.Kansas State guard Kindred Wesemann scored a career high 28 points, including six free throws in the final 16 seconds of overtime, to seal the Wildcats’ 84-81 victory over South Dakota in the Bramlage Coliseum Thursday night.
South Dakota (0-3) set a Bramage Coliseum record for 3-pointers made with 17. The Coyotes 17-for-35 shooting beyond the arc was also the most threes allowed by Kansas State (3-0) in program history. The previous record was set by Missouri on March 22, 2015.
“I thought we did a good job at getting back to Coyote basketball,” said head coach Amy Williams. “We did great jobs on the boards that gave us some second chances. We passed the ball, we shared the ball, and we had 22 assists – which is a characteristic of our team. However, 25 turnovers is not going to win you many ball games. I thought we had some mental lapses there – especially in the third quarter where they scored 28 points.”
South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp was two rebounds shy of a triple-double in her season opener. She tallied 20 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. Seekamp moves into sixth in program history for career points with 1,504.
Junior guard Caitlin Duffy posted a team-high 21 points, shooting 7-for-13 beyond the arc. She added six rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Kelly Stewart had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Coyotes. Senior center Margaret McCloud had six points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Kansas State’s scoring was led by Wesemann’s career-high 28 points. She was 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. Wesemann also led the Wildcats in assists with seven. Wildcat 6-foot-5 center Breanna Lewis added 22 points and seven rebounds. Kansas State guard Megan Deines also scored 17 points.
South Dakota scored the first six points of the game, but Kansas State had 12 points in the paint to come back 15-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Coyotes then went on a 19-3 run to end the second quarter, taking a 37-30 lead into the half. South Dakota took advantage of the Wildcats’ zone defense with outside shooting. Duffy hit four treys in the quarter with one apiece from senior guard Tia Hemiller, freshman guard Jaycee Bradley, Stewart, and Seekamp.
Kansas State led third-quarter scoring 28-14 with 10 points off of Coyote turnovers. The Coyotes trailed by seven, 58-51, to enter the fourth.
South Dakota slowly closed the lead during the fourth quarter. Back-to-back threes by junior guard Jasmine Trimboli and Seekamp with five minutes left closed the gap to one.
Drama unfolded in the final minutes of regulation. Stewart had hit a three with 1:40 remaining and Kansas State ran down the clock with its 69-67 lead. A missed three-pointer and defensive rebound put the ball back in South Dakota’s hands.
Stewart was called for an offensive charge with nine seconds on the clock. With the Coyotes in the bonus, Kansas State’s Shaelyn Martin went to the line where she was 1-for-2 shooting.
Following a timeout, South Dakota advanced the ball with five seconds on the clock. Seekamp was fouled as she went up for a three-point shot. She would go a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, tying the game at 70 with three seconds remaining.
Kansas State outscored the Coyotes 14-11 in overtime, with eight points off the charity stripe by Wesemann. Wesemann’s made free throws sealed the victory 84-81.
The Coyotes host Marquette in their home opener Monday at 7 p.m. in the DakotaDome.
