MANHATTAN, Kansas - (13/13) K-State continues its five-game homestand on Thursday evening, as the Wildcats host Belmont at 6:30 p.m.
• The matchup on Thursday features two programs with a combined 2,127 wins in their histories (Belmont - 1,083; K-State - 1,044).
• Thursday’s game can be seen live on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play), Missy Heidrick (analyst) and Hannah Whetstone (sideline) will have the call.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women’s basketball
1. Taylor Shines in Debut
• Senior Kennedy Taylor registered a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double in her Wildcat debut against Green Bay on Nov. 4. She was the third player in K-State history (Kendra Wecker & Peyton Williams) to debut with a double-double. Taylor was the first Wildcat to record a double-double off the bench since Eliza Maupin against UCF on Feb. 17, 2024.
2. Poindexter Reaches Rare Line in Debut
• K-State’s Temira Poindexter was the first player in program history to debutwith 15+ points, 5+ rebounds, 4+ blocks and 2+ steals as she tallied 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals against Green Bay.
3. Walker Involves All
• Sophomore Zyanna Walker tied her career-high for assists in the 2024-25 season-opener. Walker finished with seven assists and zero turnovers in her first career start.
4. Lee on Cusp of Scoring Record
• Senior center and 2024-25 Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Ayoka Lee needs 133 points to pass Kendra Wecker (2001-05; 2,333 points) for the K-State career scoring record.
5. K-State 13th in AP & Coaches Polls
• For the fourth time in program history and the first time since 2004-05, K-State is ranked in the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason polls. The Wildcats check in at 13th in both, its highest preseason ranking since 2003-04 when the Cats were ranked fifth.
Number to Know
7
• Senior guard Jaelyn Glenn became the seventh player in the Jeff Mittie era (2014-15-active) to register a single-game stat line of 15 or more points, five or more rebounds, five or more assists and two or more steals.
• Glenn opened the season with a team-high 17 points, hauled in nine rebounds, dished six assists and pocketed three steals.
• Glenn’s teammate, senior Serena Sundell, has achieved this stat line in nine games which are the most in the Mittie era.
• In her career, Glenn owns 18 career games with 10 or more points, five or more rebounds and two or more steals in a game.
2024-25 Coach and Player Milestones to Watch
Jeff Mittie
• Needs nine wins to become third K-State Women’s Basketball head coach with 200 or more wins at K-State
• Needs 16 wins to move into second on the K-State Women’s Basketball wins list (Judy Akers, 206)
Ayoka Lee
• Needs 133 points to set the school career scoring record
• Needs six double-doubles to move into second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles
• Needs 270 rebounds to move into second in Big 12 history for career rebounds
• Needs 53 made free throws to set the school record for career free throws made
• Needs 48 made field goals to set the school record for career field goals made
Serena Sundell
• Needs 226 points to reach 1,500 career points
• Needs 38 assists to move into second in school history for career assists
Jaelyn Glenn
• Needs 128 points to reach 1,000 career points
• Needs eight made 3-pointers to move into 10th on K-State career 3-point field goals made list
• Needs 81 steals to move into third on K-State career steals list
• Needs 36 rebounds to move into top-30 on K-State career rebounds list
• Needs 18 assists to move into top-25 on K-State career assists list
At a Glance: Belmont
• Belmont opens its 2024-25 season with a two-game swing through the state of Kansas, as the Bruins will face K-State on Thursday and then travels to Wichita to face Wichita State on Saturday afternoon.
• The Bruins were voted third in the 2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll and collected three first place votes. The program trailed only Drake and Northern Iowa.
• Belmont enters the 2024-25 season ranked 16th among NCAA Division I WBB programs for all-time wins with 1,083.
• The Bruins (11) are one of only five programs to have won more than 10 combined conference championships over the last eight seasons. UConn (16), Florida Gulf Coast (14), South Carolina (11) and Princeton (10) are the other four.
• Belmont is guided on the sideline by eighth-year head coach Bart Brooks. The 2004 graduate of Wyoming owns a career record of 172-55 (.758) in his time with the Bruins. Entering the 2024-25 season, Brooks was named to the 2025 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List.
• The Bruins feature three players that were named to the 2024-25 Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference Second Team - Tuti Jones, Kendal Cheesman and Jailyn Banks.
• Jones was a 2023-24 All-MVC Third Team and MVC All-Defensive Team selection. A season ago, the guard from Troy, Alabama, averaged a career-high 11.1 points per game and pocketed 89 steals.
• Cheesman, a senior forward from Tampa, Florida, averaged 11.5 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds last season and was an All-MVC Third Team honoree. She tallied a career-high five double-doubles and led the Bruins with 41 blocks.
• Banks, a sophomore from Spring Hill, Tennessee, was the 2023-24 MVC Freshman of the Year and also garnered All-MVC Third Team and MVC All-Freshman Team honors. She is Belmont’s top returning scorer, as she averaged 12.7 points per game.
Halftime Lead = K-State ‘W’
• Since the 2001-02 season, K-State is 376-52 (.879) when leading at the break, including a 1-0 record in the 2024-25 season.
• K-State is 150-19 (.888) when leading at the break under head coach Jeff Mittie.
• Since the start of the 2007-08 season, K-State is 282-19 (.937) when leading with five minutes to play including a 166-8 (.954) record under Mittie.
Magic Number is 70 Points
• Since the 2014-15 season, K-State is 107-21 (.836) when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
• The Wildcats opened the 2024-25 season with 92 points against Green Bay. This was the ninth time in 57 season-openers in which K-State scored 90 or more points in the first game.
• During the 2023-24 season, the Wildcats averaged 71.7 points per game and scored 70 or more points in a game 18 times (15-3). This was the highest scoring average in a season under head coach Jeff Mittie.
• K-State scored 2,437 points last season. This was the third straight season K-State registered 2,000 or more points and the seventh time in the Mittie era (2014-present).
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.
• The Wildcats held Green Bay to 45 points on a 30.6 field goal percentage in the season-opening win. This was the fourth straight season-opener in which K-State held its opponent to 49 points or less.
• During the last 21 seasons, K-State is 137-3 (.979) when holding an opponent to 49 points or less including a 56-0 mark in the Mittie era. During Mittie’s tenure K-State has held 18 opponents to 40 or fewer points.
• Under Mittie, K-State is 127-15 (.894) when holding its foes to 60 points or less including a 47-3 (.940) record over the last four seasons.
• 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). According to HerHoopStats, K-State is sixth in the nation and second in the Big 12 in opponent points per 100 possessions (80.2).
• K-State’s field goal percentage defense ranked third in program history since the 1981-82 season and fifth overall in program history.
• The 21 games holding foes to 60 points or less last season were the most since the 2010-11 season (21; 18-3). In total, K-State owns eight seasons in its history of 21 or more games holding opponents to 60 points or less.
K-State Holds Foes to Single-Digits
• In the 10th season of the quarter system in women’s college basketball, K-State’s defense has limited its opponents point production for 10 minute durations.
• Kansas State is 95-29 (.766) when holding an opponent to single digits in any quarter in a game.
• Against Green Bay on Nov. 4, K-State limited the Phoenix to seven points in the first quarter and five points in the second frame. The five second quarter points were the fewest K-State allowed in a second quarter since holding Cincinnati to five points on Dec. 30, 2024.
• The Wildcats were 16-1 last season when holding an opponent to single digits in any quarter of a game.
• In the 2023-24 season, K-State held its opponents to 25 quarters with single digits.
• K-State held Presbyterian and Little Rock to three quarters in each game with single digit scoring.
• Against Houston on Jan. 3, K-State limited Houston to 14 second half points including five points in the fourth quarter. The 14 points in the second half were the fewest K-State allowed in the second half last season and fewest since holding Clemson on Nov. 24, 2022, to nine second half points.
• At Baylor on Jan. 22, the Wildcats held the Bears to 16 points in the second half allowing eight points in both the third and fourth quarters. This was the first time in 10 years that Baylor was held under 20 points in the second half of a game.
Board Work Not Boring
• K-State dominated the glass in its season-opening win over Green Bay on Nov. 4. The Wildcats hauled in 56 rebounds and were a +31 in rebound margin.
• The Wildcats’ 56 rebounds were the most rebounds from the program since pulling in 61 rebounds against Oral Roberts on Dec. 18, 2023.
• The +31 rebound margin was the highest since a +31 advantage over McNeese State on Dec. 6, 2023.
• The Wildcats recorded 23 second-chance points against Green Bay. The 23 second-chance points were the most since scoring 23 against Kansas on Feb. 13, 2021.
• Since the 2001-02 season, Kansas State owns a record of 285-46 (.861) when holding the edge on the glass including a 43-3 (.935) record in the last four seasons.
• K-State held the advantage on the glass in the 2023-24 season, as the Wildcats out-rebounded its opponents in 19 games last season (17-2).
• In the 2023-24 season, the Wildcats averaged 38.1 rebounds per game and held a +3.7 rebound margin. K-State was third in the Big 12 and was 23rd in the nation for defensive rebounds per game (28.8 drpg).
Taylor Crafts Double-Double
• Forward Kennedy Taylor announced her presence in the K-State lineup during the season-opener with Green Bay.
• The senior from Shawnee Mission, Kansas, recorded a double-double of 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 6-of-6 from the foul line and 11 rebounds.
• Taylor is the third Wildcat to register a double-double in their K-State debut, joining Kendra Wecker (2001) and Peyton Williams (2016).
• Taylor was the first Wildcat since Eliza Maupin on Feb. 17, 2024, to register a double-double off the bench.