Instant takeaways: Kansas State wins without best form

Kansas State finds way on bad night

I am not going to pretend to have watched every Kansas State women’s basketball game. But I have watched a few and they were far from their best against Arizona. They could never find that extra gear like they typically have most nights, unable to turn a 13-point first half lead into something bigger until the finish.

Arizona came back and even lingered in the second half.

And while K-State was not dominated on the glass by the former Pac-12 squad, being defeated handily in second chance points did not help. Even in Bramlage Coliseum they couldn’t find the right recipe to run away with it like they often have in Big 12 play.

However, still winning without their best needs to be commended. At the end of the day, they do still sit 18-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference. But as I’ve laid out a few times since applying more coverage to this particular team, the toughest part of the schedule lies ahead.

Never adapted

Aside from being handled in second chance points, where Kansas State fell short was on the offensive end. Yes, they didn’t make the three-point shot like they usually do, but they also forced passes that weren’t there and took too many gambles when sharing the ball.

I didn’t like the decision-making for most of the night. Ayoka Lee played just five minutes in the first half, but they forced balls into her when she returned in the second half that also resulted in many turnovers (15 in total!). Jeff Mittie won’t be thrilled about that area, either.

Arizona, from the start, applied pressure and got into passing lanes and took away some options that K-State wasn’t used to not having. They never adjusted enough to that plan from Arizona.

Call that the Sides Step@taryn_sides / 🎥 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/nNMcy2laP9

— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) January 17, 2025

Defense wins

It took Arizona forever to score in the first quarter. It took Arizona forever to score in the fourth quarter. The two quarters in between also contained some pretty good defense from Kansas State. On a night where their shots didn’t fall, the defense still showed up and won them the game.

That’s why Mittie and company are a Big 12 title contender. They have so many different ways to beat you. They can out-score you by pounding the ball into Lee. They can beat you by letting Sides, Sundell and Poindexter make it hurt from the three-point line. They can beat you with suffocating defense.

When they want to give you all three, good luck. Tonight it was mainly just the defense.

Play old

I can’t help but think the K-State ladies are the women’s version of Iowa State and Houston on the men’s side. They are the grown, old, tough, savvy club that doesn’t panic, that makes a lot of the right plays, that doesn’t beat themselves for the most part and that plays hard and wins in the margins.

I thought about the intensity, work ethic and hustling habits at times. There were two different occasions that didn’t result in points but they at least put themselves in position to take advantage.

Serena Sundell attempted a steal and runout where the ball rolled out of bounds. If it didn’t, she had two other teammates already on the other side of the floor beating everyone from Arizona to the bucket. Another time was where they scored an easy basket in transition on a second shot because it was a four-on-one break.