MANHATTAN, Kansas - One of the longest continuous rivalries in all of women’s college basketball is set for the 132nd all-time meeting, as (11/11) K-State (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) visits Kansas (14-7, 4-6) in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Sunday at 2 p.m.
• Sunday’s game will air on ESPN+, as Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Wayne Simien (analyst) will have the call.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women’s basketball
1. 20 Wins Achieved
• With its win over Iowa State on Jan. 30, K-State secured the 28th 20-win season in program history. This is the fifth 20-win season under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. The Wildcats have registered consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
2. Happy Helpers
• K-State features four players with 50 or more assists this season: Serena Sundell (161), Zyanna Walker (94), Jaelyn Glenn (63) and Taryn Sides (60). If Temira Poindexter (44) reaches 50 assists this season, this would mark the fourth time in program history with five or more players with 50 or more assists.
3. Trio of 3-Point Shooters
• The trio of Temira Poindexter (54), Taryn Sides (53) and Jaelyn Glenn (41) are on pace to become the fourth set of K-State teammates and first since 2012-13 to make 50 or more 3-pointers in a season.
4. Sundell Approaching Rare K-State Club
• With five blocked shots, senior guard Serena Sundell will become the sixth player in program history and the first guard with 100 or more career blocks and 100 or more career steals.
5. Sundell Nearing Big 12 Assist Top-10
• With 15 assists, senior guard and All-America candidate Serena Sundell will move into the top-10 in Big 12 history for career assists. Sundell has dished 710 assists in her career and would pass Toccara Williams (Texas A&M, 2001-04; 724).
Number to Know
+27
• Sophomore guard Taryn Sides is pouring in 3-pointers in her second season.
• Sides has made a career-high 53 three-pointers this season which is second on the team.
• Her 53 three-point field goals made this season are 11th in program history by a sophomore.
• Sides has made 27 more three-point field goals than she did a season ago (53-26). She is the 18th player in program history to increase her 3-point field goal makes from one season to the next by 25 or more.
• Sides is the fifth player under head coach Jeff Mittie’s guidance to make 25 or more three-point field goals from one season to the next.
2024-25 K-State Coach & Player Milestones to Watch
Serena Sundell
• Needs 113 points to move into 8th in K-State history for career points
• Needs 15 assists to move into 10th in Big 12 history for career assists
• Needs 91 assists to set the school record for career assists
Jaelyn Glenn
• Needs 52 steals to move into third on K-State career steals list
• Needs 6 assists to move into 17th on K-State career assists list
• Needs 16 rebounds for sole possession of 20th on the K-State career rebounds list
• Needs 9 points for sole possession of 38th on the K-State career points list
At a Glance: Kansas
• Kansas (14-7, 4-6 Big 12) enters Sunday’s Dillons Sunflower Showdown following a 57-50 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday.
• On the sideline, Kansas is led by 10th-year head coach Brandon Schneider. Schneider is 141-156 (.475) in his time in Lawrence. He guided the program to the 2022 NCAA Tournament and the 2023 Postseason WNIT title.
• The Jayhawks feature two players averaging in double figures this season, led by sophomore S’Mya Nichols and junior Elle Evans.
• Nichols paces the Jayhawks with 20.7 points per game on a .472 field goal percentage and is handing out 4.8 assist per game. She leads the nation in free throws made and attempted (176-of-212). She tallied 23 points and three steals at Baylor.
• Jackson paces Kansas in field goal percentage (.590), rebounding (10.0 rpg), blocked shots (3.1 bpg) and is second in scoring (12.5).
• Franklin is third on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Against Texas Tech, Nichols carded 20 points including a 10-of-11 effort from the foul line and six assists.
• Evans is second on the team with 14.0 points per game and leads the squad in three-point field goals made and attempted (47-of-120).
Wildcats on the Road
• K-State has a 296-326 (.476) record in road games during the program’s 57-year history.
• In his career in road games, head coach Jeff Mittie is 172-206 (.455) including a 47-69 (.405) mark during his time at K-State.
• This season, K-State is 4-1 in road games including one against an AP top-25 foe (22, Utah, 1/8/25).
• 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.
20-Pt Quarters For the Wildcats
• Since the inception of the quarter system in the 2015-16 season, K-State owns an overall record of 152-62 (.710) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter in a game.
• Since the 2015-16 season, K-State has registered 355 quarters with 20 or more points with a high of 50 in the 2022-23 season.
• The Wildcats have tallied 46 quarters this season with 20 or more points and have a 20-0 mark when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.
• K-State scored a season-high 33 points in the third quarter against Milwaukee on November 20. It was its most points in a quarter since scoring 33 in the third quarter against Oral Roberts on Dec. 18, 2023.
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 193-85 (.694) including an 18-1 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 46 of 76 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.
Block it & Pocket
• When combining blocks and steal totals in a single game, K-State is 37-1 over the last 17 seasons when achieving a combination of 20+ steals and blocks in the same game.
• K-State is 28-1 under head coach Jeff Mittie when achieving a combination of 20+ steals and blocks in the same game.
• This season, the Wildcats registered a combination of 23 blocks and steals (14 steals/nine blocks) against Milwaukee on Nov. 20, a combo of 24 blocks and steals (18 steals/six blocks) against USC Upstate on Dec. 5 and tallied 20 blocks and steals (18 steals/two blocks) against Iowa State on Jan. 30.
• The Wildcats recorded a combination totalling 29 (18 steals/11 blocks) against Presbyterian on November 6, 2023. This was the highest total in the Mittie era.
We Are An Ag School After All
• Fans and media may notice a stuffed four-legged friend on the K-State bench in the 2023-24 season and he has returned for the 2024-25 season.
• During the summer of 2023-24, the K-State coaching staff encouraged the team to get “gaps” which are three consecutive stops on defense and to do this seven times in a game.
• Before the 2023-24 season, head coach Jeff Mittie asked Serena Sundell, Gabby Gregory and Ayoka Lee to make this their own and to embrace the three straight defensive stops. Enter Gap Goat.
• Gregory chose a goat because it is her favorite animal.
• Gap Goat, who can be followed on Instagram (@GapGoat7), is hoisted aloft when the Wildcats register three consecutive defensive stops.
• Gap Goat’s apparel includes a K-State jersey and gold chains with one chain featuring a goal number seven pendant, which he is awarded when the team gets seven “gaps” in a game.
• K-State fans have jumped on the new tradition and have purchased their own versions of Gap Goats and bring them to Bramlage Coliseum to join in the celebration of the K-State defense.
• This season, K-State has recorded three consecutive defensive stops 155 times (7.0/game). Gappy has earned his gold “7” chain 11 times.
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 career-highs of 9.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 24.2 minutes per game. She is shooting 48.6 percent from the field including 47.7 percent from 3-point range (53-of-111). She ranks fifth in the nation and leads the Big 12 for 3-point percentage. She ranks sixth in the Big 12 and 41st in the nation for 3-point field goals made per game (2.52). Sides has tallied 78.7 percent of her points this season from beyond the arc.
• Sides ranks 11th in program history for 3-point field goals made in a sophomore season.
• Sides has boosted her career 3-point field goal percentage to .418, which is tied for second in school history (min. 2 attempts/game). She has made two or more 3-pointers in a game 23 times, including four games with four or more.
• 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.
• She had three games with five or more assists and no turnovers including a career-high eight assists against McNeese State on Dec. 6. She has eight games with five or more assists.
Sundell Uses Her Length
• Serena Sundell continues to use her length to disrupt her opponents on the defensive end.
• In her career, Sundell owns 95 career blocked shots (0.76 bpg) and ranks ninth in school history and owns the school record for career blocked shots by a guard.
• This season, Sundell is second on the team in blocks (22; 1.0 bpg).
• Sundell has 22 career games with two or more blocks including a career-high four at Oklahoma State on Jan. 5, 2022.
• She has tallied 167 steals (1.34 spg) in her career and has 44 career games with two or more steals including nine career games with four or more steals.