Wild Night in Houston Ends in Wildcats' Women’s Basketball Road Win
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The Fertitta Center is never an easy stop, but Wednesday night turned into something far more intense than a typical Big 12 road test. In a jaw-dropping scoring performance, Kansas State women’s basketball walked out of Houston with a hard-earned 71-62 victory that felt much bigger than a single win.
Kansas State Delivered Record-Setting Fourth Quarter
For the Wildcats, now 9-8 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play, this was a night defined by resilience. Kansas State trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter and went into halftime down 11. The momentum belonged to Houston, the crowd was loud, and the Wildcats looked stuck.
CATS WIN!!!#EMAW👌 pic.twitter.com/XnDERxyKLL
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) January 8, 2026
The comeback began and ended with Tess Heal. The junior guard finished the game with 31 points. Heal scored 21 points in the fourth quarter alone. That's the most points ever by a Wildcat in a single quarter since the NCAA adopted the quarter system in the 2015-16 season.
Houston simply had no answer. Heal finished 9-of-16 from the field and went an incredible 11-of-12 at the free-throw line. She also added five rebounds and two steals, impacting the game well beyond the scoring column.
The turning point came with 6:38 left in the game. Houston held a 53-49 lead when Jenessa Cotton grabbed a tough offensive rebound that resulted in a held ball. After the whistle, tensions boiled over.
An altercation involving Houston’s Amirah Abdur-Rahim and TK Pitts and Kansas State’s Cotton led to a lengthy replay review. When the officials made their final decision, the game had completely shifted. Houston lost four players to ejection, while Cotton was also ejected. Kansas State was awarded six free throws.
Heal calmly stepped to the line and made all six, turning a four-point deficit into a 55-53 Wildcats lead and completely flipping the momentum inside the arena.
Kansas State Takes Control Down the Stretch
With energy swinging their way, Kansas State never looked back. Heal followed the free throws with a smooth midrange jumper and a wing three-pointer to cap a 12-2 run. Houston briefly made things interesting with a four-point play to cut the lead to two, but the Wildcats stayed composed.
Heal added a layup and four more free throws, finishing a perfect 10-of-10 from the line in the fourth quarter to close the door. Kansas State outlasted the chaos and walked away with a road win built on toughness and execution.
Nastja Claessens played a key supporting role, scoring 14 points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. Kansas State’s bench also made a massive difference, outscoring Houston’s reserves 42-21 and providing steady production throughout a physically demanding game.
The victory kept Kansas State perfect against Houston, improving to 5-0 all-time in the series. It also added to head coach Jeff Mittie’s success against the Cougars, pushing his career record versus Houston to 14-6 and his overall coaching mark to 681-386.
Kansas State returns home to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday to host Utah at 4 p.m. Fans can watch on ESPN.
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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.