KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ayoka Lee had a double-double and became Kansas State's all-time leader in rebounds, Serena Sundell added 14 points and eight assists and the No. 16 Wildcats beat West Virginia 65-62 Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Lee finished with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 11 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. The 6-foot-6 senior has 1,088 career rebounds, moving past Kendra Wecker (2001-05; 1,087) into first in Wildcats history.
Gabby Gregory hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Kansas State a 57-51 lead with 6:49 to play, but Jayla Hemingway hit a 3 before Harrison scored in the lane, converted a three-point play and then made a layup in a 10-2 spurt that made it 61-all with 3 minutes to play. Lee made a layup to put the Wildcats back in front with 2:45 remaining before Sundell hit a pull-up jumper on the baseline to make it 65-51 with 59 seconds left.
Ja’Naiya Quinerly, an 81% free-throw shooter, made 1 of 2 from the foul line to make it a one-possession game with 45.9 seconds to play and the West Virginia defense forced a shot clock violation. After a Mountaineers timeout, Kylee Blacksten missed a potential tying 3 with 8 seconds left. Lee missed two free throws with 3.1 seconds to go before Quinerly’s step-back 3 at the buzzer rimmed out.
Quinerly hit two 3s to spark a 16-4 run that gave West Virginia a 12-point lead when she capped the spurt with a layup that made it 21-9 with 4:29 left in the first quarter. Lee scored the final six points of the period. A layup by Gisela Sanchez to open the scoring in the second cut the deficit to four with 7:48 to go in the half. The Wildcats scored 15 of the final 19 points in the second quarter to take a 34-31 lead at intermission.
Quinerly led No. 6 seed West Virginia (24-7) with 27 points, including five 3-pointers, and Jordan Harrison scored 16.
Gregory scored 11 points for third-seeded Kansas State (25-6).
The Wildcats shot 57% (27 of 47) from the field and outrebounded the Mountaineers 35-21.
Kansas State plays No. 6 and second-seeded Texas in the semifinals.
West Virginia awaits an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
