It didn't take long in the post-game press conference for it to become clear just how much the Kansas State women's basketball team's 75-67 overtime loss to Texas Tech stung on Wednesday.
As KSU coach Deb Patterson described to members of the media how the Wildcats let their most recent opportunity slip through their hands, senior guard Kari Kincaid, sitting to the left of Patterson, struggled to control her emotions.
It's only been four games, but this late-season losing streak has taken a toll on the Cats. That stress slowly turned to tears for Kincaid, who will be playing in her final game at Bramlage Coliseum next week.
"For our team, it's just about hunger," said Kincaid, who scored a team-high 18 points. "We have had to be so hungry just to get one win, or just to get one basket. That's what it's coming down to. You just have to want it so bad."
Kincaid wants it, and she showed that on Wednesday night. She made 5-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc in a game where the Wildcats, as a team, struggled offensively.
The 18 points was a season-high for the Andover native and tied her career-high.
But it was the win that she and the Wildcats so desperately wanted.
"I'm not too excited about points right now," Kincaid said, as tears began to fill her eyes. "I'm more upset that (Jordan) Murphree got 26 points and I was guarding her.
"It was nice to make shots, but it doesn't really mean much when you lose."
The Wildcats did what they wanted to do, however. They finally put together a solid 40 minutes of basketball, something Patterson had been looking to see for some time.
KSU and Texas Tech battled throughout the first and second half, changing leads 11 times over the contest. K-State held the lead early in the first half, thanks to two 3-pointers by Kincaid at key moments. But a late 12-6 run by Texas Tech pushed the Lady Raiders ahead 28-23 at halftime.
Yet unlike recent games, the Wildcats made a push in the second half and stayed in the game.
"It's been a long time since our second half was better than our first half, so that was positive," Patterson said.
Late in that second half the Wildcats, down by two points with 14 seconds left, were able to take advantage of two missed free throws by Murphree.
Freshman guard Brittany Chambers handled the rebound, drove the length of the court, spun and connected on a layup to tie the game with 1.7 seconds left, pushing the game into overtime.
It looked like the Wildcats had the momentum needed to secure their first win in four contests — but they failed to show up for the final five minutes.
The Lady Raiders (17-10, 5-8) began the overtime period with an 8-0 run, led by Murphree, who netted six of those crucial eight points. It took until the 1:08 mark in the overtime period for the Wildcats to get their first points, when Kincaid hit a pair of free throws to cut the Lady Raiders' lead to six points.
"Unfortunately we just regressed back to wasting possessions," Patterson said. "That is the element of the game that we have to continue to put before us and bring a discipline to, and we are not making the quality basketball decisions that are putting us in positions to finish games and get that win."
With the loss, the Wildcats fell to 12-15 overall and 4-9 in Big 12 play, allowing the Lady Raiders to move ahead of them and into ninth place in the conference.
And it doesn't get any easier for the Wildcats. With the losing streak now stretched to four games, K-State travels to Ames, Iowa to face No. 15 Iowa State on Saturday.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.
Photo K-State Sports
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