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Kansas State (25-4, 13-3 Big 12) dominates KU on senior day in Bramlage. Another commanding Big 12 win, and big win over the Jayhawks. The Wildcat seniors played their last Sunflower Showdown in front of a packed Bramlage Coliseum, achieving the first sell out of the year for women’s basketball. K-State jumped on KU early and never looked back, routing the Jayhawks, 90-60.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon K-State held their senior day to honor the seven senior Wildcats. Saturday was also the first game in over a month where Ayoka Lee suited up and made a start for the Wildcats. Despite only playing five minutes, it was a good sign to see the All-American moving up and down the court. Senior Serena Sundell added another accomplishment to her already great career, breaking the K-State single game assist record with 15 in the game.
Wildcat Warm-Up
Opponent Matchup
Kansas (15-12, 5-11) has had a rough month of February, dropping five of the six games so far. The Jayhawks traveled to an unfriendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum, where they have lost six straight and 10 of the last 11. The Hawks are led by S’Mya Nichols who averages just over 19 points a game. Nichols also leads KU in assists per game. KU is looking to finish the season strong as they currently sit on the NCAA tournaments bubble watch.
Tip-Off to Buzzer
Quarter Breakdowns
First Quarter-
The Wildcats started fast against the skidding Jayhawks forcing an early timeout after a quick run. Senior Gisela Sanchez scored six straight points to push the Wildcats into a 21-10 lead with just over two minutes left. The Wildcats would finish out the quarter strong leading 26-12.
Second Quarter-
K-State jumped on an 8-0 run, six of which from senior Kennedy Taylor to force another KU timeout. After the Jayhawk timeout Ku made a push to be down 10 before two three-pointers from senior Jaelyn Glenn and Big 12 Player of the Week Taryn Sides to be leading 46-31 at half.
Third Quarter-
K-State would remain in control, extending their lead out to 21. Sides knocked down back to back deep balls to force another KU timeout to try to stop the Wildcat run. Poindexter knocked down two threes to help the Wildcats lead 66-45 into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter-
K-State’s hot three point shooting did not cool off in between quarters, knocking down three in a row, two from the hand of Sanchez. K-State would control the rest of the battle and win the game 90-60, another big scoring margin for the Wildcats.
Courtside Conclusions
A completely one-sided affair left K-State the victors once again. The much needed bounce back win was aided by 28 assists, and with the 28 assists K-State broke the school record for assists in a season. K-State’s bench also scored 43 of the 90, the highest total all season.
Head coach Jeff Mittie commented on the Wildcat’s offensive success this year.
“So I think we're a better team when we have this kind of balance,” Mittie said. “It says the ball is moving. It's not sticking on one side of the floor.”
Sundell did not know she broke the record until it was announced in the senior night ceremony after the game.
“The first thing that comes to mind is patience,” Sundell said when asked about being a good passer. “As a freshman, I was not seeing the court as I did tonight, so just continuing tonight, I felt like I was trusting in my teammates to hit shots and then just being able to learn from your mistakes and from your turnovers, because I've had plenty of those too, but gotta try to have it balance out.”
Transfer senior Temeria Poindexter had 14 points on her senior night and was grateful she chose Manhattan as home for her final season. She shared her thoughts on what senior night was like.
“It was a lot of emotions, seeing all of the seniors crying, even the underclassmen,” Poindexter said. “It just shows how much this team cares for one another. And yeah, I just love my teammates, and I'm glad and I'm blessed that I got the opportunity to come here.”
Future Focus
A Look Ahead at the K-State Schedule
K-State will round out the season playing two tough opponents, ranked foe the Baylor Bears before traveling to Ames, Iowa to play Iowa State. K-State has to win their two tough matchups and get a little help from some other Big 12 teams to get a chance at winning the Big 12 regular season. K-State is back one game to Baylor and TCU. The Wildcats could even up with the Bears on Monday but need TCU to drop a game to either Houston or on their season finale against the Baylor Bears. Both of the final games and the Big 12 Tournament will be aired live here on Wildcat 91.9.
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