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ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (11-8, 2-4 Big 12) has now lost three straight games. No. 11 K-State (18-1, 6-0) is on a 13-game winning streak.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s defense was on point, starting with forcing four turnovers in the first quarter. K-State had only five total turnovers against BYU last week. In this outing, UA forced 16 turnovers, well above their average of 12-plus per game.

K-State, which also averages 84.4 points per game, finished well under its average with its lowest point total of the season at 62.

“Points were hard to come by tonight. There’s no doubt about it,� K-State coach Jeff Mittie said after the game on ESPN+. “This was a physical game and both teams played pretty good defense. … This was a knockdown fight.�

It was so knockdown that K-State’s star and one of the best bigs in the country, Ayoka Lee, only attempted and made one field goal — in the fourth quarter — and finished with six points, the rest coming from the free-throw line. Lee is averaging 17.2 points per game and Thursday night tied her lowest point total of the season.

Lee still managed to alter shots on the other end of the floor and blocked eight shots.

Breya Cunningham got the tough assignment of defending Lee. It’s the second time in as many games that Cunningham shut down one of the top centers in the country. On Saturday, it was Iowa State’s Audi Crooks, who Cunningham held to 11 points.

“Breya has had a really tough task in the last three games,â€� ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ coach Adia Barnes said. “She had Netty Vonleh from Baylor. All these girls make Breya look small. And then she had Crooks of Iowa State and then Lee. That’s a tough three-game stretch, but where I’ve seen a growth in Breya’s game is defense. Last year, she would have got killed. She would have fouled out early in the game.

“I thought she did a great job of working early, deflecting passes inside and she was solid. I’m proud of that. But I think just she exerted so much energy in these games defensively, she was really tired and had a tough time finishing offensively, around the rim.�

Cunningham finished with only eight points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. However, she did just about everything else, with 10 rebounds, four steals and three blocks. Plus, she helped spark a third-quarter run after UA trailed 36-25 at halftime.

Cunningham had four points, four rebounds and a pair of steals in that third-quarter stretch as UA went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 42-39.

Isis Beh, who led the Wildcats with 16 points, scored six points during the run.

That was as close as UA would get, however. K-State went on its own run 12-0 from the end of the third quarter into the fourth, and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ could only muster six points the rest of the way.

With Lee not scoring, her teammates picked up the slack, including former ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Wildcat Gisela Sanchez. In one stretch in the second quarter, Sanchez scored in succession on a mid-range jumper and a pair of 3s and finished with nine points.

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ kept fighting in the fourth. Beh forced Sanchez to mishandle the ball — an over-and-back — and with less than 30 seconds left she forced a jump ball.

She said it

“I’m proud of the fact that we lost in overtime to Baylor. We got our butts kicked by Iowa State at home. And we could have come here and laid down playing the best team we’ve played so far in the conference — one of the best teams we’ve played this year. And we still rose up to the occasion. I thought we were really tight in the first like five minutes of the game, really nervous, like there was a lid on the rim. Then, we settled. I thought we did some really good things. I think just now is the balance of figuring out how to get some people clicking on the same night and being consistent and being a little bit more disciplined in what we do.� – Barnes

Stuffing the stat sheet

Jada Williams: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Mailien Rolf: 2 assists, 1 block

Skylar Jones: 2 assists, 1 steal

Beh: 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Montaya Dew: 2 assists, 3 rebounds

The other side

Serena Sundell scored 16 points and had eight assists for Kansas State. Temira Poindexter scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from long range.

By the numbers

3: K-State only outrebounded UA by three (37-34).

10: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ had 10 assists on 19 made field goals.

8: UA held K-State to eight offensive rebounds.