MANHATTAN, Kan. – A double-double and 29 points from All-ACC First Team selection Talayah Walker was not enough to get Georgia Tech women’s basketball past Kansas State in the first round of the WBIT Thursday night, 69-65.
The Yellow Jackets (14-19, 8-10 ACC) battled back-and-forth with the Wildcats (19-17, 8-10 Big 12) in the first half and outscored the Big 12 semifinalist 25-22 in the third to even the score at 52 going into the fourth. K-State used an early run in the final 10 minutes to fend off a late rally from the resilient Jackets.
Walker shot 12-for-14 from the free throw line, helping Tech to 80% from the free throw line on the night. She had a near double-double in the second half alone with 19 points and seven boards. Her final line of 29 points, 10 rebounds and two steals marked her fourth double-double of her sophomore season.
2026 ACC All-Defensive Team honoree Brianna Turnage had 13 rebounds in Thursday’s contest, finishing with 360 on the season – good for second-most in Georgia Tech single-season history and the most since the record of 420 (Bonnie Tate – 1976-77). She also led Tech with three assists.
Catherine Alben had 11 points including two key three’s to keep Tech within striking distance in the third quarter. Erica Moon, who has started every game for Tech at point guard after transferring from Texas A&M, finished with eight points.
The Yellow Jackets out-rebounded K-State 41-29 and tied the ACC lead with their 14th game of 40 rebounds this season. Tech also tied Cal Baptist for the NCAA Division I lead with its 15th game of at least 30 defensive rebounds.
The loss wraps up year one under head coach Karen Blair where the Jackets tallied 10 wins on home court and secured the first postseason berth in a head coach’s debut season in program history. Walker finished the season averaging 17.5 points per game and 576 points – the most by a Jacket since Aaliyah Whiteside in 2015-16 and sixth-most in program history.
FIRST HALF
K-State scored the first four points of the game before Walker connected on a paint shot for Tech’s first score, 4-2. Ariadna Termis tied up the game almost a minute later at four apiece. Four more points from the Wildcats were answered by an Alben triple, pushing the score to 8-7 at the 4:10 media timeout. K-State managed its first triple of the night but the Jackets rallied behind two more points from Alben to tie the game at 11. Following another Wildcat trey, the Jackets took the lead on back-to-back scores from Termis and Walker, 15-14. K-State led 17-15 after one.
The only score of the first 3:15 of the second quarter was a lone K-State free throw before Savannah Samuel secured a layup to put Tech back within one, 18-17. The Wildcats led 21-17 at the 4:41 media timeout. Out of the stoppage, Walker made two free throws to make it a two-point game, 21-19. Foster tied the game at 21 with three minutes left. Erica Moon connected on two shots at the charity stripe to answer a K-State triple to get the Jackets within one, 24-23. Walker added four more points to get into double figures as K-State led 30-27 at the half.
SECOND HALF
K-State struck first with two points in the third before the Jackets scored four-straight to once again within one, 32-31. Each team scored one bucket each before Walker made two free throws to retake the lead for Tech, 35-34. K-State managed to get back in front and led 40-35 at the 4:58 media timeout. Moon cut off an 8-0 K-State run with back-to-back scores, placing Tech within five, 44-39. Walker inched the Jackets closer with a couple free throws with 2:25 left, 44-41. Samuel answered a Wildcat three-pointer with one of her own from the corner, followed by another score from Walker – now 47-46. The teams exchanged triples again with Alben adding one for the Jackets, 50-49 in favor of K-State. After another Wildcat two-pointer, Alben sank her second trey in less than two minutes to tie the game at 52 going to the fourth.
K-State opened the fourth on an 8-0 run before Foster scored to get the Jackets down six, 60-54, at the 4:39 media timeout. Two Walker free throws got her to 20 points on the night, coming on the heels of another Wildcat score, 62-56. Walker kept finding the basket to keep Tech within striking distance as K-State burned a timeout with 2:08 left, 66-60. Another score from the sophomore with a minute left cut the deficit to four, 66-62. After K-State got ahead 68-62, Walker hit a miracle triple with 12 seconds left, slicing the score to 68-65. The Wildcats used free throws in the final seconds to take the game, 69-65.
GAME NOTES
- Thursday was Walker’s 13th-straight game scoring in double figures, extending her 2025-26 team-high.
- Walker also tallied her 13th 20-point game of the season, the most by a Jacket since Aaliyah Whiteside in 2015-16 (18).
- Turnage recorded her 22nd game with double-digit rebounds this season, tying the most by a Yellow Jacket since 2002-03 (Lorela Cubaj – 2021-22).
- Thursday was Georgia Tech’s 29th postseason appearance in program history, third-straight and 11th in the last 15 seasons.
PURCHASE 2026-27 GEORGIA TECH WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS
Season ticket renewals and new season tickets are now available for the 2026-27 Georgia Tech women’s basketball season inside McCamish Pavilion. Secure your spot today as the Yellow Jackets embark on year two of the Karen Blair Era featuring a thrilling ACC schedule and competitive non-conference slate. Courtside, reserved sideline and general admission seats are currently available. Click HERE to purchase today.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
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