HOUSTON, Texas – (12/11) K-State used a dominant fourth quarter to hold off the upset bid by Houston, 74-55, on Wednesday afternoon at Fertitta Center. The win improves K-State’s win streak to nine.
K-State improved its record to 14-1 for the second time under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. This is the second straight season K-State has opened with a 14-1 record. In its history, K-State has opened a season 14-1 or better six times.
Senior guard Jaelyn Glenn registered 15 points on Wednesday. With her effort, Glenn became the 46th player in program history to score 1,000 or more career points with the Wildcats (1,012). Glenn is the fifth player in program history and first since 2009 (Shalee Lehning) with 1,000 or more points, 500 or more rebounds, 250 or more assists and 225 or more steals.
Senior forward Temira Poindexter tallied her third straight game in double figures with 15 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Senior center Ayoka Lee notched 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, while senior guard Serena Sundell carded her seventh career double-double and her fourth this season with 11 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Houston (4-9, 0-2 Big 12) took their first lead of the game on a free throw with 9:00 to play in the fourth quarter, following a 24-14 third quarter that brought the Cougars back into the game.
- K-State (14-1, 2-0) responded with a 21-0 run to take a 72-52 lead with 2:17 left. Poindexter registered eight of the first 10 points during the run. Lee notched seven points during the rally.
- The saw Glenn attack early and with 8:22 remaining in the first quarter, Glenn tallied her second basket of the game with a layup to surpass the 1,000-point mark in her career.
- The Wildcats would end the first frame with a 20-14 lead, as Glenn and Sundell carded six and five points, respectively.
- Houston had pulled to within two, 20-18, early in the second quarter. The Wildcats answered with a 12-2 run to take a 32-20 advantage with 5:44 remaining in the opening half.
- The Cougars closed to within eight, 35-27, with 56 seconds to play in the second stanza on the strength of a 7-0 run
- K-State would hold a 37-27 lead at halftime, as Imani Lester finished a layup on K-State’s final possession of the half.
- Houston used a 24-14 third quarter to square the game at 51 entering the fourth. The Cougars held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 4:19 of the third quarter and closed the stanza on a 12-2 run.
- K-State ended the afternoon shooting 50.0 percent (28-of-56) from the field and 77.8 percent (14-of-18) from the foul line.
- Houston shot 31.9 percent (22-of-69), including 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from long range.
- The Wildcats held a 49-30 advantage on the glass and a 42-26 edge in points in the paint.
QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with Houston, 4-0. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 13-6 (.684) in his career against Houston.
- The Wildcats are 234-242 (.492) in Big 12 games.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 658-371 (.639), including a mark of 204-136 (.60). Mittie needs three wins to move into second on the K-State career wins list.
- K-State owns a record of 262-96 (.732) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 19-4 (.826) all-time when ranked 12th in the nation.
- The Wildcats are 260-193 (.574) in games played in the month of January. Under Mittie, K-State is 40-41 (.494) in games during the first month.
- K-State is 3-0 in games played on New Year’s Day. This was the first time K-State played on January 1 since 2017.
TEAM NOTES
- 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 13th time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 127th career start for Lee, the 118th career start for Sundell, the 114th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 102nd career collegiate start and 15th at K-State for Poindexter and the 15th career start for Walker. With her 127th career start at K-State, Lee remains in fourth in program history for career starts. With her 118th career start, Sundell is ninth in program history for career starts.
- The Wildcats held a 37-27 lead at halftime on Wednesday. Under Mittie, K-State is 163-19 (.896) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in 13 games this season (13-0).
- K-State improves to 58-3 (.951) over the last four seasons when holding foes to 60 points or less.
- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter 36 times this season, including the first and fourth quarters on Wednesday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 146-62 (.702) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.
- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter in two quarters on Wednesday (third and fourth quarters). The Wildcats have 37 quarters this season of 50.0 percent or better shooting.
PLAYER NOTES
- With her 15 points on Wednesday, Glenn improved her career total to 1,012 points. She is the 46th player in program history to score 1,000 or more career points at K-State and ranks 44th on the Wildcat career scoring list. This was her 47th career game with 10 or more points.
- Glenn pulled in three rebounds on Wednesday and improved her career total to 533 and sole possession of 28th on the K-State career rebounds list.
- Glenn pocketed a steal on Wednesday. She improved her career total to 228 and is sixth in school history for career steals.
- Sundell notched her 82nd career game with 10 or more points. Sundell owns 1,451 career points and remains in 14th on the K-State career scoring list.
- Sundell’s nine assists on Wednesday improved her career total to 657. This was her 77th career game with five or more assists.
- Sundell hauled in 11 rebounds on Wednesday to improve her career total to 490. This was her 47th career game with five or more rebounds and her fourth career game with 10 or more rebounds.
- Sundell sent back two shots on Wednesday. Sundell boosted her career total to 86 and ranks ninth in school history for career blocks and owns the school record for blocks by a guard. This was Sundell’s 19th career game with two or more blocks.
- With her 15 points on Wednesday, Poindexter increased her collegiate point total to 1,743 points (1,560 at Tulsa; 193 at K-State). Poindexter her 89th career game and her eighth this season with 10 or more points.
- Poindexter made two 3-pointers on Wednesday. This was her her 63rd career game with two or more connections.
- With her 15 points on Wednesday, Lee boosted her career total to 2,417 and remains in eighth on the Big 12 career scoring list. Lee registered her 116th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career,127 games, and passed Nicole Ohlde (2000-04; 126) for third-most consecutive games scoring.
- Lee hauled in nine rebounds on Wednesday. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,203, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds. Lee is seventh in Big 12 history for career rebounds. She owns 110 career games with five or more rebounds.
- Lee registered four blocks on Wednesday and boosted her career total to 339. Lee is fourth in Big 12 history for career blocks. This was her 34th career game with four or more blocks and her 88th career game with two or more blocks.
UP NEXT
K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday, January 4 to face Texas Tech. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. Saturday’s game will feature a halftime performance from the Kansas City Disc Dogs. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.