GAME #12
Middle Tennessee (7-3, 0-0 CUSA) vs. (13/12) Kansas State (10-1, 0-0 Big 12)
Saturday, December 14, 2024 | 5 p.m. | Civic Arena (3,500) | St. Joseph, Missouri
TELEVISION
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Kyle Schmidt
Analyst: Rob Edmisson
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Randy Peterson
LIVE STATS
SERIES HISTORY vs. Middle Tennessee
2-1
• K-State leads the series between the schools, 2-1.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is facing Middle Tennessee for the first time in his career.
• The Wildcats are 15-13 against current members of CUSA.
(13/12) K-State Squares Off with MTSU in Bill Snyder Classic
MANHATTAN, Kansas - (13/12) K-State (10-1) takes part in the second annual Bill Snyder Basketball Classic in St. Joseph, Missouri, as the Wildcats face Middle Tennessee (7-3) on Saturday evening at 5 p.m.
• Saturday’s game will air on ESPN+, as Kyle Schmidt (play-by-play) and Rob Edmisson (analyst) will have the call.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women’s basketball
1. 200 for Mittie
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie collected the 200th win of his K-State tenure at Texas A&M on Dec. 8. Mittie joins Deb Patterson (350) and Judy Akers (206) as the only K-State coaches to win 200 or more games with the Wildcats.
2. League Leaders
• K-State leads the Big 12 in seven categories: scoring offense (88.5 ppg), scoring margin (+38.18), field goal percentage (.514), field goal percentage defense (.316), assists per game (23.36), assist/turnover ratio (1.98), defensive rebounds per game (32.36) and defensive rebound percentage (.777).
3. Assistance Available
• K-State leads the Big 12 and is second in the nation for assists per game (23.4). The Wildcats have registered an assist on 68.2 percent of its made field goals this season, which ranks 11th in the nation.
4. Sides Hustle
• Sophomore guard Taryn Sides has been on a hot streak from beyond the arc over the last five games, as she is shooting .686 (24-of-35) from long range. Sides has already established a career season-high for 3-point field goals made this season (33).
5. Glenn Closing in on 1K Club
• With 38 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. Glenn would join current teammates Ayoka Lee (2,336 pts) and Serena Sundell (1,390 pts) on the list. When Glenn reaches the mark, she would be the fourth active player on the roster with 1,000 or more career points with Lee, Sundell and Temira Poindexter (1,673 pts; 1,560 at Tulsa).
Number to Know
4+
• K-State has seen four different players register four or more made 3-point field goals in a game this season.
• The four players to card four or more makes are: Taryn Sides (3x), Temira Poindexter, Jaelyn Glenn, Zyanna Walker.
• A season ago, K-State topped out at three made 3-point field goals in a game by a player, with seven different players reaching the mark.
• For the season, K-State is averaging 8.8 three-point field goals made per game. The school record for 3-point field goals made per game in a season is 8.78 in the 2012-13 season.
2024-25 K-State Coach & Player Milestones to Watch
Jeff Mittie
• Needs seven wins to move into second on the K-State Women’s Basketball wins list (Judy Akers, 206)
Ayoka Lee
• Needs four double-doubles to move into second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles
• Needs 222 rebounds to move into second in Big 12 history for career rebounds
• Needs 40 made free throws to set the school record for career free throws made
Serena Sundell
• Needs 85 points to reach 1,500 career points
Jaelyn Glenn
• Needs 38 points to reach 1,000 career points
• Needs 70 steals to move into third on K-State career steals list
• Needs 11 rebounds to move into 28th on the K-State career rebounds list
At a Glance: Middle Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee (7-3) has lost two of its last three games including a 65-52 loss at Belmont on Dec. 7.
• On the sideline, the Blue Raiders are led by 20th-year head coach Rick Insell. A 1977 graduate of Middle Tennessee, Insell has registered a record of 470-159 (.747) during his time in Murfreesboro.
• On the floor, Middle Tennessee is led by Ta’Mia Scott and Anastasiia Boldyreva.
• Scott, a junior guard from Clarksville, Tennessee, paces the Blue Raiders with 15.4 points per game while shooting .470 from the field. She has also hauled in 5.2 rebounds and dished out 2.1 assists. At Belmont, Scott tallied 15 points and four rebounds.
• Boldyreva, a 6’7” senior center from Moscow, Russia, is averaging 15.0 points and a team best 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
K-State’s 12th Month Record
• In the 57th year of women’s basketball at K-State, the Wildcats own a record of 248-103 (.707) in the month of December.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 47-18 (.723) in the month of December.
• K-State has had a .500 or better record in the month of December 49 times in its history, including a current streak of 29 consecutive seasons.
Magic Number is 70 Points
• Since the 2014-15 season, K-State is 116-21 (.847) when scoring 70 or more points in a game. The Wildcats have scored 70 or more points in 10 games this season.
• K-State tallied a season-high 111 points against Milwaukee on Nov. 20. This was the highest single-game point total in the Jeff Mittie era. It was the second-highest single-game point total in program history, trailing the school record of 115 on Dec. 2, 2002, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• The Wildcats recorded 110 points against USC Upstate in a 110-24 win on Dec. 5. This is the first time in program history K-State has scored 110 or more points in two or more games in the same season.
• K-State’s margin of victory of 86 against USC Upstate was the largest in program history, surpassing the previous record of 78 on Dec. 2, 2002, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• In its history, K-State has scored 100 or more points in a game 30 times (30-0) including seven times under Mittie.
• K-State is averaging 88.5 points per game this season to lead the Big 12 and rank eighth in the nation. K-State’s field goal percentage of .514 leads the Big 12 and second in the nation.
• The Wildcats have scored 90 or more points in a game five times this season, which is the ninth time in program history K-State has scored 90 or more points in five or more games in a season and the first time since 2003-04 (5). The school record for games with 90 or more points came in 1983-84 with eight.
Bench Boost
• K-State has received an offensive boost from its second unit this season.
• The Wildcats are averaging 27.8 points per game (306 points) from the bench this season and ranks 43rd in the nation. K-State has had the upperhand in bench points in nine games this season (8-1).
• K-State registered a season-high of 41 bench points against USC Upstate on Dec. 5. This was the highest bench total since scoring 47 against McNeese State on Dec. 6, 2023.
• Last season, the Wildcats tallied 672 points (19.8 ppg) from its bench last season and ranked fifth in the Big 12 and 108th in the nation in the category.
• K-State’s bench outscored the opposing team’s bench in 26 games last season (23-3).
• K-State’s 672 bench points last season marked the second time in the Jeff Mittie era in which the bench recorded 600 or more points in a season. The top mark for bench points in the Mittie era stands at 708 in the 2016-17 season.
Walker Handing Out Assists
• Sophomore Zyanna Walker has been a reliable distributor in the early stages of the 2024-25 season.
• Walker, a product of Wichita, Kansas, has dished out a career-high 59 assists (5.4 apg) to rank second on the Wildcats. She ranks seventh in the Big 12 for assists per game and 32nd in the nation. She is third in the league for assist/turnover ratio (3.11).
• Against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 3, Walker handed out a career-high 10 assists. She owns nine career games with five or more assists, including seven this season.
No Side Eye for Sides
• Guard Taryn Sides has kept the offensive attack rolling in her time on the floor.
• This season, Sides is averaging 11.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. She is shooting 55.3 percent from the field including 55.0 percent from 3-point range. She ranks fourth in the nation and first in the Big 12 for 3-point percentage.
• Sides has boosted her career 3-point field goal percentage to .428, which is second in school history (min. 2 attempts/game). She has made two 3-pointers in a game 17 times, includes three games with four or more.
• In her last five games, Sides is averaging 16.0 points on a .667 field goal percentage including a .686 three-point field goal percentage, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. She has scored in double figures in five straight games for the first time in her career.
• Against USC Upstate on Dec. 5, Sides carded a career-high 23 points, including a career-high seven connections from long range.
• With her 19-point, 5-of-7 three-point effort, seven rebounds and six assists at Texas A&M on Dec. 8, Sides became the third Wildcat since 2002-03 (Brittany Chambers, 6 times; Laurie Koehn) with five or more 3-point field goals made, five or more rebounds and five or more assists in a game.
• In her debut season in 2023-24, the native of Phillipsburg, Kansas, averaged 3.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists.