NCAA Tournament party will go on, but K-State’s journey falls agonizingly short
If there was ever a year to want to see your team in the regional round of the NCAA Women’s Championship — especially in the Albany, N.Y.-half of the bracket — this was it.
Check out the potential lineup. Top-ranked and undefeated South Carolina has already qualified. Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark will be there if the Hawkeyes get past second-round opponent West Virginia on Monday.
Iowa and Clark could have been aligned against Kansas State, a team that has defeated the Hawkeyes in each of the past two seasons. Their clash may have drawn one of the biggest TV audiences of the postseason.
But that potential matchup fell apart Sunday as Colorado took control of the second half and defeated Kansas State 63-50 in a second round meeting at Bramlage Coliseum.
This was supposed to be K-State’s day. The Wildcats’ reward for a No. 4 seed was hosting duty, and all but a few hundred among the sold-out crowd (announced at 10,692) screamed for the purple. That environment, plus the strength of top talent Ayoka Lee, fed their confidence.
Through the first half, the script was mostly followed. The Wildcats led by a bucket. Finding Lee with entry passes proved an annoyance, but K-State could make the adjustment at halftime.
It never happened. Lee, who averages 20 points, was held to half that. And the person guarding Lee, Aaronette Vonleh, came up with seven of her team’s 17 steals. In all, the Wildcats committed 22 turnovers.
Nothing frustrated K-State coach Jeff Mittie more.
“We just couldn’t pass it to our jersey enough,” Mittie said.
With the game knotted at 39-39, a momentum-shifting moment occurred early in the third quarter. As Kansas State guard Serena Sundell drove from the top, her left elbow caught the face of cat-quick Colorado guard Jaylyn Sherrod, who was closely defending.
The whistle blew and the officials tagged Sherrod, who sat on the court to retrieve the mask she’s worn since breaking her nose during the regular season.
Sherrod was coming out of the game, but on her way, she stopped near the Kansas State bench to explain to an official that she had been elbowed in the face.
“They didn’t see it, but my mask came off, so I definitely got hit in the face,” Sherrod said. “There wasn’t any ill intent behind it, but I thought they should review it.”
While she was making her case, boos from Kansas State fans filled Bramlage.
“I heard them,” Sherrod said. “They were all saying, ‘Tech her up,’ and I’m saying I didn’t do anything aggressive. I just asked them if they could review it.”
It turned out to be the game’s most head’s-up play. During the timeout, the contact was reviewed and changed to an intentional foul on Sundell. Colorado made a pair of free throws, and Kansas State never regained the lead.
Again, losing possessions in attempts to get Lee the ball was the Wildcats’ undoing. Mittie told his team during the break no matter which way the call went to bring the same energy. But if Kansas State wasn’t affected by the moment, Colorado surewas. The Buffs played even better defense the rest of the way, holding K-State to 11 points over the game’s final 15 minutes.
Kansas State was left with that miserable March feeling of falling in a tournament game it expected to win. In the final seconds, with the game out of reach, Mittie substituted so he could embrace his seniors, including Lee, whom the coach said will decide in the next week if she wants to use her final year of eligibility or turn pro.
Nobody felt the opportunity missed more than guard Gabby Gregory, who transferred from Oklahoma two years ago and made Kansas State her home.
“I wasn’t expecting to be done so early,” she said between sobs. “Right now, I’m so upset that we’re not moving on.”
On to a regional and all that it could have been.
This story was originally published March 24, 2024 at 5:46 PM with the headline "NCAA Tournament party will go on, but K-State’s journey falls agonizingly short."