K-State women begin NCAA Tournament by defeating Portland in front of ‘amazing’ crowd

The Kansas State women’s basketball team took care of business in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday and held off an upset bid from Portland 78-65 inside Bramlage Coliseum.

After winning 25 games during the regular season and earning a No. 4 seed in March Madness, the Wildcats didn’t want to waste the reward of hosting games and playing in front of their home fans.

They didn’t.

Jeff Mittie’s team charged up the crowd by scoring the first seven points of the day and racing to a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The purple-clad fans in attendance, who numbered 9,642 and came close to selling out the place, were so excited that it sounded like a Big 12 men’s game inside the Octagon of Doom.

“It was amazing,” K-State guard Gabby Gregory said. “When we came out to shoot and do layups right before tip I looked up and just had a huge smile on my face because that is the crowd that you want to play in. I think it really speaks to the growth of the game of women’s basketball that we get to play in front of almost sold-out crowds and things like that now. I think it was tremendous, and I can’t wait to have a sellout on Sunday.”

The Wildcats will be back in action against No. 5 seed Colorado at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the Round of 32.

Until then, they can be thankful that they got off to such a fast start against Portland, because the rest of the game turned out to be a challenge.

The Pilots made things hard on the Wildcats the rest of the way with a full-court press that proved difficult to break. After dominating the first quarter, K-State lost the second quarter 18-15 and the third quarter was dead even at 17-17. Things were still in doubt when the fourth quarter began.

But K-State came up with enough plays to survive and advance on the bracket, which is what postseason basketball is all about.

“We needed a game like this,” Mittie said, “just to get the nerves and all that out in our first game. We needed to get a tough game like this against Portland. Certainly, we could not run away. Every time we extended it out, they made plays. They got to the free-throw line, and they did some other things too. I was proud of my group. I thought we battled through some foul trouble and battled through some things.”

Gabby Gregory was the hero of the day for K-State. She almost single-handedly iced the game in the fourth quarter by making several huge shots from the outside on her way to an impressive 22 points.

She drained a pair of late 3-pointers that seemed to break Portland’s spirit.

“Those were huge,” Gregory said. “They really got the crowd into it. Playing in front of that crowd and hitting big shots is what you dream about when you are a little kid. It was a lot of fun.”

Of course, it was Serena Sundell who truly put the game out of reach when she drained a 3-pointer in the final minute that put the Wildcats ahead by 15. Portland responded by calling a timeout and Mittie ran out on the court to give her a high-five.

Sundell, who finished with 16 points and nine assists, did most of the scoring early. But then the Wildcats relied more on Ayoka Lee and Gregory as the game went on.

Lee ended the day with 21 points and nine rebounds, as she once again proved that she is one of the best players in the entire country.

She will get another opportunity to showcase her skills in the next round. An even bigger crowd is expected to be in attendance for that game as the Wildcats play for a spot in the Sweet 16.