MANHATTAN, Kansas – (14/18) K-State ended any hopes of a Jackson State upset in the first half on Friday night in Bramlage Coliseum, as the Wildcats cruised to a 79-37 win.
The 37 points allowed marked the third time this season K-State has held an opponent under 40 points. Jackson State’s field goal percentage of .215 is the lowest allowed by the Wildcats this season and the lowest since holding UTRGV to a .203 effort on November 18, 2022.
The Wildcats saw four in double figures, led by junior Jaelyn Glenn with a game-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Ayoka Lee, who moved into fourth on the K-State career scoring list (1,809 points), added 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks.
Junior guard Serena Sundell notched 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while freshman guard Taryn Sides led a 28-point night for the K-State bench with a career-high 10 points and five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- K-State (7-1) used a diverse attack in the first quarter to build a 23-10 advantage. Seven of the nine players that saw the floor registered at least two points and were led by eight from Jaelyn Glenn, including a pair of connections from long range. The Wildcats shot 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the field in the frame.
- In the second quarter, K-State continued its efficiency on offense by shooting 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from the floor to hold a 39-22 lead at halftime.
- The K-State defense went to work in the third quarter, holding Jackson State to 2-of-19 (.105) shooting in the frame and just four points (21-4). The field goal percentage of .105 was the lowest by a K-State opponent in a quarter this season and the lowest since holding UTRGV without a made field goal in the Nov. 18, 2022, matchup.
- The Wildcats held the Lady Tigers without a field goal for the first six and a half minutes of the third quarter while using a 16-0 run to build a 55-22 lead. K-State would end the quarter with a 60-26 advantage.
- K-State capped the win with 19 points in the fourth quarter and shot 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from the field and held the Lady Tigers to a 20.0 percent (3-of-15) effort from the floor.
- For the night, K-State shot 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the field including a 43.5 percent (10-of-23) performance from 3-point range.
QUICK FACTS
- K-State is 2-0 in the series against Jackson State. The Wildcats are 26-0 against current members of the SWAC.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 625-363 (.633) and is 171-128 (.572) during his 10-seasons at K-State.
- K-State owns a record of 383-154 (.713) during its 36-seasons in Bramlage Coliseum. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 113-46 (.711) in home games with the Wildcats.
- K-State has won 24 straight non-conference home games dating back to December of 2020. Kansas State is 224-29 (.885) against non-conference foes, while Mittie is 70-8 (.897).
- K-State owns a record of 229-88 (.722) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 15-5 (.750) all-time when ranked 14th in the nation.
TEAM NOTES
- K-State's starting five consisted of guards: Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Gabby Gregory and center Ayoka Lee. This was the eighth time this starting five has been used this season. This was the 95th career start for Lee, the 86th collegiate career start and the 40th start at K-State for Gregory, the 77th career start for Sundell, the 73rd career start for Jaelyn Glenn and the 67th career start for Brylee Glenn.
- The Wildcats held a 39-22 lead at halftime on Friday. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 135-17 (.888) when leading at halftime, including a 6-0 record this season.
- K-State had four players in double figures on Friday, the fifth time this season (4-1).
- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in two quarters on Friday night. For the season, K-State owns 11 quarters with a field goal percentage of 50.0 percent or better.
- The Wildcats made 10 three-point field goals on Friday. This was the second time this season K-State made 10 or more from long range.
- K-State registered 48 rebounds on Friday. This is the seventh time K-State has outrebounded its opponent this season (6-1).
- The Wildcats dished out 23 assists on Friday, the second-highest total of the season. When K-State hands out 20 or more assists over the last 16 seasons, the Wildcats are 83-7 (.922).
PLAYER NOTES
- Lee recorded her 87th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career (95 games).
- Lee hauled in five rebounds on Sunday. This was her 87th career game with five or more rebounds and her seventh this season.
- With her two blocks on Friday, Lee surpassed 250 blocks in her career, as her total stands at 251 and ranks third in program history.
- Jaelyn Glenn carded her 33rd career game with 10 or more points and her third this season.
- Jaelyn Glenn tallied three three-pointers on Friday. This was her 38th career game with two or more connections from long range.
- Jaelyn Glenn recorded her 42nd career game and the fourth this season with two or more steals.
- This was Sundell’s 49th career game with 10 or more points including her fourth this season.
- Sundell handed out five assists on Friday. This was Sundell’s 46th career game with five or more assists.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the Wildcats’ performance…
“I think it was pretty good [from] start to finish, sloppy at times. But the two areas that gave us trouble were some turnovers in stretches, and then we've got to take the ball away from the other team a little more. That first quarter I felt like we were playing pretty safe defense, not bad defense, but the areas that I wanted us to be aggressive in, they weren't until the second quarter. But all in all, I think that we did some good things. I liked the balance tonight. I think offensively we're starting to understand each other better, and I think we'll just get better and better. This team I think, as we've talked about, we've got a fairly young group in some spots, and if they keep working hard, they'll have a chance to just continue to improve.”
On Ayoka Lee moving up to 4th on K-State’s all-time scoring list…
“Yeah, you know, it's great to have her back. Obviously, it's great that she's healthy. It's fun to watch her play. I mean, that's a heck of an accomplishment for her to just continue to climb up that ladder in a lot of areas. But I think the thing that I'm enjoying so much about seeing her is just seeing her back without the brace, people have commented on that. It was such that you just knew she was in pain a lot. And she's not pain free now, but she's playing free, and she is feeling much better and we see her get better every day. So a heck of an accomplishment for her and she's off to a good start.”
On the early season performance from Taryn Sides…
“You know, it wasn't just one thing. I would say that this summer she had a good poise about her for a young player. She shot the ball great all summer. [She] put the work in, you could see her in the gym all the time. I liked the growth that she made. And she still is getting used to, you know, like she'll drive down there now and one will get swatted out of bounds and she’ll have that look, like ‘wow’. I'm like ‘yeah’, I yelled at her. I go ‘stride stop, stride stop,’ because that's a play she got away with in high school, right? And she learns every day, and she rarely repeats the same mistake. I think that's one of the things, and then the other thing is that she’s got a little bit of an edge to her, at times and you don't always see it, but you saw it at Iowa, stepping up and knocking the two free throws down and telling Yokie [Ayoka Lee] that she's got her. You saw it tonight with the three at the end of the shot clock. So she's got a good edge about her.”
FROM THE FLOOR
K-State Senior Center Ayoka Lee
On moving into fourth in scoring at K-State and the awareness of it…
“It makes a lot of sense why people were congratulating me. Yeah, no, not at all something I think about. I've said this before but just, I've accomplished so much more than I just ever thought I would. So a lot of these things coming towards the end of my career like moving up on those boards and stuff. It’s just not something I think about very much or that I'm aware of.”
On recovering a lot since the first loss …
“I think we recovered well, I think we played hard that tournament and I think getting back it was a good challenge the three back to back games, I think was a really good test for us. And then getting back and getting some body rest. I think we we came into practice, we had a great practice after our off days. So we came in ready to work came in to focus on this game and wanting to get back on in the winning column.”
On this being the third time the defense has held the opponent to under 30 point…
“I'm obviously happy with it. But also, I think this is the standard that we should be playing to, our defense should be what drives everything. So definitely, proud of the effort we put in and I think it just helps us set the bar more consistently like this is what we should be doing every night.”
K-State Freshman Guard Taryn Sides
On the career-high ten points…
“It felt great. I mean, coming off the Florida tournament wasn't how I wanted to play. Coming back here and gaining a little bit of confidence back was big for me.”
On the minutes on the floor as a true freshman…
“A little bit (surprised), just because of the depth that we already have in the players coming back. They're all great, but minutes are kind of limited.”
On being able to maintain a higher rebounding percentage…
“Just having a nose for the ball and reading where it's going to come off, because I'm not the tallest or largest [on the court]. Being quick to rebound is huge for a smaller guard like me.”
On overall improvement within this first collegiate season…
“A lot of aspects, but mainly just getting used to the physicality and speed of the game. Coming in from a smaller 3-A to a large Division 1 school is a big difference. Just getting comfortable with everything is huge.”
K-State Junior Guard Jaelyn Glenn
On this being the third time the defense has held the opponent to under 30 points…
“I think I've been very impressed. I think we know what we need to do in order to have games like that. We were really committed on coming into this game and getting our seven gaps because we haven't done that in our last couple games. And I think it just shows also how well we work together as a team and also when we are playing defense like that it helps our energy a lot and our offense. So yeah, I love when we have games like this.”
On the key to being successful…
“Contesting and kind of making our presence known. I think as a team we're able to pressure up on the ball more and gamble a little bit more because we know our other teammates are there to help us as well. Yeah, so I think ball pressure and then just contesting shots, making it tough on the offense to make those shots and if they go in then they go in.”
On what it means to be a part of this team…
“It really means a lot. I think these are some of my closest friends and they are like family members to me. So it means a lot just being a part of a program where you have great relationships with your teammates and also with your coaches and then you're surrounded by a great environment of great people that are from Manhattan, so it definitely means a lot. I'm very blessed to be a part of this program and very excited.”
UP NEXT
K-State completes its two-game home stand in Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday, December 6, at 6:30 p.m., against McNeese State. For tickets call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.
Wednesday’s game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network, online at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.