Serena Sundell poured in 21 points and No. 20 Kansas State easily handled UCF 80-65 to open the second round of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.
The fifth-seeded Wildcats led 41-30 at halftime, and the No. 13 seed Knights got to within seven points in the fourth quarter. But K-State used 20 bench points to put the game away.
K-State (26-6) also got 13 points from Zyanna Walker, 11 from Jaelyn Glenn and 10 from Kennedy Taylor. The Wildcats will face No. 4 seed West Virginia in Friday’s first quarterfinal.
UCF (12-18) was led by Kaitlin Peterson with 21 points. She was joined in double figures by Emely Rodriguez, who tallied 17 points.
Colorado 61, Arizona 58
Tabitha Betson scored 16 points and the ninth-seeded Buffaloes used a strong fourth quarter to knock off the eighth-seeded Wildcats.
After trailing 50-40 early in the fourth, Colorado engineered a 14-3 run to take the lead with 5:24 left on a 3-pointer by Kennedy Sanders. The Buffs later moved ahead by four before Jada Williams cut it to 60-58 on a jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left. Betson sank a free throw to put Colorado up three, and Skylar Jones’ 3-point attempt in the final seconds missed.
Betson added a team-high seven rebounds, Sanders finished with 14 points and Lior Garzon scored all nine of her points in the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes (20-11) will take on top-seeded TCU in the second quarterfinal Friday.
The Wildcats (19-13) were led by Jones with 17 points. Williams added 13 points and five assists.
Iowa State 96, Arizona State 88
Addy Brown’s career-high 41 points — an Iowa State record for points in the Big 12 tournament — led the seventh-seeded Cyclones past the 15th-seeded Sun Devils. She topped the mark of 33 set by Ashley Joens in 2022.
The record for points in a Big 12 tourney game is 45 by Baylor’s Brittney Griner in 2012.
The Cyclones will face second-seeded and 17th-ranked Baylor in the quarterfinals Friday evening.
Iowa State (22-10) held a 28-17 lead after the first quarter. The Cyclones were 6 of 10 from 3-point range in the period, as Brown (13) and Sydney Harris (11) reached double figures in the frame.
Iowa State maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way, leading by as many as 20 and never fewer than eight. The Cyclones also got 20 from Audi Crooks and 12 each from Harris and Emily Ryan. Arizona State (10-22) was led by Jalyn Brown with 26 points and Tyi Skinner with 23.
Texas Tech 75, Utah 64
Bailey Maupin had a team-high 22 points, including eight clutch free throws down the stretch, as the 14th-seeded Lady Raiders pulled off their second straight upset in the tournament.
Texas Tech (17-16) opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 spurt to grab its largest lead of the night at 58-44. Utah got no closer than six points the rest of the way.
Maupin finished the night 11-for-11 on foul shots, and Texas Tech went 16-for-16 from the line in the fourth quarter. The Lady Raiders will face third-seeded and 21st-ranked Oklahoma State in the last quarterfinal Friday night.
Utah (22-8) was led by Gianna Kneepkens, who produced 23 points, six rebounds and six assists.
–Field Level Media
