Box Score KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Highlighted by a last-second, go-ahead score from sophomore guard Kirsten Deans, the No. 17/23-ranked West Virginia University women's basketball team (20-5, 13-5 Big 12) defeated Kansas State, 58-56, in comeback fashion on Friday evening, in the 2021 Big 12 Championship quarterfinals at Municipal Auditorium, in Kansas City.
 
The No. 2-seed Mountaineers trailed the No. 10-seed Wildcats for 24:45 in the game, but used a late, fourth-quarter rally to secure the come-from-behind win. WVU trailed by seven points with a minute to go in the game and finished the final cap of the game on a 10-1 run, culminating with Deans' buzzer beater.
 
Redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick led the team in scoring and tallied 26 of West Virginia's 58 points. Deans also finished in double figures, with 11, and scored seven of those points in the final 35 seconds of the game. Junior forward Kari Niblack paced the Mountaineers in rebounding, with eight boards.
 
West Virginia started the game fast and quickly jumped out to a 10-point lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Gondrezick scored five of the Mountaineers 13 points, as WVU held a 13-3 lead at the 7:06 mark of the period. Kansas State responded by outscoring West Virginia 11-4 for the remainder of the quarter, as the Mountaineers held a three-point lead at the end of the first.
 
Gondrezick opened the second quarter by sinking a 3-pointer and got into double figures, but the Wildcats kept up their scoring flurry on the other end of the court. KSU netted 11 unanswered points to take a five-point lead just before the second media break. West Virginia netted two free throws from junior guard Jasmine Carson before the quarter ended, but K-State netted another basket as well. WVU trailed by five at halftime.
 
Sophomore forward Esmery Martinez and Deans netted a pair of baskets to cut into the deficit to begin the second half. After the Wildcats sank a 3-pointer, the Mountaineers ripped off a 6-0 run, which included four points from Gondrezick, to tie the game with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. K-State sank another bucket from behind the arc just before the media timeout to retake the lead.
 
The Wildcats added to their lead over the next minute, but West Virginia once again mounted a 6-0 run with 1:21 remaining in the quarter to trim the deficit to one heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Gondrezick began the final 10 minutes of the game with a 3-pointer that helped WVU take its first lead since the 7:17 mark of the second quarter. Kansas State fired right back though with an and-1 opportunity from Emilee Ebert to reclaim its advantage. K-State and West Virginia continued to trade bucket until 2:49 remained in the game, when the Wildcats put together a 6-0 run of their own to take a seven-point lead in the game.
 
Down by seven with a minute left in the game, the Mountaineers mounted their comeback. With 55 second remaining, Gondrezick netted her fourth 3-pointer of the game to cut K-State's lead to four. After KSU sank a free throw on the other end, Deans notched a score in the paint to trim the deficit to three.
 
After the Mountaineers retained possession on a jump ball with 30 seconds remaining, Deans came big once again and tied the game with a step-back, 3-pointer with 19 seconds to go. On the ensuing inbound play from the opposite end of the court, Ebert's pass was tipped by senior center Blessing Ejiofor and Deans came up with the steal. The sophomore guard then drove the full length of the court, being closely defended the entire way, and converted the go-ahead score at the buzzer to help WVU secure the comeback win.
 
West Virginia shot 35.9% from the field, including 31.3% from 3-point range, in the game. The Mountaineers hauled in 35 rebounds as a team and dished out 11 assists.
 
WVU advances to tomorrow's Big 12 Championship semifinal and will play the winner of tonight's game between No. 3-seed Oklahoma State and No. 6-seed Oklahoma. Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, at Municipal Auditorium. Tomorrow's contest will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Chuckie Kempf and Brenda VanLengen on the call.