K-State Upset at Home By Colorado In NCAA Tournament

The four-seed Kansas State Wildcats saw their season come to an end on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum, as for the second straight year, the Colorado Buffaloes went on the road to spoil someone’s party and reach the Sweet 16.

Colorado, the five-seed, outscored Kansas State 30-15 in the second half on their way to a 63-50 victory in Manhattan, advancing to the Albany 2 regional semifinal, where they will face either top-seed Iowa or eight-seed West Virginia.

After leading by as many as nine late in the first half and taking a 35-33 advantage into the locker room, Kansas State was held to just 22 percent (6-for-27) shooting in the second 20 minutes. Colorado took the lead for good at 41-39 on a pair of Maddie Nolan free throws with 5:15 to play. The free throws came after a lengthy video review determined that K-State’s Serena Sundell committed a flagrant foul on Colorado’s Jaylyn Sherrod, negating a foul called on Sherrod. They were part of a 15-3 run that closed the third quarter and gave the Buffaloes a 52-42 lead heading into the final frame.

K-State held the visitors scoreless for the first 6:19 of the fourth quarter, but were unable to take full advantage. They got within five points at 54-49 after a Gabby Gregory three pointer with 3:19 to play, but Colorado went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to pull away for the victory.

Gregory’s 12 points led three Wildcats in double-figure scoring. Sundell had 11 points and Ayoka Lee had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Nolan’s 11 points were tops for Colorado, who also got 10 points apiece from Quay Miller and Tameiya Sadler.

The Wildcats end their season with a record of 26-8.