Kansas State Women’s Basketball Tips Off Big 12 Play with Road Test Against TCU
In this story:
The second season of collegiate basketball officially begins Saturday afternoon. Kansas State women’s basketball is diving straight into the deep end. The Wildcats enter Big 12 play with a 7-6 overall record and a clean 0-0 conference slate. However, the opening assignment offers no easing in. Kansas State travels to Fort Worth to face undefeated TCU. The Horned Frogs squad is sitting at 12-0 and ranked No. 7 in the Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the AP Top 25.
A Series Deadlocked and a Familiar Foe for the Kansas State Women's Basketball
Tip-off is set for 4 PM Saturday inside Schollmaier Arena. The place holds 6,700 fans and has quickly become one of the toughest venues in the conference. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with John Liddle on play-by-play and Jada Curtis providing analysis. Fans can also tune in on the K-State Sports Network radio broadcast.
NEXT UP
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) December 18, 2025
🔗 https://t.co/GVytZPthcw pic.twitter.com/56r0JHmzJG
Kansas State and TCU are tied 12-12 all-time, making this contest the deciding game for the series lead. The Wildcats also carry confidence from the most recent meeting. It was a 59-50 win in Manhattan on February 5, 2025. Head coach Jeff Mittie brings familiarity as well, owning a 12-9 career record against the Horned Frogs.
Much of Kansas State’s offensive identity flows through Taryn Sides. At 5-foot-6, she is the shortest player in the Big 12, averaging at least 14.5 points per game. She shot 45.0 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from three-point range. Nationally, only three players 5-foot-7 or shorter are posting those shooting splits.
Sides is also closing in on a career milestone. She currently sits 24th on the K-State career assists list with 238 and needs 12 more to become the 22nd player in program history to reach 250.
Let's Now Talk About the Shooting Confidence and Freshman Precision
Kansas State enters Big 12 play with momentum from beyond the arc. Over the last six games, the Wildcats are shooting 46.1 percent from three-point range, highlighted by a school-record 17 made threes against Columbia on November 27.
At the free-throw line, freshmen Jordan Speiser and Gina Garcia have quietly separated themselves. Speiser is shooting 89.7 percent, while Garcia sits at 88.0 percent. Kansas State is the only team in the country with two freshmen shooting at least 85.0 percent from the stripe with a minimum of 25 attempts.
Junior forward Nastja Claessens has shown just how high her ceiling can be. She has scored a career-high 21 points twice this season, most recently in the December 14 road win at Creighton. That performance made her just the third international Wildcat since 2009-10 to record a 20-point game. They also marked the highest scoring output by an international K-State player since Sarah Shematsi’s 25-point night against Oklahoma State in 2023.
Kansas State shot a season-best 56.3 percent in the first half. They finished with their highest road scoring total of the season and leaned on balance, with Claessens scoring 21 and Speiser adding 15, along with a career-high four steals. With their upcoming game, Kansas State opens Big 12 play with a win.
More from Kansas State On SI
Stay up to date with the Wildcats by bookmarking Kansas State On SI.
Shayni Maitra is a sports girl through and through writing about everything from locker room drama to game-day legends in the NFL and NBA. She’s covered the action for outlets like College Sports Network, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, NB Media, and PinkVilla, blending sharp takes with a deep love for storytelling. Whether it’s college football rivalries, Olympic gold-chasers, or the off-field chaos that keeps Twitter alive, Shayni brings the heat with heart—and just the right amount of humor.