The Big 12 women’s basketball teams continued conference play this weekend, with seven games on Saturday and one on Sunday as the league is now three games into action.
Saturday’s and Sunday’s results included
No. 11 TCU 81, Cincinnati 66
No. 12 Kansas State 77, Texas Tech 57
No. 18 West Virginia 66, BYU 53
Kansas 75, Oklahoma State 84
Arizona State 69, Houston 60
Utah 75, Iowa State 67
The Big 12 gets into round four of league action with a round of games on Wednesday, including TCU at Kansas, which has been moved due to weather.
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of women’s basketball action.
Best Game
It turned out to be the standalone game on Sunday. Iowa State and Utah played a tough game that came down to the final minutes before Utah was able to pull away.
If you can go into Hilton Coliseum and win, then you can compete in this conference. Maye Toure had a huge game for the Utes with 24 points and nine rebounds. She also stole a ball from Cyclones center Audi Crooks late in the game that helped seal the game.
Crooks did all she could as she finished with 29 points and eight rebounds.
Utah’s win may have come at a cost. Guard Kennedy McQueen fell to the floor late in the game with what looked like a left leg injury after she caught a ball in mid-air and was pulled back as Iowa State’s Aili Tanke tried to catch it. She was unable to put weight on it and needed help off the floor.
McQueen finished with 15 points.
Best Performances
Aside from the aforementioned Toure and Crooks…
Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols dropped 27 points, seven assists and four steals on Oklahoma State as the Jayhawks got their first Big 12 win. The Cowgirls’ Stailee Heard answered with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
West Virginia’s defense forced BYU into an incredible 31 turnovers.
Kansas State guard Serena Sundell had a points-assists double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Houston’s Peyton McFarland had 18 points sand 13 rebounds in a loss.
TCU’s Madison Conner remained unstoppable with 29 points and six 3-pointers in the Horned Frogs’ win over Cincinnati. She also had seven assists.
Most-Needed Win
Kansas really couldn’t afford to start 0-3, so that win over Oklahoma State was about as necessary as it gets. The fact that the Jayhawks had lost those first two games by no less than 14 points, so any win would have worked, much less a 19-point win.
TCU comes to town on Wednesday. After that, Kansas has a manageable stretch against Colorado, Arizona State and Arizona. This win could get them moving in the right direction.
Worst Loss
Arizona State represented an opportunity for Houston to get into the win column in Big 12 action. The Cougars failed to capitalize on McFarland’s huge game.
The Sun Devils were a legitimate shot for Houston to win a game. Next up? BYU, Utah, Oklahoma State and Baylor. If the Cougars don’t beat BYU — a team just as in need of a win — Houston may have to wait a while.
Bracketology Update
Before the games started this weekend I checked out ESPN’s Bracketology. They’re moving to twice-a-week updates starting this week, so Friday was the site’s most recent update. The Big 12 had seven seeds:
Kansas State: No. 3
TCU: No. 4
West Virginia: No. 5
Utah: No. 7
Oklahoma State: No. 7
Baylor: No. 8
Iowa State: No. 10
Iowa State received one of the last four byes, which means the Cyclones are close to the bubble. Colorado was among the next four out.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
