Oklahoma State Comeback Undone by Last-Second Foul Call In Big 12 Quarterfinals

For about three seconds, Oklahoma State appeared to have put together an all-time comeback in the Big 12 quarterfinals on Friday.

Then officials whistled Stailee Heard for a reach-in foul that sent Tess Heal to the line for a game-winning shot, which the 86% free-throw shooter made to clinch the 74-73 win by 12th-seeded Kansas State over fourth-seeded Oklahoma State.

Whether the foul was a good or bad call, Heard will likely feel sick over that moment for some time. But the Oklahoma State junior shouldn’t hang her head considering she scored a team-high 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out two assists and recorded two steals.

Jadyn Wooten was close behind, finishing with 16 points to go with five assists.

Kansas State took its first lead since the opening quarter with 3:12 left to play. All seemed lost for the Cowgirls when a nearly perfect defensive possession allowed Kansas State’s Jordan Speiser to hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock which put the Wildcats up five with 15.7 seconds to play.

Haleigh Timmer knocked down two free throws after drawing the foul on a quick shot attempt. The Cowgirls then forced a jump ball call which gave them the ball back with 12.9 seconds left.

Wooten hit Timmer, who subsequently drained the game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds remaining. Timmer finished third on the team, scoring 13 points, eight of which came in the final minute.