Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament: Kansas State’s 21-0 finish turns a quiet fourth quarter into a roar
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, the final minutes can feel like a coin toss: a rebound that bounces the wrong way, a shot that rims out, a single defensive stand that changes who keeps playing. On Thursday, Kansas State turned seven tense minutes into a 21-0 avalanche, erasing a 14-point deficit to beat No. 21 Texas Tech 58-51.
The swing was so sharp it rewrote the game’s emotional temperature inside the arena. With 7: 43 left in the fourth quarter, Kansas State trailed 51-37 after Texas Tech put together a 10-0 run spanning the third-quarter break. From there, the Lady Raiders did not score again.
How did Kansas State pull off the 21-0 run in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament?
Kansas State’s comeback began in the margins: stops, misses forced, and patience on the other end. Texas Tech missed 13 straight shots down the stretch and did not attempt a free throw in the fourth quarter, leaving the door open for the No. 12 seed to inch closer possession by possession.
Offensively, Kansas State didn’t ride a hot shooting night to get there. The Wildcats were 5 of 25 from 3-point range and shot 34% overall. They also went most of the game without a double-digit scorer until the fourth quarter. But in the moment that mattered most, Tess Heal delivered the go-ahead basket, driving for a layup that put Kansas State up 54-51 with 52. 7 seconds left.
To close, the Wildcats leaned on late-game free throws. Taryn Sides made two free throws to seal it, and Heal added two more with 19. 2 seconds remaining.
Who were the key players as Kansas State eliminated No. 21 Texas Tech?
Nastja Claessens anchored Kansas State’s finishing stretch with a stat line that matched the urgency of the moment: 14 points, eight rebounds, and a key block in the closing seconds. That defensive play came after Texas Tech had grabbed an offensive rebound following a missed 3-pointer. Claessens blocked the putback attempt, secured the ball, and called timeout with 36. 1 seconds left — a sequence that froze Texas Tech’s last real chance to answer.
Behind Claessens, Kansas State spread the scoring load: Sides finished with 13 points, Aniya Foy added 12, and Heal scored 10. The numbers show a team that needed time to find its footing and then found it all at once.
For Texas Tech, Snudda Collins was the lone double-digit scorer with 14 points. The Lady Raiders struggled to convert chances overall, finishing 16 of 56 from the field (29%).
What happens next after Thursday’s second-round result?
With the win, Kansas State (17-16) advanced from the second round to the quarterfinals, where the Wildcats will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma State on Friday. The matchup adds another layer to a week already marked by extremes. Kansas State opened the tournament by breaking an 18-year Big 12 women’s tournament record and tying the school record with 17 made 3-pointers in a 91-66 victory over Cincinnati. Two games later, the Wildcats advanced again, this time without the same perimeter rhythm, leaning instead on defense and late execution.
Thursday’s result also continued a head-to-head thread between the two teams this season. Earlier in the year, Texas Tech’s undefeated start ended at 19-0 on Jan. 17 after a 65-59 loss to Kansas State. Now, in Kansas City, Kansas State beat the Lady Raiders again, this time with a closing burst that left no time for a response.
Texas Tech (25-7), the fifth seed, entered the game as a ranked opponent and with the stakes of postseason positioning in view. The Lady Raiders are hoping to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, but their Big 12 Tournament run ended with a fourth quarter where the scoring column stayed stuck at 51.
For Kansas State, the final image of the night was not a highlight dunk or a half-court heave, but something more telling about March basketball: a block, a rebound secured, a timeout called, and free throws calmly made. In the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, the teams that keep their nerve at the end are the ones that keep their season alive.
