K-State, KU Meet in Sunflower Showdown on Saturday
Feb 23, 2017 | Women's Basketball
GAME PREVIEW
FEB25, 2:00 PM CT
Allen Fieldhouse
Lawrence, Kan.
RV/RV
K-STATE
WILDCATS
20-8 (10-6 Big 12)
NR/NR
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
8-19 (2-14 Big 12)
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MANHATTAN, Kansas - (rv/rv) K-State will conclude its regular season road schedule on Saturday afternoon with one of the longest continuous rivalries in all of women’s college basketball, as the Wildcats travel to Lawrence to face Kansas in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at 2 p.m.
• Saturday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN3, as Mick Schafer (play-by-play) and Brenda VanLengen (analyst) call the action.
• Kansas State (20-8, 10-6 Big 12) pocketed its 20th win of the season with a 79-71 upset of (16/16) Oklahoma on Wednesday night. It is the first 20-win season for K-State since the 2011-12 season and the fastest K-State has reached the 20-win mark since the 2008-09 season (23 games).
• The 10 Big 12 wins for the Wildcats mark the most league wins for the program since the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons. The 10 league wins are the most for K-State since the league schedule was adjusted to an 18-game round robin format in 2011-12.
• K-State had four players in double figures against the Sooners, led by junior guard Karyla Middlebrook with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists and senior center Breanna Lewis with 18 points and eight rebounds.
• Middlebrook is averaging 11.0 points and 3.4 assists in her first season of Big 12 action. She has reached double figures in eight league games this season.
• Lewis registered her 21st game in double figures this season. The All-America candidate is averaging 13.8 points on a .566 field goal percentage and a career-best 8.1 rebounds per game this season.
Number to Know
3
• #KStateWBB will attempt to win its third road game in the month of February in Saturday’s Big 12 road finale in Lawrence.
• A win would mark just the third time since the 1996-97 season that K-State would pocket three or more road wins in February.
• Since 1996-97, K-State is 28-52 (.350) in February road games.
• K-State will play five February road games for the fourth time since 1996-97 and the second straight season.
• This is just the second time K-State has won two or more road games (2003-04; 4-1) when playing five road games in February.
Series History
69-46
• K-State leads the series with Kansas, 69-46.
• The Wildcats are 29-25 in games played in Lawrence.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 9-5 against Kansas, including a 6-0 record while coaching at K-State.
• Over the last 34 meetings, K-State is 28-6 against the Jayhawks.
At a Glance: Kansas
• Kansas (8-19, 2-14 Big 12) dropped its third straight game and its fifth in the last six games with a 90-75 loss against Iowa State on Feb. 21.
• On the sideline, Kansas is led by second-year head coach Brandon Schneider. Schneider is 14-44 (.241) in his time in Lawrence.
• Leading Kansas this season are redshirt junior guard Jessica Washington and redshirt sophomore guard McKenzie Calvert.
• Washington leads the Jayhawks in scoring (17.7 ppg) and assists (2.8 apg). In league games, she has upped her average to a league-high 20.6 points. Against the Cyclones, Washington poured in 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
• Calvert is second on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg). Against Iowa State, Calvert added seven points off the bench.
February Trend Broken in 2016-17
• K-State is 208-171 (.549) in the second month, which percentage-wise, is the lowest month for K-State.
• The Wildcats are currently 4-2 this month and assured at least a .500 record in the month of February for the first time since the 2008-09 season (3-3).
• The Wildcats are 11-12 under head coach Jeff Mittie in the month of February.
Wildcats Cashing in at the Charity Stripe
• K-State is 379-of-557 (.680) from the free throw line this season.
• The 379 made free throws for K-State this season are the most since the 2014-15 season when the Wildcats made 399 in 33 games played. This is just the sixth season since 1997-98 that K-State has attempted 550 or more free throws in a season.
• This is the third straight season under head coach Jeff Mittie that K-State has made 350 or more free throws in a season and the first time to do so in three straight seasons since 1994-95 to 1996-97.
• K-State has had the edge in free throws attempted in 20 of 28 games this season and have tied its opponent in two of the other eight contests.
• The Wildcats made 20 or more free throws in a game three times this season, including a season-high of 22 against North Carolina State on Nov. 24.
• This season, 19.8 percent of the Wildcats’ overall point total has come from the free throw line. The last time K-State had over 20 percent of its point total from the foul line was in head coach Jeff Mittie’s first season in Manhattan, 2014-15 (20.3 percent).
K-State Features Pair of Dynamic Duos
• Kansas State has benefitted from the senior duo of Breanna Lewis and Kindred Wesemann for the last three seasons.
• The tandem has combined for 783 points this season, or 41.0 percent of K-State’s total point production. The Wildcats are 13-5 this season when the pair scores in double figures in the same game.
• In their careers, each player has surpassed the 1,000-point mark and are the first K-State teammates to play together with over 1,000 career points at the same time since Brittany Chambers and Jalana Childs in the 2011-12 season.
• The other strong duo for K-State this season is freshmen Eternati Willock and Peyton Williams.
• Willock and Williams have each recorded 100 or more points and 100 or more rebounds this season, the first K-State freshmen teammates to do so since the 2013-14 season.
Lewis Approaching 400-Point Season
• Breanna Lewis needs 14 points this season to register her second straight 400-point season.
• She would become the 14th player in program history to score 400 or more points in consecutive seasons and the first since Brittany Chambers tallied three straight seasons from 2010-11 to 2012-13. Lewis would become the third center in program history to record at least two straight seasons with 400 or more points.
• Lewis ranks 13th in the Big 12 in scoring with 13.8 points per game this season.
Saturday Special for Wesemann
• Over the last four Saturday games in Big 12 play, Kindred Wesemann is averaging 22.8 points per game and 3.3 three-point field goals made per game.
• In her seven Saturday Big 12 games this season, Wesemann is averaging 17.1 (120 points) points per game on a .453 field goal percentage with 3.3 steals. Her 120 points during Saturday league games are the most of any player in the Big 12 this season.
• Her 34 points against Oklahoma State on Jan. 28 are the most on a Saturday by any player in the Big 12 this season.
• In eight total Saturday games this season, Wesemann is averaging 17.4 points (139 points), 3.4 assists and 3.0 steals. She is shooting 96.3 percent from the foul line in those eight games.
