Kansas State women’s basketball went into Lubbock and handed No. 18 Texas Tech its first loss of the season.
Behind four players scoring in double figures, the Wildcats earned a 65-59 win over the Lady Raiders on Saturday, Jan. 17, at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. The Lady Raiders (19-1, 6-1) had won their first 19 games of the season.
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The win is the Wildcats’ first on the road against a ranked opponent since their NCAA Tournament second-round victory over Kentucky in March 2025. Tess Heal led K-State with 12 points, while Gina Garcia, Taryn Sides and Jordan Speiser each scored 11.
A young Kansas State team overcame a six-point deficit to the Lady Raiders with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter. K-State rallied and took a one-point lead with 4:50 left, thanks to 3’s from Speiser and Garcia. Free throws down the stretch helped K-State put the game on ice.
Kansas State players celebrate their 65-59 win over Texas Tech in a Big 12 Conference women’s basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in United Supermarkets Arena.
Because of its youth, Kansas State (10-9, 3-3 Big 12) was expected to get better as the season went along, and it now has a mid-January marquee win to prove it. The Wildcats will now try to show some consistency, as they haven’t won consecutive games since the first three contests of the season.
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Now with two top 25 wins this season, the Wildcats will host Houston on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 6:30 p.m., before visiting Kansas at noon on Jan. 25. They will remain in the state to play Colorado on Jan. 29 for a 6:30 p.m. game at Bramlage Coliseum.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women’s basketball stuns unbeaten Texas Tech
