Box Score | Photo Gallery | Postgame Highlights | K-State Press Conferences
MANHATTAN, Kan. – (10/11) K-State featured four players in double figures as the Wildcats dropped Little Rock, 73-43, at Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.
With the victory, K-State women’s basketball secured its 400th all-time win inside Bramlage Coliseum (400-156; .719).
Senior Ayoka Lee registered her first double-double of the season and the 61st of her career with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 11 rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes of action. With her 16 points, Lee passed Nicole Ohlde (2000-04; 2,241) for second in school history for career points with 2,245.
Matching Lee for game-high honors was sophomore guard Zyanna Walker with a career-high 16 points to go with a game-high six assists.
Junior Eliza Maupin and sophomore Taryn Sides each registered 10 points pacing a Wildcat bench effort of 32 total points. Maupin hauled in eight rebounds, while Sides added six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- K-State (4-0) closed the first quarter with an 11-0 run to build a 23-13 lead. Trailing 13-12 with 1:57 remaining, Gisela Sanchez buried a corner 3-pointer and was followed by Lee with an old-fashioned 3-point play. Lee then finished an offensive rebound with a putback and Zyanna Walker capped the scoring with an acrobatic layup and free throw.
- Little Rock (1-3) was held to 13.3 percent (2-of-15) shooting in the second quarter, as the Wildcats built a 41-23 lead at halftime.
- In the third quarter, the Wildcats held the Trojans to nine points on 21.4 percent (3-of-14) shooting to hold a 55-32 lead entering the final stanza. Six different Wildcats scored in the third frame.
- K-State outscored Little Rock 15-4 in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to build a 70-36 lead with 4:56 remaining. Maupin and Walker led the scoring during the run, as Maupin tallied six points, while Walker carded five.
- The Wildcats registered a 21-2 advantage in second chance points on Monday night. This was the second time this season K-State carded 20 or more second chance points, trailing the 23 against Green Bay in the season-opener.
- K-State ended the night with a 58-36 advantage on the glass.
- The Wildcats shot 41.1 percent (30-of-73) from the field and held Little Rock to a 23.3 percent (14-of-60) performance.
QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with Little Rock, 5-1. The Wildcats are 19-2 against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
- K-State is 400-156 (.719) in its 37-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats own a 233-30 (.886) record against non-conference opponents inside Bramlage.
- K-State owns a record of 252-95 (.726) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 15-5 (.750) all-time when ranked 10th in the nation.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 648-370 (.637) in his 33 seasons as a head coach, including a mark of 194-135 (.590) in his 11 seasons at K-State. Mittie is 404-113 (.781) in games played in his home venue, including a 130-48 (.730) mark in Bramlage Coliseum.
- The Wildcats are 164-54 (.752) in games played in the month of November, including wins in 52 of its last 63 games in the month. Under Mittie, K-State is 50-11 (.820) in games during the 11th month.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State's starting five consisted of guards: Zyanna Walker, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell; forward Temira Poindexter and center Ayoka Lee. This was the third time this lineup has started this season. This was the 117th career start for Lee, the 107th career start for Sundell, the 103rd career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 91st career collegiate start and fourth at K-State for Poindexter and the fourth career start for Walker. With her 117th career start at K-State, Lee ties Eileen Feeney (1976-80) and Ashley Sweat (2006-10) for 8th in program history for career starts.
- The Wildcats held a 41-23 lead at halftime on Monday. Under Mittie, K-State is 154-19 (.890) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in all four games this season.
- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter eight times this season. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 136-62 (.687) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.
- Over the last four seasons, K-State is 46-3 (.939) when holding the advantage on the glass.
PLAYER NOTES
- Lee tallied her 61st career double-double. This improves upon her K-State school record and moves her into a tie for fourth in Big 12 history with Sophia Young of Baylor (61; 2003-06).
- Lee needs 89 points to pass Kendra Wecker (2001-05; 2,333 points) for the school record for points in a career. Lee’s career point total stands at 2,245.
- Lee recorded her 107th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career (117 games).
- Lee hauled in 11 rebounds on Monday. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,136, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds. Lee is seventh in Big 12 history for career rebounds.
- Lee has shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in 80 career games. With her seven made field goals on Monday, Lee improved her career total to 908. She needs 28 made field goals to pass Ohlde for the school record for career field goals made.
- Lee improved her career blocked shot total to 314, improving upon her school record for career blocked shots. Lee ranks fifth all-time in Big 12 history for career blocked shots.
- Lee pocketed two steals on Monday. This was 25th career game with two or more steals.
- Walker recorded her 13th career game, all at K-State, with 10 or more points.
- Walker handed out five or more assists for the third time this season and the fifth time in her career.
- Sides pulled in five rebounds on Monday, her sixth career game with five or more rebounds and her second this season.
- Sides connected on two 3-point field goals on Monday, equaling her season-high and marking her 11th career game with two or more connections from long range.
- Maupin reached double figures in points for the 10th time in her career and first time this season.
- Maupin hauled in five or more rebounds for the first time this season and the 13th time in her career.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening Statement…
“It’s always good to get another win under our belt. We weren’t particularly sharp for most of the night—it was kind of an ugly game, to be honest. I didn’t feel like we had much of a rhythm. That said, there were some positives. We did a great job defending Faith Lee, who came in averaging a lot of points. We also saw some strong performances off the bench. I thought [Taryn] Sides played well, [Eliza] Maupin came in and contributed, and Imani Lester had a good showing. From the starting group, I felt [Zyanna] Walker was the most engaged on both ends of the floor, and she was rewarded with a solid performance tonight. Those were definitely the bright spots for us.”
On a few players performing poorly…
“I didn’t feel like that group played very well, and that can’t become a habit. You only get so many opportunities, and I didn’t think they were very engaged or showed much urgency. That’s definitely something that needs to change. I’ll take a closer look to see if there’s a reason behind it, but from my perspective, the lack of urgency hurt us. It seemed to lead to some missed shots—especially a lot of missed layups early on—which really snowballed. The only player who seemed to snap out of it was [Zyanna] Walker. [Ayoka Lee] had some moments, but Walker was the one who stood out.”
On Zyanna Walker’s impressive performance…
“From a leadership standpoint, I thought she was the most engaged. Defensively, she seemed the most locked in to her role, and I think her offensive game came from that. She got a steal and made some plays, which helped her build momentum. The rest just seemed to struggle to get going defensively.”
On some of the concerns from today’s game…
“Too many free throws for them—11 in the first half. I hate to come in here and sound negative, but I’m not going to praise mediocrity either. I need to be honest with you. I can’t say something was good when, in reality, it wasn’t. That said, there were some positives. I thought we had spurts where we played well. We did a good job on Faith Lee, [Tamira] Poindexter got off to a strong start in that matchup. But foul trouble with [Jaelyn] Glenn and [Ayoka Lee] was a problem, and those are things that have to improve. There’s definitely a lot to be concerned about coming out of this game.”
On some players who played well…
“I thought [Eliza] Maupin improved as her rotation went on. Early on, she wasn’t as active as I’d like, but as her minutes increased, she made an impact—getting on the offensive glass and finding the right dives to the rim. Those were really positive things. [Imani] Lester came in and was very efficient, she ends up with seven boards in just 13 minutes, which was great to see. As for Taryn, she didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, but she seemed to find a better offensive rhythm, moving the ball to the right players. That was a real positive for her. Keep in mind, Taryn hasn’t had much practice time because of her ankle, so this was her first extended stretch of minutes. In practice, we’ve had to keep things short for her, so it was good to see her getting into a rhythm out there.”
FROM THE FLOOR
K-State 5th Year Senior Center Ayoka Lee
On moving into second on K-State's all-time scoring list…
“Yeah, pretty cool. Yeah it's exciting. Yeah, I didn't really know what was going on, so it's cool, yeah.”
On how Zyanna has improved this season…
“I think she's really stepped up just as a vocal leader this year a little bit more. I think she kind of has to be as a point guard. I think she's really embraced that role well, because it's just not an easy role to be in. I think she's really improved her pull up game, like just looking for mid-range. I thought last year she did, and she still does a great job getting to the rim. But like hunting the mid-range and knowing that that's also a really good shot for her, I think, has been a really big difference. And then I think just like the hustle plays, I think that's one thing that she just continues to do well is give us energy when we need it, and give us a big lift through how she hustles.”
On the play of Eliza Maupin and Imani Lester…
“I thought they played really well. I thought Eliza cut really well, and I thought she finished really well. And same for Imani, I thought that they both found the open spots, and they were both in the right spots when they needed to be. I think that's really encouraging, and definitely just will continue to build off that.”
K-State Sophomore Guard Zyanna Walker
On elevating her game…
“No, I think I just came in with the same mindset, just attack and, people are going to have off nights, so you got to get it taken care of. It was actually kind of weird that so many people were kind of, you know, a little off at the same time, but still got the job done. That's going to happen. So hopefully we're just saving it for Vegas.”
On scoring 70+ points even on an off night…
“I think it just shows that we can use our defense to turn into offense. I think we got out in transition a little bit that second half, and that really helped us.”
On her improvement this season…
“I think the most improvement I made in my game is kind of just my passing and ball handling. I'm feeling more comfortable at the one and just being confident in my shot, you know, being confident that it is going to go in, and if it doesn't, so what, I'm still going to shoot it again.
On her confidence...
“Just every day, I just wake up with the same routine and make sure I get in a positive mindset. And I think it's very important to us as athletes that we have that confidence and that it is instilled in us. So, yeah, I just try to make it a daily routine for me.”
On setting a career-high and the team's season…
“Yeah, I'm super excited. I think our potential is super high, so I can't wait to just show all our fans and have another great year.”
UP NEXT
The Wildcats finish its five-game home stand on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., as K-State hosts Milwaukee. For tickets, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or call (800) 221-CATS.