TCU Women's Basketball To Face Kansas State In Big 12 Opener

TCU women’s basketball will close out a five-game homestand with its Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday, Dec. 20. Tipoff between the defending Big 12 champion, No. 9 TCU (12-0), and Kansas State (7-6) is set for 4 p.m. from Schollmaier Arena. 

Last Time Out: TCU

TCU made NCAA history in a 109-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 

Guard Olivia Miles and forward Marta Suarez became the first pair of teammates to post a triple-double in the same game against a Division I opponent and the second set to do so in any Division I game. 

Miles notched her third straight triple-double to move into a tie for third all-time on the NCAA career triple-double list (nine) and is one of three players in NCAA history to hit the triple-double mark three times in a row. 

TCU had five players reach double-digit scoring led by Miles with 25 points. She added 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the triple-double. Suarez reached her first career triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists.

nation’s best 48.5 points per game nation’s best 48.5 points per game on 28.7% shooting. 

Last Time Out: Kansas State

Kansas State finished nonconference play with a 75-71 win at Creighton on Sunday. 

Nastja Claessens, a 6 -1 junior forward, scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Freshman guard Jordan Speiser added 15 points and four steals. 

Scouting Kansas State

The Wildcats have been inconsistent during the nonconference slate. Kansas State logged losses against mid-major programs like South Dakota, South Dakota State and Green Bay, but then upset No. 13 Ole Miss, 61-60, on Dec. 7. A 63-54 home loss to San Diego State followed the top-15 win.  

The Ole Miss game showed the Wildcats have talent that could keep them in the top half of the Big 12 standings. Kansas State was picked to finish 7th out of 16 teams in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll. 

Guard Taryn Sides averages a team-high 14.5 points per game, including 2.8 made 3-pointers per contest, and ranks second on the team with 5.2 rebounds. Sides has taken on a bigger role this season in the absence of former Kansas State guard Serena Sundell, who finished last season as the Wildcats’ all-time assist leader and now plays professional basketball in Australia.  

Claessens has scored in double-figures six times this season and Speiser, a highly-touted recruit, dropped a career-high 19 points versus Ole Miss. Speiser came to Manhattan as the No. 16-ranked recruit by ESPNHoopGurlz in the class of 2025. She is second on the team in 3-point attempts (71) behind Sides and plays 22 minutes per game. 

The Wildcats will need more consistent offensive firepower to keep pace with the top teams in the Big 12. Kansas State is currently 13th in both scoring offense (71.5 points per game) and scoring defense (65.3 points). The top four scoring teams - Oklahoma State, Iowa State, TCU and West Virginia - have put up at least 80 points per contest during nonconference games. 

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