K-State Women's Basketball Beats South Dakota on Last-Second Game Winner

The K-State women’s basketball team found itself in another nail-biter on Thursday afternoon. However, this time the ending cut deeper than any finish so far this season. In a wild back-and-forth, the contest featured 15 lead changes and seven ties. The Wildcats fell 72-71 to the visiting South Dakota Coyotes at Bramlage Coliseum. It marked K-State’s second down-to-the-wire showdown in just its first four games of the 2025–26 campaign, dropping the Wildcats to 3-1 on the season.

Record-Tying Free Throw Performance

What kept K-State alive for nearly all 40 minutes was its incredible production at the free-throw line. The Wildcats tied a long-standing program record with 32 made free throws, finishing 32-of-39 for an impressive 82.1 percent.

Final pic.twitter.com/zgqoJw3eb3
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 14, 2025

The last time K-State hit that mark was December 6, 1979, against Colorado. On a national scale, those 32 make a tie for the third-most by any team this season.

Despite the strong work on the line, the Wildcats struggled in other areas. South Dakota outscored K-State 26-22, and the Wildcats shot just 20 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on only three of their 15 attempts. The Coyotes, meanwhile, knocked down nine threes at a 32.1 percent clip.

K-State still saw four players hit double figures, showcasing its balanced scoring on an afternoon that demanded every point. Junior guard Taryn Sides delivered a standout performance. She led the Wildcats with 19 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting day. She also added eight rebounds and went 5-of-6 at the line.

Freshman guard Gina Garcia turned in a breakout performance of her own, scoring a career-high 14 points while going a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line, becoming just the fifth player in school history to finish at least 12-for-12 in a game. She also added a career-best six assists.

Critical Moments in the Final Minute

Center Ramiya White poured in a career-high 12 points, hitting six of her eight free throws and pulling down four rebounds. Senior guard Tess Heal rounded out K-State’s top scorers with 10 points and seven boards. South Dakota countered with five players in double figures, led by Tori Schlagel’s 15 points.

South Dakota controlled the early rhythm and entered halftime with a 34-28 lead. But K-State stormed back in the third quarter, opening the period with a 13-2 run that quickly flipped the scoreboard. Sides fueled the surge with seven points, helping the Wildcats win the quarter 25-13 and take a 53-47 advantage into the fourth.

The Coyotes answered with a 12-2 run of their own to regain the lead at 59-55. From there, the final minutes turned into a flurry of clutch plays on both sides. Freshman guard Jordan Speiser knocked down a huge three to pull K-State within one. And Sides later hit two free throws to push the Wildcats ahead 68-67 with just over two minutes remaining.

With 1:01 left, Garcia calmly sank two more free throws to give K-State a 70-69 lead. Moments later, K-State forced a defensive stop but turned the ball over immediately.

Sides made one of two free throws with eight seconds left to stretch the lead to 71-69. But South Dakota delivered the final blow when Patience Williams buried a three-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining, stunning the home crowd and sealing the Coyotes’ 72-71 win.

K-State continues its four-game homestand on Sunday when the Wildcats host Texas A&M at 1 p.m. The matchup will stream live on ESPN+ and will air on the K-State Sports Network, SI Tickets, and flagship stations Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a free K-State LED Rally Towel.

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