K-State eeks out 71-66 win over No. 23 Auburn

Perhaps the last way Jeff Mittie expected K-State to secure a win Thursday night was via a rebound.

The Wildcats were battered in the first quarter against No. 23 Auburn. Not only did the Tigers grab a 21-13 lead on the scoreboard, but K-State trailed 14-3 in the rebounding category, a combination with which Mittie was less than pleased.

So when junior Shaelyn Martin pulled down Janiah McKay’s 3-point attempt to bring Auburn within a point in the final seconds, sealing K-State’s 71-66 win over the Tigers, poetic justice settled into Bramlage Coliseum.

As well as a raucous, booming crowd, of course.

“We all knew we had to get on the boards, and I think everybody on that possession had a body on…