OMAHA, NEBRASKA – K-State ended its non-conference schedule with a 75-71 win at Creighton on Sunday at D.J. Sokol Arena.
K-State (7-6) saw every player that played in the game register at least one point and were paced by sophomore forward Nastja Claessens by tying her career-high with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and pulled in five rebounds.
Freshman guard Jordan Speiser notched 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while sophomore guard Izela Arenas added 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– K-State won the first quarter with a strong offensive performance, outscoring the Bluejays, 21-15, on 9-of-16 shooting (.563). The 21 points were the most in a quarter for the Wildcats since scoring 22 in the third quarter against South Dakota State on Nov. 29.
– After Creighton (4-5, 1-0 Big East) trimmed the K-State lead to three, 23-20, early in the second quarter, the Wildcats used a 7-0 run in thirty seconds to take a 30-20 lead with 6:47 remaining in the frame and force the Bluejays to call their second timeout of the first half.
– Freshman Jordan Speiser started the run with a pair of free throws and was quickly followed by a steal and layup from freshman Gina Garcia. On the next defensive possession, senior Tess Heal snared a steal and found sophomore Izela Arenas open in the corner for a 3-pointer.
– Creighton would narrow the margin to four, 38-34, but a driving layup from Garcia and a corner three-pointer in transition from junior Taryn Sides rebuilt the K-State lead to 43-34 with 1:07 to play. Heal would cap the first half with a driving acrobatic layup to beat the buzzer and give the Wildcats a 45-36 halftime lead.
– K-State shot 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field in the first half, including 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from beyond the arc. This was the first time K-State registered 20 or more points in each quarter of the first half since November 27 against Columbia.
– Three-pointers from Sides and Claessens to begin the third quarter forced Creighton into burning its third timeout of the afternoon, as K-State increased its lead to 51-36 with 8:12 left.
– Creighton used a 10-0 run to cut the K-State lead to four, 53-49, with 1:38 remaining, but a fastbreak layup from Aniya Foy ended the Wildcat drought and was followed by a layup from Arenas to give the Wildcats a 57-49 lead heading into the final quarter. K-State was limited to a 30.8 percent effort (4-of-13) from the field in third frame.
– The Bluejays used an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter to close to within one, 61-60, and force a K-State timeout with 6:15 to play. Creighton would eventually take a one-point lead, 64-63, on a fastbreak layup.
– K-State recovered to with a 7-2 run to build a 71-67 lead with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. Claessens started the rally with a layup and a 3-pointer and was followed by a layup from Speiser with 2:49 to play.
– After the Bluejays tied the game at 71 with 1:11 remaining, Speiser finished a putback layup with 42 seconds left. After a missed layup from Creighton with seven seconds left, Claessens buried two free throws to seal the win with five seconds left.
– K-State shot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the field for the game, including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from 3-point range.
– The Wildcats held a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint and a 14-2 edge in fastbreak points.
QUICK FACTS
– K-State leads the series with Creighton, 17-5, including a 6-4 mark in games played in Omaha. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 2-0 in his career against Creighton. The Wildcats are 22-11 against current members of the Big East Conference.
– K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 679-384 (.639), including a mark of 225-149 (.602).
– The Wildcats are 301-330 (.477) in road games in its 58-season history. Under Mittie, K-State is 52-73 (.416) in road games.
– The Wildcats are 253-104 (.709) in games played in the month of December. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 52-19 (.732) in games during the 12th month.
TEAM NOTES
– K-State’s starting five consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Taryn Sides and forwards Jenessa Cotton and Nastja Claessens. This was the sixth time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 13th career start for Harrod. This was the 12th career start for Sides. This was the 11th career start for Garcia. Cotton made her ninth career start. Claessens made her ninth career start.
– The Wildcats held a 45-36 lead at halftime on Sunday. Under Mittie, K-State is 180-21 (.896) when leading at halftime, including a 4-0 mark this season.
– Since the start of the quarter system in 2015-16, K-State is 165-69 (.705) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game. K-State has 19 quarters this season with 20 or more points scored. K-State scored 20 or more in the first and second quarters on Sunday.
– K-State has 20 quarters this season with an effort of 50.0 percent or better including 50.0 percent performance in the first and second quarters on Sunday.
– The Wildcats scored 33 bench points on Sunday. This is the 11th time this season K-State has scored 20 or more points from its bench.
PLAYER NOTES
– Claessens achieved double figures in scoring for the sixth time this season. This was her second career game with 20 or more points and tied her career-high.
– Arenas registered her sixth game this season and the 11th of her career with 10 or more points.
– Arenas made two 3-pointers on Sunday. This was her ninth career game and her fourth this season with two or more connections from long range.
– Speiser scored in double figures for the sixth time this season.
– Garcia registered six assists. This was her seventh career game with five or more assists. She has led K-State in assists in nine games this season.
– Garcia pulled in a career-high six rebounds. This was her second career game with five or more rebounds.
– Sides buried two 3-pointers on Sunday. This was her 10th game this season and the 41st of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range.
– Sides dished out two assists on Sunday. Sides improved her career total to 238 and moved into sole possession of 24th in program history.
– Sides hauled in five rebounds on Sunday. This was the ninth time this season and 25th time in her career with five or more rebounds in a game.
UP NEXT
K-State begins its Big 12 Conference schedule on Saturday, December 20, as the Wildcats visit (8/7) TCU at 4 p.m.
The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard online at kstatesports.com, on the K-State Sports app and the flagship stations of K-State women’s basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.
