Houston women’s basketball falls at Kansas State in tale of two halves

Houston women’s basketball faced off against the Kansas State Wildcats Wednesday night for the second time this season. The Cougars were aiming to get their first conference victory and to make up for the close loss they had in the first matchup.

The game was close throughout, with Houston even having a halftime lead for the first time since its previous matchup against the Wildcats on Jan. 7. Kansas State would eventually get  the victory 69-65, with this game being the closest the Cougars have come to getting a victory in conference play thus far.

“The biggest thing that hurt us was transition threes,” coach Matthew Mitchell said. “The 7-0 run and 8-0 run they had made the difference in the game.”

Despite the loss, redshirt senior guard Kyndall Hunter led all scorers with 20 points in 23 minutes off the bench in tying a season-high, including knocking down 5 of 9 from beyond the arc, whereas the rest of the squad shot 2-for-14.

The story of the first half was defense and a lack of shot-making, as the Cougars were able to contain Kansas State to only 22 points in the frame. However, they were unable to capitalize on the Wildcats struggles, only putting up 24 points themselves.

The second half was a complete flip from the first, with both teams finding their rhythm and Kansas State scoring 25 points in the third, more than the first two quarters combined. Houston was also able to keep it close heading into the fourth, and even tied the game at 62 with 90 seconds to play. 

Senior guard TK Pitts also contributed heavily with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double and even got two blocks and a steal on the other end of the ball.

Kansas State had four starters score double digits in an all-around effort from the Wildcats to roll past Houston.

The Cougars, at 6-13 overall, will look to end their struggles and get a conference victory next Sunday, Jan. 25, at Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas against No. 14 Baylor at 2 p.m. CST on ESPN Plus.