MANHATTAN, Kansas - (12/11) K-State (13-1, 1-0 Big 12) goes on the road to begin 2025, as the Wildcats visit Houston (4-8, 0-1) on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
• K-State has opened this season with a 13-1 record for the second straight season and the third time since 2008-09. With a win Wednesday, K-State would achieve the sixth 14-1 or better start to a season in school history and its second straight.
• Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN+, as Chelsea Reber (play-by-play), Austyn Iven (analyst) and Brooke Kirchhofer (sideline) will have the call.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women’s basketball
1. A 2024 to Remember
• K-State registered a record of 27-8 (.771) during the 2024 calendar year. The 27 wins are the most in a calendar year under head coach Jeff Mittie and the most since the calendar year of 2008 (27 wins).
2. Glenn Closing in on 1K & Rare Club
• With three points, senior guard Jaelyn Glenn would become the 46th player in program history to score 1,000 or more points during their time at K-State. In addition to the scoring milestone, Glenn would be the fifth player and first since 2009 (Shalee Lehning) to achieve 1,000 or more points, 500 or more rebounds, 250 or more assists and 225 or more steals.
3. Mittie Nearing a K-State Legend
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie needs four wins (203-136, .598; 2014-present) to pass Judy Akers (206-94, .687; 1968-79) for second on the K-State career wins list.
4. Cats Pacing the Nation
• K-State leads the nation in field goal percentage (.511), assists per game (23.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.96).
5. Poindexter With a Rare Performance
• With her 23 points on a 75.0 field goal percentage and four made 3-pointers against Cincinnati, Temira Poindexter was the first Wildcat since Mariah White to record 20 or more points on a .750 field goal percentage and four or more 3-pointers made in a Big 12 game.
Number to Know
93.1
• K-State registered a team season-high assisted shot rate of 93.1 percent during its win over Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener.
• The Wildcats reached an assisted shot rate of 93.1 percent by handing out 27 assists on 29 made field goals.
• The 93.1 assisted shot rate was the second-highest in the nation this season and the highest by a Big 12 this season.
• K-State’s 93.1 assisted shot rate was the highest for the program since at least the 2009-10 season.
2024-25 K-State Coach & Player Milestones to Watch
Jeff Mittie
• Needs four wins to move into second on the K-State Women’s Basketball wins list (Judy Akers, 206)
Ayoka Lee
• Needs three double-doubles to move into second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles
• Needs 198 rebounds to move into second in Big 12 history for career rebounds
• Needs 26 made free throws to set the school record for career free throws made
Serena Sundell
• Needs 51 points to reach 1,500 career points
Jaelyn Glenn
• Needs 3 points to reach 1,000 career points
• Needs 62 steals to move into third on K-State career steals list
• Needs one rebound for sole possession of 28th on the K-State career rebounds list
At a Glance: Houston
• Houston (4-8, 0-1 Big 12) begins the home portion of its Big 12 slate by hosting the Wildcats. The Cougars opened league action at Texas Tech on Dec. 22 with a 74-59 loss.
• On the sideline, the Cougars are led by 11th-year head coach Ronald Hughey. A 2006 graduate of Limestone College, Hughey owns a career record of 139-178 (.438) all at Houston.
• On the floor, Houston is led by Laila Blair and Gia Cooke.
• Blair, a graduate guard from Houston, is tied for the team lead in scoring with 11.8 per game. At Texas Tech, Blair tallied 11 points.
• Cooke, a redshirt sophomore guard from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is tied for the team lead in scoring with 11.8 per game. Against the Lady Raiders, Cooke led the Cougars with 12 points.
K-State Among the Rankings
• K-State remains ranked number 12 in the Associated Press (AP) top-25 poll in week nine.
• Since making its poll debut on Nov. 20, 2023, K-State has been ranked for 28 consecutive weeks. This is the longest consecutive streak for K-State since being ranked for 69 straight weeks from the end of the 2001-02 season to the end of the 2004-05 season.
• In its history, K-State has now been ranked for a total of 202 weeks in the AP poll, including 63 weeks as a top-10 team.
• As an AP ranked team, K-State owns a 261-96 (.731) record.
• Kansas State made its 2024-25 preseason debut at 13th in the AP top-25 poll. This was the fourth time in program history and the first time since the 2004-05 season that K-State appeared in the AP preseason poll. This was the program’s highest preseason ranking since 2003-04 when the Wildcats entered the season ranked fifth.
• During the 2023-24 season, the Wildcats achieved the program’s highest ranking in the Jeff Mittie era (2014-present), as the team was ranked 2nd on Jan. 29, 2024. It was the highest ranking for the program in the AP poll since Nov. 25, 2002 when K-State was ranked 2nd.
• According to Stats Perform, K-State was the first women’s program since the start of the AP poll in 1976 to go from unranked in the preseason to either No. 1 or No. 2 in the same season.
• The Wildcats remain ranked 12th in this week’s USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll.
• The Wildcats have been ranked in 27 straight USA Today/WBCA Coaches Polls dating back to Nov. 20, 2023.
• K-State debuted in the Coaches poll in the 2024-25 preseason at 13th. This was the fourth time K-State has appeared in the preseason Coaches Poll and the first time since 2004-05. This was K-State’s highest preseason ranking in the poll since 2003-04 when the Wildcats entered the season ranked fifth.
• K-State reached a high of 2nd in the Coaches Poll for two straight weeks in the 2023-24 season, its highest Coaches Poll ranking since being ranked 2nd in the third poll of the 2002-03 season.
1st Month the 1st to 250 Wins
• January was the first month in the history of K-State women’s basketball to surpass the 250-win plateau and the Wildcats own an overall record in the month of 259-193 (.573) in the first month of the year.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 39-41 (.488) in January with the Wildcats.
• K-State has registered a .500 or better record in January 34 times in the history of the program.
Wildcats on the Road
• K-State has a 293-325 (.474) record in road games during the program’s 57-year history.
• In his career in road games, head coach Jeff Mittie is 169-205 (.452) including a 44-68 (.393) mark during his time at K-State.
• In the 2023-24 season, K-State was 6-4 (.600) in road games. The Wildcats opened the season with a five-game road winning streak, which was K-State’s longest since a five-game streak in the 2018-19 season.
• Among its six road wins last season, the Wildcats collected two over AP top-25 opponents (at #2 Iowa; at #13 Baylor).
• K-State’s six road wins were the most by the Wildcats since the 2019-20 season (7-5).
• With its win at then second-ranked Iowa on Nov. 16, 2023, K-State secured its highest ranked road win in program history and ended a 14-game road losing streak against ranked opponents.
Three is not a Crowd, It’s a Benefit
• Since 2011-12, when three or more players reach double figures in scoring in the same game, K-State is 187-85 (.688) including an 12-1 record in the 2024-25 season.
• The Wildcats had a season-high six players reach double figures against Milwaukee on Nov. 20.
• The combination of Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell have scored in double figures in 42 of 71 games played together since 2021-22.
• Lee and Sundell combined to score 52 points in a win over New Mexico State on Dec. 18. This is the third time the duo has combined to score 50 or more points in the same game including the school record of 72 against Oklahoma on Jan. 23, 2022.
Sharing is Caring
• K-State remains unselfish in its play to open the 2024-25 season.
• The Wildcats are averaging 23.2 assists per game and own an assist percentage of 70.8. K-State leads the nation for assists per game and assist/turnover ratio (1.96).
• Since assists became an officially tracked stat in 1981-82, K-State has registered an assisted shot rate of 60.0 percent or higher at the end of a season 24 times in its history.
• The Wildcats have handed out 20 or more assists in 11 games this season including a season-high 30 assists on 37 made field goals against DePaul on Nov. 27. The 30 assists were the most since carding 30 against UIW on Dec. 3, 2019.
• Over the last 17 years, the Wildcats are 103-8 (.928) when handing out 20 or more assists.
• K-State continued to share the ball in the 2023-24 season. The Wildcats handed out a school record 631 assists (18.6 apg) and owned an assist to turnover ratio of 1.31. K-State tallied an assisted shot rate of 68.2.
• K-State was third in the Big 12 and 12th in the nation for assists per game and were second in the league and ranked sixth in the nation for assisted shot rate. K-State led the Big 12 and ranked 18th in the nation for assist to turnover ratio.
• Serena Sundell (189) and Gabby Gregory (114) combined for 303 assists in the 2023-24 season, which was second in school history for combined assists by two K-State players in a season.
Wildcats’ Defense Forges Identity
• K-State continues to be a force on the defensive end during head coach Jeff Mittie’s 11 seasons on the bench.
• This season, K-State is holding opponents to 49.9 points per game on a .313 field goal percentage. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 and are second in the nation in scoring defense and paces the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
• The Wildcats held USC Upstate on Dec. 5 to 24 points on a 21.4 field goal percentage. The 24 points were the fewest allowed in the Jeff Mittie era and the fewest since holding Dartmouth to 20 points on Nov. 12, 2011.
• The 21.4 field goal percentage allowed was the lowest since holding Cincinnati to a 20.0 field goal percentage on Dec. 30, 2023.
• The Wildcats have held 11 opponents to 60 points or less this season (11-0). Under Mittie, K-State is 137-15 (.901) when holding its foes to 60 points or less including a 57-3 (.950) record over the last four seasons.
• During the last 21 seasons, K-State is 144-3 (.980) when holding an opponent to 49 points or less including a 63-0 mark in the Mittie era. During Mittie’s tenure K-State has held 21 opponents to 40 or fewer points.
• In the 2023-24 season, K-State held opponents to 57.9 points per game and a field goal percentage of .362.
• The Wildcats led the Big 12 and were 17th in the nation for field goal percentage defense, were third in the Big 12 and rank 40th in the nation for scoring defense and were second in the Big 12 and 12th in the nation for 3-point field goal percentage defense (.266).
• K-State’s field goal percentage defense ranked third in program history since the 1981-82 season and fifth overall in program history.
Poindexter Attacks from 3
• Senior Temira Poindexter has sparked K-State from deep to open the 2024-25 season.
• This season, Poindexter is 29-of-79 (.367) from 3-point range.
• Against Belmont on Nov. 7, Poindexter made a season-high five 3-point field goals. This was the most 3-point field goals made by a Wildcat since Gabby Gregory made five at Washington on March 24, 2023.
• In her collegiate career, Poindexter is 210-of-662 (.317) from distance. She owns 62 career games with two or more 3-point field goals made, including 18 career games with four or more 3-point field goals made.
Glenn Nears 1K
• Jaelyn Glenn is approaching an important career scoring milestone.
• With three points, Glenn would become the 46th player in program history to score 1,000 or more points in her K-State career.
• When she reaches the 1,000-point mark, Glenn will become the fifth player in program history and first since 2009 with 1,000 or more points, 500 or more rebounds, 250 or more assists and 225 or more steals.