Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Kansas State defeated Utah 71-47, capitalizing on Utah's poor shooting performance.
- Utah struggled with a 30% field goal rate and missed key defensive assignments.
- Kansas State's Serena Sundell led with 15 points, while Utah's Gianna Kneepkens scored 12.
SALT LAKE CITY — In what seemed like a blink of an eye to start the game, No. 12 Kansas State had a 14-point lead.
Four quick 3-pointers will have that effect on a game.
Everything that could go wrong for No. 22 Utah did Wednesday night. Going 1-of-11 from the field and a nearly five-minute scoring drought to closeout the first quarter, paired with a defense that continued to get lost and opened up easy 3-point looks for the Wildcats, put the home Utes in a hole early.
And though Utah made a run to closeout the first half, cutting a one-time 18-point lead down to 9, it was not enough as Kansas State continued its dominance in the second half en route to a 71-47 win.
"A team like Utah is going to come back at you. ... In games like this, you're gonna have to answer," Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I don't think there was any magical thing at halftime that we did; I think those things are overrated. Sometimes we just kind of talk about, 'Hey, here's what we want to be able to do; let's execute what we practice.' And our group did that."
What plagued Utah (12-3, 3-1 Big 12) for much of the first half only got worse in the third quarter, and there was little that could be done to stop the Wildcats.
"When you start missing shots, you start pressing a little bit more and you just get a little more tense, and that leads to what else are you going to miss? You start missing layups," Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said. "You start missing assignments in terms of what we're trying to accomplish offensively.
"And there were moments out there where I didn't know what we were running, because it wasn't something that we had practiced."
Utah finished the game shooting 30% from the field — including an uncharacteristic 13-of-35 (37.1%) in layup attempts — and had only three made 3-pointers (16%) on the night.
And while it was a night of missed opportunities, it was the third quarter that ultimately doomed Utah. After a stellar defensive performance in the final minutes of the first half that shifted some momentum in Utah's favor, none of that carried over out of the halftime break.
As such, the Wildcats (16-1, 4-0 Big 12) outscored the Utes 26-13 in the third quarter, and the rest was history.
"Rough one tonight for us offensively," Petersen said. "I thought, defensively, there were times where we were on the same page and other times where we were not. And sometimes that is just the lesson to be learned, where you can't just — because you're at home think things are going to fall your way, calls are going to go your way.
"It's a grind every single night out, and when you're playing the 12th ranked team in the country with as much experience, if not more, than we have, you've got to be on your game," he added. "And I just didn't see the fire and the hunger in our players eyes. Not sure why."
Outside of Gianna Kneepkens finishing with 12 points, including two of the three made 3-pointers, Utah couldn't get much more production out of anyone else. Reese Ross came off the bench to add 11 points and five rebounds, and brought a competitive spirit down to the final minutes.
Ines Vieira and Maye Toure both finished with 8 points apiece in the low-scoring affair for the Utes.
Conversely, the Wildcats had four players reach double figures, with Serena Sundell leading the charge with 15 points, five assists and three rebounds. Ayoka Lee added 14 points and six rebounds, but was a disruptor on defense to limit much of what Utah attempted to do around the rim.
The loss is Utah's first in Big 12 play, and that's something Petersen said remains the focus moving forward. It was far from the effort he hoped for his team, but it was one game in the end.
"I'm not trying to peak," he said. "I don't want our peak of our season to be in January. I don't want it to be in February. I want us to be hitting on all cylinders as we get to the Big 12 Tournament, and then using that to kind of springboard us forward, so that's the goal; that's always the goal. So, yeah, it is one game.
"But I also want to utilize this type of game, especially at home, to light a fire," he added. "Our fans deserve a little bit more fight from us, and it just wasn't there in the third quarter."
