MANHATTAN, Kansas – Following a trio of wins last week, Kansas State freshman guard
Rachel Ranke was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Week. Ranke is the 24th recipient of the honor in program history and the first since current teammate
Peyton Williams captured a pair of honors in the 2016-17 season.
Ranke led K-State in scoring in all three wins during the week, sending K-State to its third 4-0 start under head coach
Jeff Mittie. Ranke averaged 19.0 points including a 15-of-33 performance from beyond the arc, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the three games.
In K-State's win over Omaha, Ranke notched her first career game with 20 or more points with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. She is the first K-State freshman since Laurie Koehn in the 2001-02 season to make six or more 3-point field goals in a game.
In Friday's win over Florida A&M, the product of Burnsville, Minnesota, registered a game-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting and also four rebounds. She is the first K-State freshman with consecutive games of 20 or more points since the 2013-14 season when Leticia Romero achieved the feat.
In the Wildcats' road win at North Texas, she tallied 14 points including a 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter to give K-State a 54-52 lead. She also carded a career-high three steals against the Mean Green.
Ranke leads K-State in points (16.8 ppg) and 3-point field goals made and attempted (16-of-41), while also pocketing 2.0 steals per game and blocking 0.8 shots.
Kansas State will continue its four-game road trip on Friday and Saturday in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Wildcats will face (5/7) UCLA on Friday and Penn State on Saturday.
