Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Weekend Recap — Lanie Page Leads K-State WBB Bench in Win over Iowa State
Feb 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Tennis, Track & Field
Jeff Mittie has a problem, but it’s a good one. At a time when rotations and roles are usually solidified, his team continues to develop and display more depth.
Lanie Page added her name to the K-State women’s basketball team’s deep list of impactful reserves in Saturday’s 80-68 victory over Iowa State. Page, a redshirt freshman, broke out for a career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting that included going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
“I just came in and gave us energy,” Page said. “I didn’t expect to shoot it a lot, but they left me open so it was nice to be able to convert on good passes from my teammates.”
Page broke her previous career-high point total (5) before the midway point of the second quarter. By halftime, she had recorded 14 points and had logged 13 minutes, surpassing her 12 minutes played in the previous three games combined.
“I think I’m kind of at an advantage because I haven’t played much this season,” said Page, who finished with 23 minutes of action. “So I think the other team doesn’t really know what to expect from me.”
“I thought she played great,” Mittie, K-State’s head coach, said of Page’s performance, complimenting her play in practice and her defensive growth. “We’ve known these are things she’s capable of, but defensively, she’s had to grow in that area and she’s much better. Before, we knew of her scoring ability, but now she’s, improved so much defensively over the last month. She’s definitely earning more playing time.”
In the first quarter, Page scored back-to-back buckets to cut Iowa State’s lead to three. She provided 10 points in the second quarter, highlighted by knocking down consecutive treys in the final minute of the half to send K-State into the locker room with a 40-37 lead.
“It’s great. We needed it. We weren’t getting it from the starting five, so for Lanie to come in and put up some points for us, that was huge,” senior guard Kindred Wesemann said. “She definitely brought some energy.”
The 6-foot-3 product of Wamego was limited to one basket in the second half, but it helped keep Iowa State at a safe distance in the fourth quarter.
“Offensively, we know she’s talented there. She can knock the three down, stretch the defense, but she’s got that craftiness to her game that you got to see today,” Mittie said. “I thought she played very well. The first half was huge for us to have her come in and play as well as she did. We needed a lift and she gave it to us.”
Page led a powerful performance from K-State’s bench, which combined for a season-high 39 points. It marked K-State’s most bench points since putting up 43 against Florida Atlantic on December 13, 2015.
“The bench came in and gave us a great lift. It’s a nice problem to have when you can sit some of your starters and feel like you get a lift out of the bench, and that’s exactly what we got,” Mittie said. “We got a lot of energy, we got some offense and we got some rebounding. We just got a little bit of everything.”
Eternati Willock contributed 11 points and six rebounds while Kayla Goth added nine points and four assists off the bench, which saw four players record at least nine minutes of action.
“Kayla Goth did some good things. We’ve seen Lanie make improvements in practice every day,” said Mittie, whose team will play at West Virginia on Wednesday. “We’ve seen Peyton (Williams) and Eternati both start some, come off the bench some and both do really good things.
“Here’s why I’m so proud of our group today. If you struggled in the game, you found a way to come back into the game and help your team. If you played well early, you found a way to come back in when they adjusted and guarded tougher. They guarded Lanie tougher in the second half and she found a way to get down the lane line and get a bucket. I can go down the line and everybody did positive, positive things.”
K-State MBB falls on the road to No. 13 West Virginia, 85-66
For the first time in 51 games, K-State was without D.J. Johnson, who was missed in an 85-66 loss at No. 13 West Virginia on Saturday. Johnson missed the game with an ankle injury, forcing the Wildcats to use a different starting lineup for the first time this season.
“You miss him. There’s no doubt about that,” K-State head coach Bruce Weber said.
K-State (16-9, 5-7 Big 12) held a 39-36 lead early in the second half before West Virginia broke off a 12-1 run to take the lead permanently. Five Wildcats finished in double figures scoring, including freshman Brian Patrick, who scored a career-high 11 points off the bench.
To read more about the game, click here.
School Record Falls in Busy Weekend for K-State Track
K-State track and field sophomore Shardia Lawrence recorded the best triple jump mark in school history on Saturday in Arkansas. Her mark of 13.75m/45-01.50 bested the program’s previous record, set in 2004 in Chaytan Hill, by four inches.
K-State competitors set 12 personal bests in a weekend of split competition, with Wildcats performing at the Iowa State Classic and the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas.
Christoff Bryan won the men’s high jump at Iowa State, clearing a height of 2.20m/7-02.50 to earn the Wildcats’ lone individual title of the weekend.
Links: Day 1 recap. Day 2 recap.
Tennis Drops Close Match to Missouri
The K-State women’s tennis team fell, 4-2, to Missouri on Friday, marking the Wildcats’ first home loss of the season.
K-State lost the doubles point, dropping matches in the No. 2 (7-5) and No. 3 (6-3) battles. Carolina Costamagna eased to a singles victory at the No. 1 spot for K-State, which collected its other point from Livia Cirnu’s 6-0, 6-3 win in the No. 6 match.
For more information on the match, click here.
