0 runs. There's a steadiness about them. They don't get too high or too low. When things get hard a lot of teams fall apart. When things get hard for us, they get more focused and more together."
K-State opened the fourth quarter scoring the first eight points to take a 60-52 lead on a Brandie Harrod layup with 5:52 left in the game.
Back and forth the teams went — until Jordan Speiser was called for a questionable offensive charge about 10 feet from the basket with 45 seconds remaining on a call that was upheld upon official review.
K-State led 66-62 at that point. But Georgia Tech had possession.
Things continued to get wild.
Sides corralled the ball after a Georgia Tech missed basket and was fouled instantly. Her two free throws made it 68-62 with 30.3 seconds left.
Alben missed a 3-pointer and the Wildcats rebounded and called timeout with 24.1 to go. Seconds later, Walker nailed a 3-pointer to make it 68-65 with 12 seconds remaining.
"I was like, 'We need to score, I'm going to shoot it and see what happens,'" Walker said "I made it, thankfully. It was just a bunch of excitement and a sense of urgency."
Alben stole a ball from Sides, but Walker missed a wide-open 3-pointer. Alben then fouled Garcia, who made the front end of two free throws with 3 seconds left to put the game away at 69-65.
The game, coming on the heels of an exciting showing at the Big 12 Tournament, demonstrated the growth once again of a K-State team that has come far since the beginning of the season.
"The Big 12 was the push for us," Claessens said. "We also learned to play together and have fun and how fun it actually is when the ball moves and everybody touches the ball. We try to put that into our game right now, too. It's really fun playing like that."
K-State advanced to the Sweet 16 last season behind a pair of All-Americans and another player who tried out for the WNBA. This year's squad, which entered the season with 10 of 13 players having not scored a point in a K-State uniform, continues to perform admirably and grow before the eyes of fans while playing in the postseason.
"It's a testament to how much everyone has grown individually," Sides said. "We have a young team and being in situations throughout the year has helped us at this point now. The Big 12 Tournament was a huge boost of confidence for us. We believe in one another even more now."
And now this K-State team will be together for at least a few more days. At home.
"We're back in it now," Mittie said. "We had a good, tough game. Now you're into the tournament. We'll get into a little bit of a routine. This was a hard-fought one. We'll get a little bit of rest Friday. Then we'll get ready to play on Sunday."
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech will remember its trip to face K-State in the postseason.
"The high they rode in the Big 12 Tournament is still going strong," Blair said. "This was a great crowd and environment. When you're in March these are the kind of environments you want to play in."
Players Mentioned
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