MANHATTAN – Kansas State women’s basketball cruised to a 22-point lead after three quarters, but Vanderbilt used a 25-point fourth quarter to make K-State uneasy in a 72-61 win on Sunday afternoon in the 2018 SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
Kansas State (5-2) featured four players in double figures on Sunday, as freshman guard Christianna Carr tallied a game-high 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting including a 5-of-11 effort from 3-point range. With her 21 points, Carr has consecutive games of 20 or more points, marking the first time a K-State freshman tallied 20 or more points in consecutive games since Rachel Ranke did so early in the 2017-18 season.
Joining Carr in double figures was junior forward Peyton Williams. Williams notched her third double-double of the season with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 14 rebounds. She also added three steals and two assists.
Senior guard Kayla Goth aided the effort with 14 points, nine assists, three rebounds and three steals. With her first assist on Sunday, Goth became the 10th player in program history with 350 or more career assists as her total now stands at 358.
Also reaching double figures was Ranke with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting with four assists. This was Ranke’s fourth game in double figures this season.
Vanderbilt (3-5) was paced by Mariella Fasoula with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Cierra Walker added 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
K-State trailed early in the opening quarter, but used an 11-2 run over a four-minute stretch to end the first stanza with a 21-14 lead. Carr and Williams scored nine of the 11 points during the rally. Goth ended the quarter with a three-pointer from the wing with four seconds remaining for the seven-point advantage.
After knocking down three 3-pointers in the first quarter, Kansas State continued its barrage from beyond the arc in the second quarter by connecting on 4-of-6 attempts from deep to build a 41-24 halftime lead.
Carr started the second with her third 3-pointer of the afternoon, while Williams added a putback tip-in to force a Vanderbilt timeout at 8:30 of the quarter. Ranke quickly answered a Commodores 3-pointer with one of her own.
After a two and a half-minute drought without scoring, Goth knocked down her second 3-pointer of the day afternoon to stake the Wildcats to a 32-19 lead with 5:39 to play before halftime.
K-State’s final 3-pointer of the first half came from freshman guard Savannah Simmons. Williams found Simmons wide open at the top of the key with 2:55 remaining and Simmons tallied her first collegiate points with the connections.
Overall in the first half, K-State registered a season-high for first half points and converted at 56.7 percent (17-of-30). Vanderbilt was held to 42.9 percent shooting (9-of-21).
K-State’s defense took over in the third quarter, as the Wildcats held the Commodores to 23.5 percent shooting in the third frame. K-State was able to win the quarter, 17-12, and increase their lead to 22, 58-36.
Vanderbilt used a 12-0 run over a four-minute stretch to begin the fourth quarter to cut K-State’s lead to 12, 60-48, with 5:53 remaining. A three-pointer from Jasauen Beard with 3:58 to play pushed K-State back in front by 15, 65-50. Beard’s three was K-State’s second field goal of the final quarter and the first since a Ranke layup with 9:57 remaining.
The Commodores would bring the deficit to single digits three times in the final two minutes, but never closer than nine points. Goth iced the game for K-State with six points in the final 1:30 of the game, as she knocked down four free throws and a baseline jumper with 45 seconds remaining.
K-State shot over 50 percent in three of the four quarters, as the Wildcats ended the day at 50.0 percent shooting (26-of-52). Vanderbilt ended the afternoon shooting 38.6 percent (22-of-57).
Kansas State ends a two-game home stand on Wednesday, as the Wildcats host Lamar at 7 p.m. Fans can take advantage of a Wildcat 4-Pack which includes four general admission tickets and four concessions vouchers for just $38.
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on FCS Central and for free on K-StateHD.TV. The game can also be heard on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
– kstatesports.com –