by MANHATTAN, Kan. — No. 16/16 Oklahoma’s furious comeback came up short Tuesday night as the Sooners fell to Kansas State, 79-71, inside Bramlage Coliseum.
The Sooners (21-7, 12-4 Big 12) fell behind 41-25 at intermission but cut the K-State (20-8, 10-6 Big 12) lead down to six points heading to the final frame as OU shot .733 (11-of-15) in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Vionise Pierre-Louis trimmed the deficit down to one point with 61-60, but the Sooners could not grab the lead from the Wildcats.
Pierre-Louis paced the Sooners with her ninth double-double of the season, recording 21 points and 11 rebounds. The junior also picked up four blocks against the Wildcats, tying her season high. The junior center has scored 20-plus points in back-to-back games for the first time in her OU career.
Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation) finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Peyton Little added 11 points, 3 rebounds and two assists.
Gabbi Ortiz tied her career high with eight assists and scored 10 points versus the Wildcats. Maddie Manning returned to the court after missing the last three games due to injury. The Ankeny, Iowa, native, played 31 minutes off the bench, finishing with seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Despite the Sooners outshooting the Wildcats, .500-.450, from the field, K-State took advantage of 16 second chance points and won the rebounding battle, 39-29. Tuesday’s game was the first time this season that Oklahoma finished with a higher shooting percentage than its opponent and lost.
The Wildcats made the most of their chances at the foul line, finishing 20-of-27 as the Sooners were limited to just 5-of-9 at the charity stripe.
Karyla Middlebrook led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points and added in seven rebounds. Breanna Lewis added 18 points and finished with a team-high eight rebounds, while Kindred Wesemann scored 13 for Kansas State.
The Sooners head to TCU for their final road game of the regular season on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest+.
