Okay-State’s Season Involves an Finish in Second Spherical of WBIT

MANHATTAN, Kansas – California had a sizzling taking pictures efficiency for the primary three quarters and held off Okay-State’s livid fourth quarter rally on Sunday evening, 83-75, within the second spherical of the 2026 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament at Bramlage Coliseum.

Okay-State (19-18) noticed 4 gamers attain double figures led by junior guard Taryn Sides with 13 factors, whereas freshmen Brandie Harrod and Jordan Speiser added 12 factors every. Senior guard Tess Heal recorded 11 factors, 5 rebounds and three assists.

Freshman guard Gina Garcia dished out a career-high 12 assists. Her season complete of 191 set the college report for assists in a freshman season, breaking the mark of 189 held by Shalee Lehning within the 2005-06 season.

California (21-14) was paced by Sakima Walker with 28 factors, together with 16 within the second half, on 13-of-18 taking pictures and 16 rebounds. Lulu Twidale and Taylor Barnes added 17 factors every.

HOW IT HAPPENED
– Okay-State shot 62.5 % (10-of-16) from the sphere within the first quarter and registered 10 assists, together with seven by Garcia. The Wildcats capped the quarter with a 3-pointer from Speiser to take a 23-21 lead on the finish of the body. Despite its sizzling taking pictures, Cal was proper there with the Wildcats at 61.5 % (8-of-13), together with 71.4 % (5-of-7) from lengthy vary.
– Cal would shoot 60.0 % (9-of-15) from the ground within the second quarter and outscore the Wildcats, 20-13, within the stanza to carry a 41-36 lead at halftime. The Golden Bears made 5 of its last seven subject objectives to safe the lead.
– The Golden Bears would punch it into Walker for a majority of the third quarter, as she racked up 12 factors within the body and helped Cal to a 66-51 lead after three quarters. The Golden Bears shot 56.3 % (9-of-16) from the sphere within the third quarter.
– Cal pushed its benefit to 25, 76-51, with 6:47 remaining through the use of a 12-0 run.
– A Sides three-pointer with 6:37 to play ended Okay-State’s fourth quarter drought and began a 13-0 run to chop the margin to 12, 76-64, with 2:32 left. The Wildcats chiseled the margin to 9, 80-71, on a steal a layup by Harrod with 41 seconds left. A layup and a pair of free throws from Aniya Foy offered the ultimate margin, because the Wildcats ran out of time in its comeback bid.
– Okay-State shot 50.0 % (31-of-62) from the sphere, however had been held to 25.0 % (5-of-20) from past the arc.

QUICK FACTS
– Okay-State tied the college report for video games performed in a season with 37, becoming a member of the 2012-13 season.
– This was the primary assembly within the collection between the faculties. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 2-2 in his profession towards Cal. The Wildcats are 12-17 towards members of the ACC, together with a 2-2 report this season.
– Okay-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a profession report of 691-396 (.636), together with a mark of 237-161 (.595). Mittie owns a profession report of 27-23 (.540) in postseason play.
– Okay-State is 421-166 (.717) in its Thirty eighth-season inside Bramlage Coliseum, together with a 151-58 (.722) report underneath Mittie.
– The Wildcats are 148-112 (.569) in video games performed within the month of March. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, Okay-State is 31-28 (.525) in video games in the course of the third month.

TEAM NOTES
– Okay-State’s beginning 5 consisted of guards Gina Garcia, Brandie Harrod, Tess Heal, and Taryn Sides and ahead Nastja Claessens. This was the 14^th time this lineup has began collectively this season, probably the most used beginning lineup for Okay-State this season. This was the 36^th profession begin for Sides. This was the 35^th profession begin for Garcia. Heal made her 24^th begin this season and the 98^th of her profession. Claessens made her 33^rd profession begin. This was Harrod’s 33^rd profession begin.
– Since the beginning of the quarter-system in ladies’s faculty basketball within the 2015-16 season, Okay-State is 177-77 (.697) when scoring 20 or extra factors in any quarter in a recreation, together with a 17-12 mark this season. The Wildcats had 52 quarters this season with 20 or extra factors scored.
– This season, Okay-State owns 49 quarters with an effort of fifty.0 % or higher taking pictures from the sphere, together with the primary (62.5) and third (50.0) quarters on Sunday.
– Okay-State handed out 21 assists on Sunday. This was Okay-State’s ninth recreation this season (8-1) with 20 or extra assists. For the season, the Wildcats handed out 555 assists, which ranks sixth in program historical past for a single season.
– Okay-State pocketed 10 steals. The Wildcats have recorded 10 or extra steals in 22 video games this season (13-9). For the season, the Wildcats have recorded 361 steals. The 361 steals this season ranks fourth in program historical past for a single season.

PLAYER NOTES
– Sides tallied 10 or extra factors for the 41^st time in her profession and 23^rd time this season. She has led Okay-State in scoring 15 occasions in her profession, together with 12 video games this season.
– Sides linked on two 3-point subject objectives. This was her 24^th recreation this season and the 55^th of her profession with two or extra connections from lengthy vary. Sides ranks fifth in Okay-State historical past for 3-point subject objectives in a junior season with 82.
– Harrod carded 12 factors. This was her sixth recreation this season with 10 or extra factors.
– Harrod pulled in six rebounds. This was her 19^th recreation this season with 5 or extra rebounds. She has led Okay-State in rebounding in 14 video games this season, which is the group lead.
– Speiser registered 10 or extra factors for the 20^th recreation this season.
– Speiser made a two 3-pointers. This was her 22^nd recreation this season with two or extra connections from lengthy distance. She is third in program historical past for three-point subject objectives made in a freshman season with 73.
– Heal reached double figures for the 94^th time in her profession, together with 20 video games this season. She ends her collegiate profession with 1,828 factors.
– Gina Garcia handed out a career-high 12 assists. She set the college report for assists in a freshman season with 181. Garcia owns the college report for assists in a season by a world participant. This was her 19^th recreation this season with 5 or extra assists, together with her third recreation with 10 or extra assists. She led Okay-State in assists in 24 video games this season.

FROM THE HEAD COACH
Okay-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On what it says concerning the group that they stored preventing within the final couple minutes…
“I think that over the last three, four weeks, you know, we’ve really shown a really good collective fight in some DNA that can be good for us going forward, obviously. I think that while we didn’t play great tonight and we didn’t, we weren’t really able to stay in some things consistently enough, I was proud that they continued to fight, you know. In one of the timeouts I said, ‘We owe it to ourselves to give our very best, we owe it to our fans to give our very best for 40 minutes here, let’s finish this strong,’ and you know, so I was proud that they did that.”

On if Sakima Walker was one of many more durable match ups they’ve had underneath the basket…
“They [Cal] really had good balance early in this game. You know, you got Walker in there, who’s really had a great season and then Taylor Barnes is knocking 3s down. They get their All-Conference kid [Lulu Twidale] going early, which you know that can happen, she’s really a talented player. Barnes played extremely well, she was kind of the wild card in that early part of the game of knocking 3s down early, so really put us in a tough spot of, how much can we double Walker? When we didn’t double Walker, they got her the ball one-on-one, we had trouble stopping that, when we did double her, we had trouble getting out of rotations and Barnes made us pay.”

On what he mentioned to the group after the sport…
“Yeah, just the same thing I just said. You know, we did a lot of good things down the stretch I thought for a really young basketball team. You could really see a lot of growth, both individually and collectively as a group. But the season ends quickly, it ends, you know, in a moment like that, and it’s sometimes hard to process. So let’s take a little bit of time this week, let’s get some rest, but be proud of what you did the last stretch of this season, and let’s build off of it.”

On the expansion of the group this season…
“Yeah, I think that they all did some really good things. You know, you got a player like Gina Garcia, who really continued to grow throughout the year. We saw Aniya’ Foy extend her minutes, Jordan Speiser being named to the All-Tournament team. You saw tonight, Ivona Scekic doing good things, Brandie Harrod has been one of the more consistent ones for us all year long, taking on a variety of roles. So those are just the freshmen in that group. So you know, the growth that you can make from your freshman year to your sophomore year can be a big jump, especially when you’ve played, because you have knowledge of what you need to get better at. How you handle that, what you do with it, the work that you put in, you have more knowledge than a player that maybe sat and didn’t get that game experience. So this group certainly has some of that, and the off season will be big for them.”

On when the coaches will begin to have conversations with gamers about their plans…
“Yeah, I think probably by the end of the week. I think by the end of the week we’ll start to have those talks. You know, I want them to get away from the emotion of the loss, the fatigue of the season. But, you know, I told them, let’s catch up later in the week. You know, you have those kind of talks throughout the year, not only just, ‘Hey, here’s the plan,’ all those things, and certainly in today’s world, you want to be talking to your players, because we know that they’ve got a lot of voices, and they have a lot of people talking to them. But you know, they’re going to need a little time to breathe, probably by the end of the week.”

California Head Coach Charmin Smith
Opening Statement…
“We’re just really happy to be extending our season, you know, earning another game. To be able to keep playing, that’s the goal in March. So really proud of, you know, the first 35 minutes of this game. Really tough to go on the road and play a really good K-State team. I really thought their offense was really hard to guard, they gave us some issues, we figured it out in the second half and were able to get a solid lead that we obviously needed in the fourth quarter. So I’ve been challenging Kima [Sakima Walker] to really step up, and she was excellent tonight, and I’m just really glad that we get to keep playing.”

On the largest factor the group did to have the ability to draw back within the third quarter…
“I thought we were better defensively in the second half. I think Mjracle [Sheppard] kind of sparked us, she got her hands on some balls, we were able to get some steals and get out in transition. And then, you know, we were making a concerted effort to get Sakima the ball, because she was, you know, doing such a great job in the first half, we wanted to continue that. And then when we shoot well from 3 and Sakima’s dominant inside, we’re a really tough team to beat.”

On if it was a precedence to make use of Sakima Walker’s measurement as a bonus towards Okay-State…
“Honestly, we like feeding the ball to Sakima, whether it’s like-size individuals or not, right, we need her to eat. In order to space the floor for our guards, give our guards, you know, opportunities to have open looks, right? When they had four people on her in one possession. And, you know, I don’t think it’s coincidental that we’re 11-24, from 3 in a game in which she’s such, you know, a threat. So we always want to have that inside presence regardless of who we’re playing.”

FROM THE FLOOR
Okay-State Junior Guard Taryn Sides
On what went incorrect…
“We just couldn’t get stops. Sakima Walker ended up with 28 and she was hard to guard. And then when we tried to double her, all their guards knocked down shots. When you have a good balance inside and out, it’s hard to guard.”

On the expansion she noticed this season from this younger group…
“I think I knew coming in with a bunch of seniors graduating and girls leaving. I was really excited about just a new, clean slate and being able to see the growth of such a young squad. It was so cool to see this year. I think when I look back on the beginning of the season, it’s crazy how much these girls have grown individually, and we’ve grown as a team, and it’s just been such a fun year. I mean, obviously we want to keep playing, but it’s so cool to see the growth of everyone.”

On the freshman class…
“This freshman class is special. They’re really good this year. I can’t wait to see when they’re juniors and seniors, they’re going to be insanely good. I think they really stepped up in the Big 12 Tournament when we needed them. And to do that in that big of a moment is unique, especially being that young of a player. So they’re gonna be really good. They already are, but scary hours.”

Okay-State Senior Guard Tess Heal
On the group persevering with to struggle when down 25 factors…
“Obviously the score wasn’t what we wanted. We wanted to be playing on Thursday, but we can be proud of that effort. We didn’t give up. It would have been easy to, you’re down 20 in the last quarter with five minutes to go. It’s very easy to let that go out to 30, but I’m glad that we got it back to eight and showed some fight, and it’s the right way to finish.”

On her expertise at Kansas State…
“I’ve been to three different schools, three really good schools, and K-State has to be my favorite. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it. So I think I just appreciate every moment. College basketball is really special, and it goes by way quicker than you think. This place is phenomenal. The fans, the way they show up for you every single game, the way they talk to you on the street. I don’t know how many fans I’ve spoken to since I’ve been here, probably hundreds, just at cafes and grocery shopping, like it’s crazy. It’s really, really special. So I’d say just enjoy every moment and appreciate it. Talk to as many people as you can, and just maximize the opportunity.”

Okay-State Freshman Guard Brandie Harrod
On guarding Sakima Walker…
“It was really hard. She’s six inches taller than me and stronger than me, but having my teammates around me guarding her also helps.”

On enjoying with Taryn Sides and Tess Heal…
“It was a blessing coming here playing with Taryn [Sides] and Tess [Heal]. My journey wasn’t always easy, so coming here was definitely a great decision, being with my freshman group. It’s gonna be a great next year.”

California Grad Student Center Sakima Walker
On scoring her profession excessive of 28 factors…
“It’s very special. It’s my last year of college basketball, so to be able to keep playing with this team it’s just really exciting.”

UP NEXT
Okay-State ends its 58th season with an 19-18 general report and the fifth straight postseason look and the tenth within the final 12 seasons.