Nastja Claessens recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals and No. 12 seed Kansas State closed the game with a 21-0 run to post a 58-51 upset of No. 5 seed Texas Tech on Thursday in the second round of the Big 12 tournament at Kansas City, Mo.
Taryn Sides scored 13 points and Aniya Foy added 12 for the Wildcats (17-16), who beat Cincinnati in Wednesday’s first round. Tess Heal added 10 points for Kansas State, which trailed 51-37 with 7:43 remaining before going on the epic burst.
No. 21 Texas Tech (25-7) looked to be in great shape after Jalynn Bristow and Snudda Collins (14 points) opened the fourth quarter with baskets. But the Red Raiders missed their last 13 field-goal attempts to go with four costly turnovers during a stunning collapse that marked their fourth loss in the past six games.
Claessens split two free throws with 2:39 left to give Kansas State its first lead at 52-51. Heal added a driving basket and Sides and Heal each made two free throws as Kansas State earned a quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 seed Oklahoma State on Friday.
BYU 70, Utah 52
Delaney Gibb registered 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals to help the No. 9 seed Cougars rally to the victory over the No. 8 seed Utes for their fifth consecutive victory.
Lara Rohkohl had 12 points and eight rebounds before fouling out and Brinley Cannon added 12 points for BYU (22-10), which outscored Utah 43-16 in the second half. The Cougars trailed by seven before scoring the final 15 points of the third quarter and then continued their domination in the fourth and next face top-seeded TCU in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Lani White scored 20 points for the Utes (19-12), who were 7 of 27 from the field in the second half, including 1 of 14 from 3-point range. Utah’s largest lead was 11, coming after Chyra Evans opened the third quarter with a basket, but the lead got away as the Utes lost to the rival Cougars for the third time this season.
Arizona State 77, Iowa State 68
Gabby Elliott had 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists before fouling out to lead the No. 10 Sun Devils past the No. 7 Cyclones and earn a quarterfinal matchup against No. 2 West Virginia on Friday.
Heloisa Carrera added 17 points and McKinna Brackens had 16 as Arizona State (24-9) bolstered its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes with the wire-to-wire victory. The Sun Devils led by 16 in the fourth quarter before fighting off an Iowa State charge.
Audi Crooks had 21 points and seven rebounds before fouling out for the Cyclones (22-9). Addy Brown had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Mackenzie Hare added 12 points for Iowa State, which shot just 19.4% (7 of 36) from 3-point range while losing for the third time in four games.
Colorado 55, Kansas 48
Logyn Greer had 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots and Desiree Wooten also scored 10 points as the sixth-seeded Buffaloes knocked off the 11th-seeded Jayhawks.
Colorado (21-10) had a 39-25 rebounding advantage while advancing to face Baylor on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Buffaloes never trailed over the final three quarters.
S’Mya Nichols notched 14 points and four steals for Kansas (19-13), which took a big blow to its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes. The Jayhawks had won four of their previous five games.
–Field Level Media
