Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, December 28
Manhattan, Kan.
7 p.m.
Kansas State University
8-4, 0-1
58
vs
88
Baylor
11-1, 1-0
1
2
3
4
F
Baylor
26
22
18
22
88
Kansas State
11
14
23
10
58
K-State Drops Big 12 Opener to Sixth-Ranked Baylor
Dec 28, 2017 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – For the third time in the last five seasons, Kansas State opened its Big 12 schedule with Baylor and the sixth-ranked Lady Bears downed the Wildcats, 88-58, on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum. K-State has lost six straight Big 12 season-openers.
For the second straight game, K-State (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) was paced by junior guard Kayla Goth and sophomore forward Peyton Williams with 22 and 13 points, respectively. Goth or Williams have led K-State in scoring in seven of K-State's last eight games.
Goth added to her final stat line with five rebounds and dished out four assists. Williams tallied a team-high nine rebounds and added a blocked shot.
Baylor (11-1, 1-0) saw four players reach double figures, led by junior center Kalani Brown with 20 points and nine rebounds. Her interior teammate of sophomore Lauren Cox added 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
For the night, K-State shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor while Baylor finished at 57.8 percent (37-of-64). The Lady Bears held a 41-28 advantage on the boards and outscored K-State in the paint, 48-14.
Baylor opened the game on an 14-3 run, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Natalie Chou and six points from Kristy Wallace. Chou would finish with 13 points and four assists.
The Lady Bears would build a 26-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The 26 points were the most by a K-State opponent in an opening quarter this season and the first time the Wildcats allowed 20 points in the frame this season.
Goth scored 11 of K-State's 14 points in the second quarter, but Baylor outscored the Wildcats 22-14 in the second frame to hold a 48-25 lead at the half. The Lady Bears shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) in the second quarter on their way to 60.6 percent (20-of-33) in the entirety of the opening half. K-State carded a 41.7 percent (5-of-12) effort from the field in the first half.
Kansas State made a dent in the Baylor lead in the third quarter, pulling to within 13, 54-41, with 2:46 to play. The Wildcats used a 7-0 run and held the Lady Bears without a field goal for three and a half minutes to close the gap.
The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 23-18, as Rachel Ranke tallied a pair of 3-point field goals in the quarter. Ranke would end the night with nine points.
Baylor used their interior muscle in the fourth quarter, outscoring K-State 22-10 and shooting 66.7 percent (10-of-15) in the final stanza. Brown and Cox combined for 16 of the 22 points.
For the first time since the 2003-04 season and only the fourth time in program history, Kansas State will play a game on New Year's Eve. K-State begins a two-game road trip at Oklahoma State on Sunday. Game time is 2 p.m., in Stillwater. Sunday's game will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
K-State Head Coach and Player Quotes
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On having a strong third quarter…
"I thought we played better together in terms of ball movement. We had more players aggressive in that stretch. I think Shaelyn [Martin} played well in the third quarter. She was much more aggressive; got to the free-throw line for some points. Peyton [Williams] was aggressive in stretches. What KG [Kayla Goth] is talking about is that I felt like there are more opportunities out there and I feel like we are just not trusting things right now. It will be interesting to watch this film, because I really feel like we forced some bad shots in stretches where we had better opportunities we did not see."
On Baylor's early lead…
"I do not care who you are playing, getting down 11-0, you are obviously not playing well at any end of the floor. We got the lead down to 64-49 maybe, where we had it around that 15 point range. We had to scrap and claw to get back to that range in the third quarter. The early hole is problematic from a point standpoint, but it is really problematic because you are not doing anything well."
On moving into Big 12 play…
"I think we just have to compete better. Compete means a lot of things to a coach. It means to cut harder, screen better, box-out better, dive on the floor, do whatever it takes on a certain play that may not be the intended play, all of those things. In our awareness tonight we were kind of frozen either in thought or frozen in lack of trust of what we were supposed to be doing. We have to improve on cutting loose and competing better. Hopefully we can get that accomplished. We are going to look at a lot of film tomorrow and hopefully give some clarity to our team."
K-State Junior Guard Kayla Goth
On Baylor's early lead…
"It is tough to come back down 26-11 on anyone. It is definitely tough to come back on Baylor, getting down early. We need a better start. That is really the way we need to be to be successful. "
On being an aggressive scorer…
"Definitely not trying to get as many points as possible. I'm just trying to stay aggressive. We were obviously having issues to score, so I was just trying to get shots up. I struggled early, but the only way I knew how to get out of it was to continue to shoot. I definitely missed a few wide open people tonight that Coach Mittie so kindly told me about. I think I need to distribute the ball a little better. "
Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey
On the importance of getting off to a big start in first conference game on the road…
"It was big, when you bring as many in here that we did. The roles have changed for our team and then you have the freshmen that were playing a lot of minutes for us. You, kind of, don't really know what to expect because, even though you've played some good teams in non-conference, when you get to conference everybody scouts everybody just a little bit harder and takes away your strengths. I thought that there were several keys to the game. I thought we took care of the basketball, only eight turnovers against a lengthy team that has length in that zone. I thought, too, that everybody looked to score. And thirdly, I thought we defended them pretty good. I thought every time, on the defensive end for us, they had to work hard, and a lot of times the shot clock was winding down."
On being nervous for the first game after break…
"Absolutely. You're nervous right before the Christmas holiday. You see a lot of upsets in the men's and women's games because people not focused and when you come back, for us, we take five or six days off, or we try to, every Christmas. You just never know, conditioning, and especially when you're on the road, you don't have too many people cheering for you."
On importance of strong start…
"I thought Natalie Chou hit the big shot to start the game, the three. Natalie can be passive, that's just her personality. She's one of the kindest people you will ever meet, and we don't need her to be kind. We need her to be very aggressive when the game starts, particularly when you're playing a team that plays zone like Kansas State does. I just thought she set the tone for our bigs. It's no secret that we are big inside, I think we have two of the finest post players in the country but that's not all we have. Natalie, a sophomore now, she's getting her opportunity. We are only nine on a team, so everybody has an opportunity to get minutes and contribute. I really thought every one of them did positive things tonight. I never put a lineup on the floor that I felt uncomfortable with."
For the second straight game, K-State (8-4, 0-1 Big 12) was paced by junior guard Kayla Goth and sophomore forward Peyton Williams with 22 and 13 points, respectively. Goth or Williams have led K-State in scoring in seven of K-State's last eight games.
Goth added to her final stat line with five rebounds and dished out four assists. Williams tallied a team-high nine rebounds and added a blocked shot.
Baylor (11-1, 1-0) saw four players reach double figures, led by junior center Kalani Brown with 20 points and nine rebounds. Her interior teammate of sophomore Lauren Cox added 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
For the night, K-State shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor while Baylor finished at 57.8 percent (37-of-64). The Lady Bears held a 41-28 advantage on the boards and outscored K-State in the paint, 48-14.
Baylor opened the game on an 14-3 run, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Natalie Chou and six points from Kristy Wallace. Chou would finish with 13 points and four assists.
The Lady Bears would build a 26-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. The 26 points were the most by a K-State opponent in an opening quarter this season and the first time the Wildcats allowed 20 points in the frame this season.
Goth scored 11 of K-State's 14 points in the second quarter, but Baylor outscored the Wildcats 22-14 in the second frame to hold a 48-25 lead at the half. The Lady Bears shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) in the second quarter on their way to 60.6 percent (20-of-33) in the entirety of the opening half. K-State carded a 41.7 percent (5-of-12) effort from the field in the first half.
Kansas State made a dent in the Baylor lead in the third quarter, pulling to within 13, 54-41, with 2:46 to play. The Wildcats used a 7-0 run and held the Lady Bears without a field goal for three and a half minutes to close the gap.
The Wildcats would win the third quarter, 23-18, as Rachel Ranke tallied a pair of 3-point field goals in the quarter. Ranke would end the night with nine points.
Baylor used their interior muscle in the fourth quarter, outscoring K-State 22-10 and shooting 66.7 percent (10-of-15) in the final stanza. Brown and Cox combined for 16 of the 22 points.
For the first time since the 2003-04 season and only the fourth time in program history, Kansas State will play a game on New Year's Eve. K-State begins a two-game road trip at Oklahoma State on Sunday. Game time is 2 p.m., in Stillwater. Sunday's game will be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
K-State Head Coach and Player Quotes
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On having a strong third quarter…
"I thought we played better together in terms of ball movement. We had more players aggressive in that stretch. I think Shaelyn [Martin} played well in the third quarter. She was much more aggressive; got to the free-throw line for some points. Peyton [Williams] was aggressive in stretches. What KG [Kayla Goth] is talking about is that I felt like there are more opportunities out there and I feel like we are just not trusting things right now. It will be interesting to watch this film, because I really feel like we forced some bad shots in stretches where we had better opportunities we did not see."
On Baylor's early lead…
"I do not care who you are playing, getting down 11-0, you are obviously not playing well at any end of the floor. We got the lead down to 64-49 maybe, where we had it around that 15 point range. We had to scrap and claw to get back to that range in the third quarter. The early hole is problematic from a point standpoint, but it is really problematic because you are not doing anything well."
On moving into Big 12 play…
"I think we just have to compete better. Compete means a lot of things to a coach. It means to cut harder, screen better, box-out better, dive on the floor, do whatever it takes on a certain play that may not be the intended play, all of those things. In our awareness tonight we were kind of frozen either in thought or frozen in lack of trust of what we were supposed to be doing. We have to improve on cutting loose and competing better. Hopefully we can get that accomplished. We are going to look at a lot of film tomorrow and hopefully give some clarity to our team."
K-State Junior Guard Kayla Goth
On Baylor's early lead…
"It is tough to come back down 26-11 on anyone. It is definitely tough to come back on Baylor, getting down early. We need a better start. That is really the way we need to be to be successful. "
On being an aggressive scorer…
"Definitely not trying to get as many points as possible. I'm just trying to stay aggressive. We were obviously having issues to score, so I was just trying to get shots up. I struggled early, but the only way I knew how to get out of it was to continue to shoot. I definitely missed a few wide open people tonight that Coach Mittie so kindly told me about. I think I need to distribute the ball a little better. "
Baylor Head Coach Kim Mulkey
On the importance of getting off to a big start in first conference game on the road…
"It was big, when you bring as many in here that we did. The roles have changed for our team and then you have the freshmen that were playing a lot of minutes for us. You, kind of, don't really know what to expect because, even though you've played some good teams in non-conference, when you get to conference everybody scouts everybody just a little bit harder and takes away your strengths. I thought that there were several keys to the game. I thought we took care of the basketball, only eight turnovers against a lengthy team that has length in that zone. I thought, too, that everybody looked to score. And thirdly, I thought we defended them pretty good. I thought every time, on the defensive end for us, they had to work hard, and a lot of times the shot clock was winding down."
On being nervous for the first game after break…
"Absolutely. You're nervous right before the Christmas holiday. You see a lot of upsets in the men's and women's games because people not focused and when you come back, for us, we take five or six days off, or we try to, every Christmas. You just never know, conditioning, and especially when you're on the road, you don't have too many people cheering for you."
On importance of strong start…
"I thought Natalie Chou hit the big shot to start the game, the three. Natalie can be passive, that's just her personality. She's one of the kindest people you will ever meet, and we don't need her to be kind. We need her to be very aggressive when the game starts, particularly when you're playing a team that plays zone like Kansas State does. I just thought she set the tone for our bigs. It's no secret that we are big inside, I think we have two of the finest post players in the country but that's not all we have. Natalie, a sophomore now, she's getting her opportunity. We are only nine on a team, so everybody has an opportunity to get minutes and contribute. I really thought every one of them did positive things tonight. I never put a lineup on the floor that I felt uncomfortable with."
Team Stats
BU
K-STATE
FG%
.578
.333
3FG%
.500
.364
FT%
.643
.609
RB
41
28
TO
8
10
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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