A Season of Growth
Mar 23, 2026 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The final page of the final chapter of this unique Kansas State women's basketball story featured fight. In the end, the Wildcats, who began this season as the third-youngest team among all Power 4 Conference schools — a squad that grew and grew some more — was charged with clawing back from a 20-point deficit in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter against California. Some teams might've shriveled.
K-State, which played a school record-tying 37 games this season, kept playing, kept going, knowing that the glimmer of hope in keeping alive its season for at least one more game was quickly dimming. The Wildcats got as close as they'd get when Aniya Foy sank a pair of free throws to make it 83-75 with 10 seconds left. Those would be the final points of the game and the final points of the season for K-State, which concluded this ride with a 19-18 record after its second-round loss to California in the WBIT at Bramlage Coliseum on Sunday.
"We did a lot of good things down the stretch of the season," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "For a really young basketball team, you could really see a lot of growth both individually and collectively as a group. The season ends quickly. It ends in a moment like that, and it's sometimes hard to process. Let's take a little bit of time this week, let's get some rest, but be proud of what you did the last stretch of this season and let's build off that."
The K-State crowd stood and cheered in the final moments. Fans applauded senior Tess Heal as she waved to them while heading to the bench one final time with 51 seconds to go. The crowd applauded Gina Garcia when she fouled out with 25 seconds left — but not before she dished out her 191st assist of the season for the most assists by a freshman in K-State history, topping the 189 assists by Shalee Lehning in 2005-2006.
Finally, the crowd stood and applauded the Wildcats as the final buzzer sounded, and the players and coaches huddled, and then the players turned and waved one final time before walking into the locker room.
"The score wasn't what we wanted," Heal said. "We wanted to be playing on Thursday, but we can be proud of that effort. We didn't give up. It could've been easy to when we were down by 20 with five minutes to go. We got it back to eight and showed fight. It's the right way to finish."
Heal scored in double digits for the 94th time in her career, including 20 times during her only season at K-State. Heal, a native of Australia, began her college career at Santa Clara, then after two seasons transferred to Stanford, then transferred to K-State after last season. She finished her college career with 1,828 points.
"I've been to three really good schools, and K-State has to be my favorite," Heal said. "Just appreciate every moment. College basketball is really special, and it goes by way quicker than you think. This place is phenomenal. The fans, the way they show up for you every single game, and the way they talk to you on the street, it's really, really special. Enjoy every moment and maximize the opportunity."
It's exactly what Brandie Harrod plans to do. The native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, arrived at K-State as a four-star prospect and the 58th-rated player in the country by ESPNHoopGurlz, and averaged 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing in 37 games with 33 starts as a freshman.
She is one member of a K-State freshman class that ESPN ranked No. 8 in the nation heading into this season.
"Coming here was a great decision," Harrod said. "It's going to be a great next year and year after that, a great career. Being with those girls next year and in years to come will be a great experience. I'm excited to see it."
Taryn Sides entered this season as the only K-State player on the roster to score a point for the Wildcats, who featured a 13-player roster that included 10 newcomers. She was a part of the K-State team that advanced to the 2025 Sweet 16 behind a pair of All-Americans and another player who went on to play professional basketball. Then she turned the page, helped welcome an almost-entirely new group, and she witnessed the growth of the young bunch throughout the season.
"I knew coming in with a bunch of seniors graduating and girls leaving, I was really excited about a new clean slate," Sides said. "To be able to see the growth of such a young squad was so cool to see this year. You look back on the beginning of the season and it's crazy how much these girls have grown individually, and we've grown as a team. It's been such a fun year. We obviously want to keep playing. But it's been so cool to see the growth of everyone.
Sides ended her junior season averaging a team-high 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Sides has scored in double digits 41 times in her career, including 23 her junior season, and has hit at least two 3-pointers in 55 games. Her 82 3-pointers this season were fifth most in school history by a junior.
She's eager to see continued growth as Jordan Speiser, Ivona Scekic, Foy and Garcia will be sophomores next season.
"This freshman class is special," Sides said. "They were really good this year. I can't wait to see when they're juniors and seniors. They're going to be insanely good. All of them, they really stepped up in the Big 12 Tournament when we needed them, and to do that in that big of a moment is unique. They're going to be really good. They already are."
Mittie looks to push forward while reflecting upon the strides made by this freshman class.
"They all did some really good things," Mittie said. "You have Gina Garcia, who really continued to grow throughout the year. We saw Aniya Foy extend her minutes. We saw Jordan Speiser being named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team. You saw Ivona do good things. Brandie Harrod has been one of the more consistent ones for us all year long taking on a variety of roles. Those are just the freshmen in that group.
"The growth that you can make from your freshman year to your sophomore year can be a big jump, especially when you've played, because you have knowledge of what you need to get better at. How you handle that, what you do with that, the work you put in, you have more knowledge than a player who maybe sat and didn't get that game experience. This group certainly has some of that and the offseason will be big for them."
Mittie said that he planned to speak to his players about the team and the future later in the week.
"Probably by the end of the week, I think by the end of the week we'll start to have those talks," he said. "I want them to get away from the loss and the fatigue of the season. I told them let's catch up later in the week. You have those kind of talks throughout the year, just like, 'Here's the plan,' and all of those things. Certainly, in today's world, you want to be talking to your players because we know they have a lot of voices and a lot of people talking to them. They're going to need a little time to breathe."
The team that began so young grew up before the eyes of fans. The final page of the final chapter of this unique K-State women's basketball story has ended. The book has closed. There will be time to breathe. And there will be time to reflect.
As for that next book, the 2026-27 edition of K-State women's basketball?
It might take fans' breath away.
The final page of the final chapter of this unique Kansas State women's basketball story featured fight. In the end, the Wildcats, who began this season as the third-youngest team among all Power 4 Conference schools — a squad that grew and grew some more — was charged with clawing back from a 20-point deficit in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter against California. Some teams might've shriveled.
K-State, which played a school record-tying 37 games this season, kept playing, kept going, knowing that the glimmer of hope in keeping alive its season for at least one more game was quickly dimming. The Wildcats got as close as they'd get when Aniya Foy sank a pair of free throws to make it 83-75 with 10 seconds left. Those would be the final points of the game and the final points of the season for K-State, which concluded this ride with a 19-18 record after its second-round loss to California in the WBIT at Bramlage Coliseum on Sunday.
"We did a lot of good things down the stretch of the season," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "For a really young basketball team, you could really see a lot of growth both individually and collectively as a group. The season ends quickly. It ends in a moment like that, and it's sometimes hard to process. Let's take a little bit of time this week, let's get some rest, but be proud of what you did the last stretch of this season and let's build off that."
The K-State crowd stood and cheered in the final moments. Fans applauded senior Tess Heal as she waved to them while heading to the bench one final time with 51 seconds to go. The crowd applauded Gina Garcia when she fouled out with 25 seconds left — but not before she dished out her 191st assist of the season for the most assists by a freshman in K-State history, topping the 189 assists by Shalee Lehning in 2005-2006.
Finally, the crowd stood and applauded the Wildcats as the final buzzer sounded, and the players and coaches huddled, and then the players turned and waved one final time before walking into the locker room.
"The score wasn't what we wanted," Heal said. "We wanted to be playing on Thursday, but we can be proud of that effort. We didn't give up. It could've been easy to when we were down by 20 with five minutes to go. We got it back to eight and showed fight. It's the right way to finish."
Heal scored in double digits for the 94th time in her career, including 20 times during her only season at K-State. Heal, a native of Australia, began her college career at Santa Clara, then after two seasons transferred to Stanford, then transferred to K-State after last season. She finished her college career with 1,828 points.
"I've been to three really good schools, and K-State has to be my favorite," Heal said. "Just appreciate every moment. College basketball is really special, and it goes by way quicker than you think. This place is phenomenal. The fans, the way they show up for you every single game, and the way they talk to you on the street, it's really, really special. Enjoy every moment and maximize the opportunity."
It's exactly what Brandie Harrod plans to do. The native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, arrived at K-State as a four-star prospect and the 58th-rated player in the country by ESPNHoopGurlz, and averaged 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing in 37 games with 33 starts as a freshman.
She is one member of a K-State freshman class that ESPN ranked No. 8 in the nation heading into this season.
"Coming here was a great decision," Harrod said. "It's going to be a great next year and year after that, a great career. Being with those girls next year and in years to come will be a great experience. I'm excited to see it."
Taryn Sides entered this season as the only K-State player on the roster to score a point for the Wildcats, who featured a 13-player roster that included 10 newcomers. She was a part of the K-State team that advanced to the 2025 Sweet 16 behind a pair of All-Americans and another player who went on to play professional basketball. Then she turned the page, helped welcome an almost-entirely new group, and she witnessed the growth of the young bunch throughout the season.
"I knew coming in with a bunch of seniors graduating and girls leaving, I was really excited about a new clean slate," Sides said. "To be able to see the growth of such a young squad was so cool to see this year. You look back on the beginning of the season and it's crazy how much these girls have grown individually, and we've grown as a team. It's been such a fun year. We obviously want to keep playing. But it's been so cool to see the growth of everyone.
Sides ended her junior season averaging a team-high 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Sides has scored in double digits 41 times in her career, including 23 her junior season, and has hit at least two 3-pointers in 55 games. Her 82 3-pointers this season were fifth most in school history by a junior.
She's eager to see continued growth as Jordan Speiser, Ivona Scekic, Foy and Garcia will be sophomores next season.
"This freshman class is special," Sides said. "They were really good this year. I can't wait to see when they're juniors and seniors. They're going to be insanely good. All of them, they really stepped up in the Big 12 Tournament when we needed them, and to do that in that big of a moment is unique. They're going to be really good. They already are."
Mittie looks to push forward while reflecting upon the strides made by this freshman class.
"They all did some really good things," Mittie said. "You have Gina Garcia, who really continued to grow throughout the year. We saw Aniya Foy extend her minutes. We saw Jordan Speiser being named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team. You saw Ivona do good things. Brandie Harrod has been one of the more consistent ones for us all year long taking on a variety of roles. Those are just the freshmen in that group.
"The growth that you can make from your freshman year to your sophomore year can be a big jump, especially when you've played, because you have knowledge of what you need to get better at. How you handle that, what you do with that, the work you put in, you have more knowledge than a player who maybe sat and didn't get that game experience. This group certainly has some of that and the offseason will be big for them."
Mittie said that he planned to speak to his players about the team and the future later in the week.
"Probably by the end of the week, I think by the end of the week we'll start to have those talks," he said. "I want them to get away from the loss and the fatigue of the season. I told them let's catch up later in the week. You have those kind of talks throughout the year, just like, 'Here's the plan,' and all of those things. Certainly, in today's world, you want to be talking to your players because we know they have a lot of voices and a lot of people talking to them. They're going to need a little time to breathe."
The team that began so young grew up before the eyes of fans. The final page of the final chapter of this unique K-State women's basketball story has ended. The book has closed. There will be time to breathe. And there will be time to reflect.
As for that next book, the 2026-27 edition of K-State women's basketball?
It might take fans' breath away.
Players Mentioned
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