MANHATTAN, Kan. – (11/10) K-State held off an upset bid by Arizona on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum, 62-47, as Serena Sundell joined an exclusive scoring club in program history. The win improves K-State’s win streak to 13. The 13-game win streak is tied for the fifth-longest win streak in program history.
K-State improved its overall record to 18-1 for the second time under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. This is the second straight season K-State has opened with a 18-1 record. In its history, K-State has opened a season 18-1 or better four times.
Sundell, an All-America candidate and the national leader in assists and assists per game, led K-State with 16 points, eight assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal. With her point total on Thursday, Sundell surpassed the 1,500-point mark (1,507) in her K-State career, becoming the 14th player in program history to reach the milestone.
Joining Sundell in double figures was senior forward and Cheryl Miller Award candidate Temira Poindexter with 14 points including 4-of-8 from long range and two rebounds. In her last three games, Poindexter is 12-of-25 (.480) from behind the three-point line.
Senior center Ayoka Lee chipped in on the defensive end by tying her career-high and equaling the school record for blocks in a conference game by sending back eight shots. The eight blocks were tied for the most in any game by a Big 12 team this season and were the most in a league game this season. She also carded six rebounds, two steals and six points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- K-State (18-1, 6-0 Big 12) held a four-point lead, 14-10, entering the second quarter. The Wildcats were sparked to start the second frame by Gisela Sanchez, as she made three straight field goals including two 3-pointers to push the Wildcats into a 22-13 lead. Sanchez finished the night with nine points and three rebounds to lead a K-State bench that outscored the Arizona bench, 19-10.
- The Wildcats would build a 13-point advantage twice in the second quarter, the last coming on a 3-pointer from Taryn Sides with 1:13 remaining in the frame to give K-State a 36-23 lead.
- K-State shot 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the field in the second quarter, including four connections from long range.
- Arizona (11-8, 2-4) opened the third quarter with an 11-4 run, which included a span of four straight made field goals, to pull to within four, 40-36, with 5:28 to play in the third stanza.
- Arizona would win the third quarter, 16-11 and hold K-State to 27.3 percent (3-of-11) shooting in the third stanza. The 11 points were a season-low for a third quarter this season for K-State.
- K-State would open the fourth quarter on an 8-0 run, as Poindexter buried a pair of 3-pointers to force an Arizona timeout with 6:59 to play and K-State leading, 55-41.
- K-State would push its lead to 18, 61-43, with 4:26 to play on a layup by Sundell. The Wildcats would hold Arizona to six points and 3-of-13 (.231) shooting in the final frame.
- K-State ended the night shooting 45.1 percent (23-of-51), including 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from long range.
- Arizona was held to 32.2 percent (19-of-59) shooting including a 14.3 percent (1-of-7) performance from distance.
QUICK FACTS
- This was the first meeting in the series between the programs. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 1-1 in his career against Arizona.
- The Wildcats are 238-242 (.496) in Big 12 games.
- K-State is 408-156 (.723) in its 37-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 12-0 record this season. This is the 34th season in program history with 10 or more home wins in a season, including the 26th season at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 662-371 (.641), including a mark of 208-136 (.605).
- K-State owns a record of 266-96 (.735) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 30-5 (.857) all-time when ranked 11th in the nation.
- The Wildcats are 264-193 (.578) in games played in the month of January, including a 12-1 record over the last two seasons. Under Mittie, K-State is 44-41 (.518) in games during the first month. K-State has notched a .500 or better record in the month of January 35 times.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State is 65-0 under head coach Jeff Mittie when holding an opponent to 49 points or less. The Wildcats have held 10 opponents including two Big 12 foes to 49 points or less this season.
- 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 17th time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 131st career start for Lee, the 122nd career start for Sundell, the 118th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 106th career collegiate start and 19th at K-State for Poindexter and the 19th career start for Walker. With her 131st career start at K-State, Lee sets the school record for career starts. Lee also moves into a tie for third in program history for career games played. With her 122nd career start, Sundell is ninth in program history for career starts. With her 118th career start, Glenn is 10th in program history for career starts.
- The Wildcats held a 36-25 lead at halftime on Thursday. Under Mittie, K-State is 167-19 (.898) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in 17 games this season (17-0).
- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter 44 times this season, including the second quarter on Thursday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 150-62 (.708) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.
- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter in all two quarters on Thursday (second and fourth). The Wildcats have 49 quarters this season, which are the most in program history for a full season, of 50.0 percent or better shooting.
PLAYER NOTES
- With her 14 points on Thursday, Poindexter increased her collegiate point total to 1,799 points (1,560 at Tulsa; 239 at K-State). This was her 92nd career game and her 11th this season with 10 or more points.
- Poindexter made four 3-pointers on Thursday. This was her 20th career game with four or more connections, her 66th career game and her 12th this season with two or more connections.
- Sundell became the 14th player in program history with 1,500 or more career points scored at K-State. Sundell owns 1,507 career points and remains in 14th on the K-State career scoring list. Sundell notched her 86th career game with 10 or more points.
- Sundell’s eight assists on Thursday improved her career total to 694. This was her 81st career game with five or more assists and her 16th this season including her 13th straight.
- Sundell hauled in four rebounds on Thursday to improve her career total to 503.
- Sundell sent back one shot on Thursday. This was her eighth straight game with at least one blocked shot. Sundell boosted her career total to 92 and ranks ninth in school history for career blocks and owns the school record for blocks by a guard.
- Sanchez made two three-pointers on Thursday. This was her second game this season and her seventh career game with two or more connections from long range.
- With her six points on Saturday, Lee boosted her career total to 2,475 and remains in seventh on the Big 12 career scoring list. Lee has scored in every game of her career, 131 games, and is tied for second in school history for consecutive games scoring.
- Lee hauled in six rebounds on Thursday. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,230, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds and remains in fifth in Big 12 history for career boards. She owns 114 career games with five or more rebounds.
- Lee registered eight blocks on Thursday and boosted her career total to 351. Lee is fourth in Big 12 history for career blocks. Lee improved upon her own school record with her 23rd career game with five or more blocks, carded her 35th career game with four or more blocks. This was her 90th career game with two or more blocks.
- Lee pocketed two steals on Thursday, her third game this season with two or more steals and the 27th game in her career.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement…
"I thought this game was going to be a tough one. I was impressed with Arizona’s defensive toughness and their inside physicality, which gave us trouble early. I felt like our defense was really good at the start, but we missed an opportunity to pull away from them. When you hold a team to 16% shooting in the first quarter and you're only up by four, that's not the result you want to see. That said, I’m proud of our group. We had a great response in the fourth quarter, found enough offense, and got the job done. There will be nights like this where you have to win in different ways, and I’m proud of us for doing that tonight."
On the game being closer than the last few games…
"We know that in this league, you have to be ready every night. In any of the Power Four leagues, you have to be prepared, because even the teams that may not finish at the top have players capable of playing in the WNBA. They have players who can make plays, and if you catch them on their best night and it's not a good night for you, that's when you won’t be successful. I think our group has been solid overall. We're coming off a really good road trip, but I was concerned about this one because, stylistically, it was very different from what we faced in Utah. We saw tonight how we struggled with some of those differences."
On Serena Sundell hitting the 1,500-point benchmark…
"One of the things I always appreciate about Serena is that she’s a winner. When you have numbers like that, it means there are moments in games where you just do whatever it takes to win. That leads to those balanced stats, some nights, she might need to grab 10 rebounds. Other nights, she might have to guard the opposing team’s leading scorer at a position that isn’t her usual one, but that’s what the team needs. Serena has the ability to do all of that. Her ability to contribute in so many ways is a credit to her, and of course, to her teammates. For the assist numbers, they have to make shots, and this year, we’ve been making more shots."
On what Arizona did well…
“I thought two things. They challenged any pass in the air. If we made a little bit of a mistake on a lob to [ Ayoka] Lee, they challenged it. Secondly, they were quick to our shooters most of the time. Even when we did a good job of pass faking, they were quick to get out, and that gave us trouble. They're a pest. They're a pesky group, so their staple as a program has always been defensive toughness, and they create a lot of steals. They create a lot of turnovers. And certainly you saw that firsthand tonight.”
On Gisela Sanchez having extra motivation against her former team…
"We didn’t talk about it, but I could tell she was excited to play this game. Gisela is always excited to play, but I think she wanted to show her former coaches how much she has progressed as a player. She has a good relationships with them, so it’s not a negative thing for her, it’s more about wanting to perform well against people who know her. On their side, I think Jada Williams had a similar motivation. I’ve known Jada; she’s from my hometown. I think her motivation was to play well in front of family and friends and to perform coming into this game. Both Gisela and Jada shared the same positive drive to play their best."
Arizona Head Coach Adia Barnes
Opening statement…
“I want to start off real quick by saying Kansas State is a really good team. They have so many weapons. When you pay attention inside to [Ayoka] Lee and they have some great shooters on the perimeter. I was really impressed with the way they moved the ball and the way they played with a lot of poise. I think that they kind of pick you apart. And if you're helping a little bit too low paying attention to Lee, when they isolate her, they hit threes. I thought we gave them some runs at times, but we could never really get into an offensive flow. I thought at times we guarded them pretty well, but we made mistakes. It was like a three-point shot or just something they made us pay for. So they're definitely one of the best teams in the country and they're really big. Obviously, Lee's big, but even on the perimeter, they're really big, so their size can kind of bother you. I think they're a really, really good team. I'm really proud of our team. I've never questioned, we always fight, but I think I'm proud because we're very young. We start freshmen and sophomores. So I'm proud of the fact that we lost in overtime to Baylor. We got our butts kicked by Iowa State at home, and we could have come here and laid down to die. We're playing the best team we played so far in the conference, one of the best teams we played this year, and we still rose up to the occasion. I thought we were really tight in the first, like five minutes of the game, really nervous, like there was a lid on the rim, but then when we settled, I thought we did some really good things. So I think just now, it's a balance of figuring out how to get some people clicking on the same night and being consistent and being a little bit more disciplined in what we do. For instance, we could have on the scouting report, for example, [sophomore forward, Eliza Maupin] 21 we know she could backdoor cuts. Then it's like, the first play is a backdoor cut. Those are things that are hard for me as a coach, because we showed three or four clips of film, [showing] this is what she does. I think we have to have understanding. So the next part of our game is, [redshirt sophomore, Montaya Dew] Monte and the freshmen, understanding she's gonna backdoor cut you. We know someone's a spot shooter, not giving them wide open threes. But we're really young, and we gotta grow fast.
On Serena Sundell…
“I really like her game. I think she's solid. She doesn't do anything outside of herself. She runs a team really well. She had a nice pull up jumper, so we decided to go contain her a little bit. And with that, we protect the basket, we keep [sophomore forward, Breya Cunningham] Breya attached with Lee, and then she pulls up jumpers off of our contain. So I think that hurt us. So she had made us switch it up, but she's got size so she can back you down. She really gets her sweet spot really well. It's not that she's super fast, she's just smart and she's big, so I love that size in point guards.”
On building better habits…
“I think that being able to play [sophomore guard, Jada Williams] Jada a little bit more off the ball, and I think that it's also hard, because they give the ball up fast. I think with a young team, those are pressure situations, and a lot of people don't want them in those situations. At times we turn and give her the ball three to four seconds, so it makes her have to jack up a shot. I think getting them to understand the confidence that you don't have to call an on ball. You can go to drive and kick or attack someone one-on-one to end the shot clock. It's really hard defensively to stop someone without fouling in the shot clock. So I think understanding that in Kansas State's experience, and they do a good job of that. [sophomore guard, Skylar Jones] Sky got two fouls in the shot clock because they attack you. So you're trying to get your young players to see that on film and let them understand that and have confidence in that. But we are working on it, and that's the thing for me. I'm not perfection, but progression. We're better than last game. We're holding it less, we're moving the ball a little bit more. We're exceeding a little bit better.”
FROM THE FLOOR
K-State Senior Guard Serena Sundell
On scoring her 1,500th career point…
“I knew I was close. I kind of forgot, but I heard it on the announcement.”
On Gisela Sanchez’s good performance against her former team …
“I was super happy for Gisela [Sanchez] just to see her get some confidence going. And we all know she's capable of scoring. And I think that's kind of a testament to our team too. It's like, we know she was hitting shots, so we did a really good job, coaching staff too, of calling things for her, like we were trying to get her the ball. I know she had that heat check shot that we all thought was fun. But no, I've said that in the past, like, it can be anybody's night, it can be anybody's quarter. So I think as a team we’re smart, we understand when Temira [Poindexter] was hot. I know Taryn [Sides] was like, “Hey, I'm setting her a flare screen.” So that's been fun to figure out with this team, we're smart, we know who's hot, and we want to get them the ball. And tonight, she had a really fun stretch.”
On how they are able to pull away from teams…
“I mean, I wish we had the simple answer to give you. Every time I think it's really just our focus. It takes every single player on the floor to be committed to the things that coach [Jeff} Mittie is saying, to be on the same page. But I know that this team just wants to win. We have a lot of girls who love to compete. We have a lot of girls who want to make the right play. I don't know what the switch is, yet, still figuring that out, it's nice to have.”
On how big it was to control the game on the defensive side of the ball…
“Coach just said it in the locker room, we held them to 16% shooting in the first quarter and we were still only up by four points. That's gonna happen sometimes you're gonna struggle offensively, but it's what can you do? Like the defensive side is things you can control every time down, and can't control if we make shots, but we can make it really tough for them to make shots. So I think that was just kind of a testament to our commitment tonight, to the scout and making sure we still have a lot of work to do on defense. I feel like we had some miscommunications and things that we weren't super sharp on tonight, but overall, still holding a team under 50, a good team at that. I mean, it says a lot.”
K-State Senior Forward Temira Poindexter
On Serena Sundell…
“I mean, she’s a big part of this team, like scratch the basketball, just like how she is as a person, just makes us all better. It just makes us all want to play hard, and she’s a great leader when she gets the ball. You know, good things are gonna happen.”
On her fourth quarter threes…
“Yeah, it was important to come out and, you know, cut them off and just shut them down early because we knew they weren’t going to give up. So, yeah they were good passes and I was in rhythm.”
On the offensive struggles…
“I think it was a lot of us, just like our spacing, like Serena said, we weren’t playing with each other as well. I mean that just affects the whole offense. I don’t think the shots weren’t falling. I just think we weren’t in the right positions for the shots to go in and find open players and stuff.”
UP NEXT
K-State completes a two-game homestand on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., as the Wildcats host new Big 12 member Arizona State. For tickets, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or call (800) 221-CATS.