Big 12 tournament roundup: Kansas State rolls past UCF

Field Level Media|published: Thu 6th March, 17:03 2025

Kansas State junior guard Serena Sundell (4) grabs a rebound in the first half of the Sunflower Showdown game against Kansas Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 inside Allen Fieldhosue.

Serena Sundell poured in 21 points and No. 20 Kansas State easily handled UCF 80-65 to open the second round of the Big 12 women's basketball tournament on Thursday in Kansas City, Mo.

The fifth-seeded Wildcats led 41-30 at halftime, and the No. 13 seed Knights got to within seven points in the fourth quarter. But K-State used 20 bench points to put the game away.

K-State (26-6) also got 13 points from Zyanna Walker, 11 from Jaelyn Glenn and 10 from Kennedy Taylor. The Wildcats will face No. 4 seed West Virginia in Friday's first quarterfinal.

UCF (12-18) was led by Kaitlin Peterson with 21 points. She was joined in double figures by Emely Rodriguez, who tallied 17 points.

Colorado 61, Arizona 58

Tabitha Betson scored 16 points and the ninth-seeded Buffaloes used a strong fourth quarter to knock off the eighth-seeded Wildcats.

After trailing 50-40 early in the fourth, Colorado engineered a 14-3 run to take the lead with 5:24 left on a 3-pointer by Kennedy Sanders. The Buffs later moved ahead by four before Jada Williams cut it to 60-58 on a jumper in the lane with 17 seconds left. Betson sank a free throw to put Colorado up three, and Skylar Jones' 3-point attempt in the final seconds missed.

Betson added a team-high seven rebounds, Sanders finished with 14 points and Lior Garzon scored all nine of her points in the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes (20-11) will take on top-seeded TCU in the second quarterfinal Friday.

The Wildcats (19-13) were led by Jones with 17 points. Williams added 13 points and five assists.

--Field Level Media