Monday, November 13
Manhattan, Kan.
7 p.m.
Kansas State University
2-0
81
vs
60
Omaha
0-2
1
2
3
4
F
OMAHA
15
15
16
14
60
Kansas State
24
14
19
24
81
K-State Downs Omaha, 81-60
Nov 13, 2017 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State dished out 24 assists on 31 made field goals on Monday night, as four players reached double figures to defeat Omaha in Bramlage, 81-60. This is the seventh straight season K-State has opened with a 2-0 record.
K-State was paced in scoring by freshman Rachel Ranke with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a 6-of-12 effort from beyond the arc. Her six connections from beyond the arc were the most by a Wildcat since Kindred Wesemann buried six against Oklahoma on Feb. 9, 2016.
Joining Ranke in double figures were a pair of Wildcats with full stat lines. Junior guard Kayla Goth with 16 points, nine assists, four steals, two rebounds and one block. Her nine assists were a new career-high, while its was her tenth career game in double figures for points.
Senior Shaelyn Martin finished within a whisper of K-State's first triple-double since the 2008-09 season, as she tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists with zero turnovers. This was Martin's fourth career game with 10 or more points, five or more rebounds and five or more assists.
In double figures for the second straight game was senior forward Kaylee Page with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. This was the third time in Page's career that she has registered consecutive games in double figures.
Omaha (0-2) was led by Ellie Brecht with 20 points, including a 6-of-9 performance from the 3-point line. Also in double figures for the Mavericks was Claire Killian with 13 points.
The Wildcats shot 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the floor. This was K-State's highest field goal percentage since Jan. 2, 2017 against West Virginia when K-State tallied a 54.7 percent effort.
K-State's 24 assists on the night were the most since Feb. 24, 2016 at Iowa State when K-State also handed out 24 assists.
Kansas State used an 18-5 run early in the first quarter to build a 20-11 lead with 4:31 remaining in the quarter. During the run, K-State was 7-of-7 from the field, which was highlighted by two 3-point field goals each from Kaylee Page and Rachel Ranke. Page would finish the first half with three 3-pointers.
Freshman Ashley Ray came off the bench in the opening quarter to add four points and a block to help the Wildcats to a 24-15 lead after the first frame. The Wildcats shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the field in the opening quarter. Goth would set the school record for assists in a first quarter with six.
The Wildcats would improve their lead to 15, 38-23, as Goth buried a corner 3-pointer with 4:10 remaining. The Mavericks would hold K-State scoreless for the remainder of the first half and outscore K-State, 7-0, to pull to within eight at the half, 38-30.
K-State shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the first half, while Omaha tallied a 37.5 percent (12-of-32) effort. The Wildcats were 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, while the Mavericks were 5-of-12.
Kansas State would build a 12-point lead, 53-41, with 4:56 left in the third quarter. Ranke buried a pair of three-pointers to force an early Omaha timeout. Following the timeout, freshman center Ashley Ray recorded two straight field goals to cap the lead at 12.
Ray's layup at 4:56 of the third would be K-State's final field goal of third quarter, as Omaha held K-State to four free throws, while picking up five points of their own during the final 4:55 to pull within 11, 57-46, entering the fourth quarter.
K-State used a 17-5 run to begin the final quarter to construct a 74-51 advantage with 5:15 remaining. Ranke hit consecutive 3-pointers to send the lead to 23 and force an Omaha timeout. The Mavericks would get as close as 17 after consecutive 3-pointers after the timeout. K-State was able to answer with a 7-3 edge to outscore Omaha in the final period, 24-14.
Kansas State will end its season-opening three-game home stand on Friday at 5:30 p.m., against Florida A&M. Friday evening's game will be available for free on K-StateHD.TV and on the K-State Sports Network.
What They Said
K-State Head Coach and Player Quotes
Kansas State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement...
"It was really a hot start by both teams. We thought their matchup zone would be hard to attack. We went against it last year. Ironically, their man defense was harder for us and kind of took us out of rhythm. But I am proud of our group. In the second half, we got to the free throw line better and got better paint touches. We had better balance offensively and then our defense was a little better in the second half. What a fantastic night for Ellie Brecht. I checked her right arm walking through the line and congratulated her, but that right arm was on target tonight."
On assists...
"Both Kayla [Goth] and Shaelyn [Martin] made very good decisions with the ball and they were very patient. They both had a good awareness and played with a pretty good pace. Our downfall tonight was against their man-to-man early. I thought they got in us too good. Our drives to the paint were weak, but in terms of their assets I thought they passed the ball very well tonight."
On Rachel Ranke...
"We know Rachel [Ranke] can shoot the basketball. I think she has started to do a little bit more as well. Her defense is much better than it was. The other night, she showed the ability to get to the rim some. We feel confident that she is going to score some points. With Shaelyn [Martin] and Kayla [Goth] looking for her like they were tonight, I think this team is going to get more comfortable finding each other. Shaelyn has been in practice four days. Peyton [Williams] has been in practice seven days. This group has not played together hardly at all. For them to play together as well as they played tonight, I think it says a little bit about their willingness to be passers to the open player. That is good for us to see and I think we will play better moving on."
K-State Senior Guard/Forward Shaeyln Martin
On the team's performance against Omaha…
"If you look at the stat sheet, everybody contributed – we have four players in double digits and everybody got in there. If you look at the assists, having 24 assists is huge. We really focus on getting deflections on defense and if we can turn half of those into steals, that's huge overall. I think we've made big strides since the first game."
On Omaha's success on the offensive glass…
"We definitely didn't hit the glass as hard as we could at the beginning and that cost us with them getting eight right away. We have to hit the offensive glass too, that's where we're really hurting - that's on me too. We had seven total for the game, they ended up with only 10 for the game so we picked up there. But that's got to be a focus out of the gate, just knowing we have to dominate offensive and defensive rebounds to come out on top at the end of the game."
K-State Junior Guard Kayla Goth
On playing point and the team's performance against Omaha…
"I'm definitely getting more comfortable playing the point guard position and kind of getting settled in a little bit. I'm definitely looking for players a lot better than I was two or three games ago. I think I can get those players involved, but they've got to make the shot too, and we're definitely doing that right now. As we play more games together, and as we practice together, it will continue to get better."
On Omaha's success on the offensive glass early in the game…
"It's more of a frustration on our part, that we're not getting those box outs and are not getting to the boards like we need to. They're hustling to the boards, but we also have to be doing the same thing to win those boards defensively."
Omaha Head Coach Quotes
Omaha Head Coach Brittany Lange
On overall thoughts…
"We knew it was going to be a tough opponent in a tough atmosphere, a lot of our kids it's their first college experience. I thought we did some good things as far as ball movement, obviously we didn't get it inside, which was effective in the second and third quarter. But I do feel where the game could have got out of hand a couple of times, we did respond. Have to get much better on identifying their shooters, and taking away a couple of them, and I think that's something that comes with a little bit of inexperience."
On three-point shooting …
"Something we were known for last year, what we are trying to build to is our assists and our three-point shooting. We were top 20 in the country in both of those statistics last year. It's not something we necessarily strive for, but everything we do, we want to score off the assist, and obviously Kansas State is a very long team, and you aren't going to get much in the paint, especially with the type of players we have, so we are playing four guards, and we had some good looks."
K-State was paced in scoring by freshman Rachel Ranke with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a 6-of-12 effort from beyond the arc. Her six connections from beyond the arc were the most by a Wildcat since Kindred Wesemann buried six against Oklahoma on Feb. 9, 2016.
Joining Ranke in double figures were a pair of Wildcats with full stat lines. Junior guard Kayla Goth with 16 points, nine assists, four steals, two rebounds and one block. Her nine assists were a new career-high, while its was her tenth career game in double figures for points.
Senior Shaelyn Martin finished within a whisper of K-State's first triple-double since the 2008-09 season, as she tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists with zero turnovers. This was Martin's fourth career game with 10 or more points, five or more rebounds and five or more assists.
In double figures for the second straight game was senior forward Kaylee Page with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. This was the third time in Page's career that she has registered consecutive games in double figures.
Omaha (0-2) was led by Ellie Brecht with 20 points, including a 6-of-9 performance from the 3-point line. Also in double figures for the Mavericks was Claire Killian with 13 points.
The Wildcats shot 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the floor. This was K-State's highest field goal percentage since Jan. 2, 2017 against West Virginia when K-State tallied a 54.7 percent effort.
K-State's 24 assists on the night were the most since Feb. 24, 2016 at Iowa State when K-State also handed out 24 assists.
Kansas State used an 18-5 run early in the first quarter to build a 20-11 lead with 4:31 remaining in the quarter. During the run, K-State was 7-of-7 from the field, which was highlighted by two 3-point field goals each from Kaylee Page and Rachel Ranke. Page would finish the first half with three 3-pointers.
Freshman Ashley Ray came off the bench in the opening quarter to add four points and a block to help the Wildcats to a 24-15 lead after the first frame. The Wildcats shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the field in the opening quarter. Goth would set the school record for assists in a first quarter with six.
The Wildcats would improve their lead to 15, 38-23, as Goth buried a corner 3-pointer with 4:10 remaining. The Mavericks would hold K-State scoreless for the remainder of the first half and outscore K-State, 7-0, to pull to within eight at the half, 38-30.
K-State shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the first half, while Omaha tallied a 37.5 percent (12-of-32) effort. The Wildcats were 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, while the Mavericks were 5-of-12.
Kansas State would build a 12-point lead, 53-41, with 4:56 left in the third quarter. Ranke buried a pair of three-pointers to force an early Omaha timeout. Following the timeout, freshman center Ashley Ray recorded two straight field goals to cap the lead at 12.
Ray's layup at 4:56 of the third would be K-State's final field goal of third quarter, as Omaha held K-State to four free throws, while picking up five points of their own during the final 4:55 to pull within 11, 57-46, entering the fourth quarter.
K-State used a 17-5 run to begin the final quarter to construct a 74-51 advantage with 5:15 remaining. Ranke hit consecutive 3-pointers to send the lead to 23 and force an Omaha timeout. The Mavericks would get as close as 17 after consecutive 3-pointers after the timeout. K-State was able to answer with a 7-3 edge to outscore Omaha in the final period, 24-14.
Kansas State will end its season-opening three-game home stand on Friday at 5:30 p.m., against Florida A&M. Friday evening's game will be available for free on K-StateHD.TV and on the K-State Sports Network.
What They Said
K-State Head Coach and Player Quotes
Kansas State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement...
"It was really a hot start by both teams. We thought their matchup zone would be hard to attack. We went against it last year. Ironically, their man defense was harder for us and kind of took us out of rhythm. But I am proud of our group. In the second half, we got to the free throw line better and got better paint touches. We had better balance offensively and then our defense was a little better in the second half. What a fantastic night for Ellie Brecht. I checked her right arm walking through the line and congratulated her, but that right arm was on target tonight."
On assists...
"Both Kayla [Goth] and Shaelyn [Martin] made very good decisions with the ball and they were very patient. They both had a good awareness and played with a pretty good pace. Our downfall tonight was against their man-to-man early. I thought they got in us too good. Our drives to the paint were weak, but in terms of their assets I thought they passed the ball very well tonight."
On Rachel Ranke...
"We know Rachel [Ranke] can shoot the basketball. I think she has started to do a little bit more as well. Her defense is much better than it was. The other night, she showed the ability to get to the rim some. We feel confident that she is going to score some points. With Shaelyn [Martin] and Kayla [Goth] looking for her like they were tonight, I think this team is going to get more comfortable finding each other. Shaelyn has been in practice four days. Peyton [Williams] has been in practice seven days. This group has not played together hardly at all. For them to play together as well as they played tonight, I think it says a little bit about their willingness to be passers to the open player. That is good for us to see and I think we will play better moving on."
K-State Senior Guard/Forward Shaeyln Martin
On the team's performance against Omaha…
"If you look at the stat sheet, everybody contributed – we have four players in double digits and everybody got in there. If you look at the assists, having 24 assists is huge. We really focus on getting deflections on defense and if we can turn half of those into steals, that's huge overall. I think we've made big strides since the first game."
On Omaha's success on the offensive glass…
"We definitely didn't hit the glass as hard as we could at the beginning and that cost us with them getting eight right away. We have to hit the offensive glass too, that's where we're really hurting - that's on me too. We had seven total for the game, they ended up with only 10 for the game so we picked up there. But that's got to be a focus out of the gate, just knowing we have to dominate offensive and defensive rebounds to come out on top at the end of the game."
K-State Junior Guard Kayla Goth
On playing point and the team's performance against Omaha…
"I'm definitely getting more comfortable playing the point guard position and kind of getting settled in a little bit. I'm definitely looking for players a lot better than I was two or three games ago. I think I can get those players involved, but they've got to make the shot too, and we're definitely doing that right now. As we play more games together, and as we practice together, it will continue to get better."
On Omaha's success on the offensive glass early in the game…
"It's more of a frustration on our part, that we're not getting those box outs and are not getting to the boards like we need to. They're hustling to the boards, but we also have to be doing the same thing to win those boards defensively."
Omaha Head Coach Quotes
Omaha Head Coach Brittany Lange
On overall thoughts…
"We knew it was going to be a tough opponent in a tough atmosphere, a lot of our kids it's their first college experience. I thought we did some good things as far as ball movement, obviously we didn't get it inside, which was effective in the second and third quarter. But I do feel where the game could have got out of hand a couple of times, we did respond. Have to get much better on identifying their shooters, and taking away a couple of them, and I think that's something that comes with a little bit of inexperience."
On three-point shooting …
"Something we were known for last year, what we are trying to build to is our assists and our three-point shooting. We were top 20 in the country in both of those statistics last year. It's not something we necessarily strive for, but everything we do, we want to score off the assist, and obviously Kansas State is a very long team, and you aren't going to get much in the paint, especially with the type of players we have, so we are playing four guards, and we had some good looks."
Team Stats
OMAHA
K-STATE
FG%
.373
.544
3FG%
.371
.480
FT%
.600
.538
RB
31
33
TO
14
8
STL
3
7
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
C
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