Kansas State vs No. 4 Iowa | NCAA Women's Basketball | 11.17.22

MANHATTAN, Kansas - Despite trailing by seven points midway through the fourth quarter, Kansas State battled back to outscore (4/6) Iowa, 15-7 in the final five and a half minutes, to collect the 84-83 upset of the Hawkeyes at Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday night.

The win was K-State's fifth victory over an Associated Press (AP) top-5 opponent in its history and its highest ranked win since downing fourth-ranked Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Jan. 2, 2002. This was the second time in two seasons K-State has defeated an AP top-10 opponent in Bramlage, as the Wildcats picked off tenth-ranked Baylor to begin Big 12 action last season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
With K-State trailing by three, 81-78, with 2:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, Gabby Gregory went to work at the free throw line. She went 6-of-8 from the foul line to close out the game. She gave K-State a brief lead at 82-81 with 1:09 left, but a layup from Iowa's Monika Czinano with 51 seconds left put the Hawkeyes back in the lead, 83-82.
Gregory, who ended the night with 24 points including a 12-of-14 effort from the free throw line, made 1-of-2 with 38 seconds to play to tie the game at 83. On Iowa's next offensive possession, Jaelyn Glenn tied up Kate Martin in front of the Hawkeye bench to give K-State the ball with 8.5 seconds left as the possession arrow favored the 'Cats.
After a K-State timeout to advance the ball, Gregory was fouled on a post up with 3.7 seconds to play and made 1-of-2 free throws to give K-State the 84-83 lead. After an Iowa timeout to advance the ball, the ensuing offensive play and shot did not beat the buzzer as the ball was in Czinano's hand as the buzzer sounded.
K-State finished the night shooting 41.2 percent (28-of-68) from the field including 30.6 percent (11-of-36) from 3-point range and 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the free throw line. Iowa tallied a 49.1 percent (27-of-55) effort but were held to 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes ended the night shooting 82.1 percent (23-of-28) from the foul line.
The Wildcat comeback started with 5:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, as Iowa's Caitlin Clark made her 12th and 13th free throws of the night to tie the Bramlage Coliseum record for free throws made by an opponent and put the Hawkeyes in front, 76-69.
Sophomore guard Serena Sundell started K-State's rally with a pair of free throws and followed with a layup to cut the deficit to three, 76-73, with 5:06 to play. Sundell ended the night with 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.
After an Iowa layup, graduate transfer Sarah Shematsi connected on her career-best sixth 3-pointer of the night to bring the Wildcats back to within two, 78-76, and was followed by a steal and layup from Jaelyn Glenn to tie the game at 78 with three minutes remaining. Shematsi completed the night with a career-high 18 points and just her third career game in double figures.
Clark, who finished the night with a game-high 27 points, buried a 3-pointer with 2:41 to play to give Iowa an 81-78 lead.

QUICK FACTS
K-State leads the series with Iowa, 5-1.
Iowa, ranked fourth in the Associated Press top-25, was the highest ranked non-conference opponent to play in Bramlage Coliseum since top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 11, 2016.
Kansas State improves to 74-60 all-time against current members of the Big Ten Conference.
Thursday's starting five was Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn, Gabby Gregory, Rebekah Dallinger and Taylor Lauterbach. This was the first time this group started a game together.
K-State ended the night with 11 connections from beyond the arc. This marks the first time since Nov. 19 & Nov. 23, 2021, to tally consecutive games with 10 or more connections, as the Wildcats had 10 made 3-pointers against Wisconsin on Nov. 11.
Gabby Gregory tallied her 44th career game in double figures and her third at K-State. This was Gregory's 10th career game with 20 or more points.
Gregory's 12 made free throws and 14 attempts established new career-highs for the product of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Gregory's 12 made free throws and 14 attempts are the most by a Wildcat since Ayoka Lee was 15-of-17 from the foul line against Oklahoma on Jan. 23, 2022.
Serena Sundell notched her 21st career game in double figures. Her 24 points were her most since notching 24 at Oklahoma on Feb. 26, 2022.
With her five assists on Thursday night, Sundell moved into 32nd on the K-State career assists list with 193. Sundell owns 21 career games with five or more assists.
Sarah Shematsi recorded her third career game in double figures and her first at K-State. Her six connections from 3-point range, a new career-high, were the most by a Wildcat since Jaelyn Glenn made six at West Virginia on Jan. 8, 2022.