Missouri renewed their old Big 12 rivalry by taking on the Kansas State Wildcats in St Joseph Missouri

Missouri women’s basketball fell to 7-4 on the season in a blowout 84-56 loss to its old Big 8 foe, Kansas State. In their first matchup since 2017, the Wildcats showed exactly why they are No. 13 in the country. 

The Tigers looked like they could make it four straight wins against Kansas State early on, as they led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. Senior Abby Feit, who made her first start of the season, knocked down two three-pointers helping the offense hang onto the lead over the tenth ranked scoring defense in the country heading into Saturday. 

Missouri contained the Wildcats’ scoring efforts from long range in the first half, holding them to just a 13% clip from beyond the arc on 16 attempts. However, Kansas State found other ways to score thanks to All-American center, senior Ayoka Lee. 

Lee, who holds the NCAA’s single game scoring record for women, went to work in the second quarter. Pouring in 12 points, she led the Wildcats offense to a 32-25 halftime lead. 

Missouri struggled to get anything going on offense after losing the lead. The Tigers only managed to shoot 25% from the field in the first half, and the cold shooting would carry over into the second half.

Kansas State quickly ran away with the lead after the break, as they outscored the Tigers 36-12 in the third quarter while shooting 71% from the field. The hot shooting and stifling defense put the Wildcats up 68-37 heading into the final period.

The Tigers attempted to quell Kansas State’s scoring outburst, but the game was already well out of reach, and the Wildcats walked out of St. Joseph with an 84-56 victory. Missouri is now 1-4 in games away from Mizzou Arena.

“We will break down film and continue to learn and grow, ” head coach Robin Pingeton said. “If we’re learning, we’re getting better […] This one hurts, but we’ll be better because of it.”

Despite the tough loss, senior Mama Dembele still shined with another strong all-around performance. She registered 11 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Feit tied with graduate Hayley Frank with a team-high 13 points. 

“She [Feit] is a veteran,” Pingeton said. “She has a ton of experience in her belt, and I thought she responded really well.”

Edited by Quentin Corpuel | qcorpuel@themaneater.com 

Copy edited by Sterling Sewell | ssewell@themaneater.com