Kansas State pulled off a massive shock at the Division I women’s basketball tournament, stunning No. 17 Texas Tech 65–59 on Saturday.

The upset handed Texas Tech their first loss of the season and flipped the bracket on its head, leaving just two undefeated teams standing.

Texas Tech Loss Changed The Power Dynamics

After the fallout of Texas Tech, only No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Vanderbilt remained undefeated this season. However, their records will be put to the test pretty soon.

The Huskies (18–0) will test their resolve on the line this Monday when they welcome No. 23 Notre Dame in Storrs, Connecticut.

Meanwhile, the Commodores (18–0) will step inside the court to a nonconference matchup against No. 8 Michigan at the Coretta Scott King Classic in Newark, New Jersey.

The Lady Raiders won their first 19 games this season until they met the Wildcats on Jan. 17 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

The Lady Raiders got outscored 23–15 in the fourth quarter, including an 8–1 run in the final 2:23. They tried to salvage the loss from three (45%) than overall (39%), with Bailey Maupin scoring 18 points in the 19–1, 6–1 Big 12 effort. However, it was not enough to keep their undefeated record.

While Texas Tech grieves its loss, Kansas State made a mark for itself by defeating a goliath. For the context, this was ‘The Wildcats’ second victory against a ranked opponent.

The last time they won against a ranked opponent was back in December, 7 against No. 13 Ole Miss by 61-60.

Well, despite the loss, ‘The Lady Raiders’ will remain at the top spot in the Big 12. However, that spot might not be theirs forever. Their lead might shrink to a tie with TCU and Baylor by the end of Saturday’s slate.

From here, the road tightens for them as they will have to face BYU and Utah, followed by two ranked matchups against No. 19 Iowa State and No. 10 TCU.

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Joyita Das