K-State Faces Strong Field at Cancun Challenge

GAME #4
(14/15) Syracuse (3-1) vs. Kansas State (3-0)
Thursday, November 22, 2018 | 12:30 p.m. (CT) | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya | Cancun, Mexico

GAME #5
Kansas State (3-0) vs. (16/16) DePaul (1-1)
Friday, November 23, 2018 | 10 a.m. | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya | Cancun, Mexico

GAME #6
Kansas State (3-0) vs. Princeton (1-3)
Saturday, November 24, 2018 | 10 a.m. | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya | Cancun, Mexico

TELEVISION
CBS Sports Digital
• School radio broadcasts providing audio

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
• Brian Smoller (play-by-play)
• Randy Peterson (analyst)
Listen Online: www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 536-289/27th season | At K-State: 82-54/5th season
vs. Syracuse: 1-0 | vs. DePaul: 4-2 | vs. Princeton: 1-0

Syracuse: Quention Hillsman (St. Mary's '93)
Overall: 266-137/13th season | At Syracuse: Same

DePaul: Doug Bruno (DePaul '73)
Overall: 709-365/36th season | At DePaul: 669-335/33rd season

Princeton: Courtney Banghart (Dartmouth '00 & '07)
Overall: 233-129/12th season | At Princeton: Same

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (2-0)
G: #10 Kayla Goth | G: #12 Rachel Ranke | G: #43 Christianna Carr | F: #11 Peyton Williams | F: #25 Jasauen Beard

Syracuse (3-1)
G: #4 Tina Mangakahia | G: #11 Gabrielle Cooper | F: #32 Miranda Drummond | F: #45 Digna Strautmane | C: #22 Amaya Finklea-Guity

DePaul (1-1)
G: #0 Rebekah Dahlman | G: #1 Ashton Millender | G: #20 Kelly Campbell | F: #22 Chante Stonewall | F: #35 Mart'e Grays

Princeton (1-3)
G: #2 Carlie Littlefield | G: #10 Grace Stone | G/F: #13 Sydney Jordan | G: #25 Gabrielle Rush | F: #21 Kira Emsbo

SERIES HISTORY
Overall vs. Syracuse: First meeting
Last Meeting: -

Overall vs. DePaul: DePaul leads 1-0
Last Meeting: DePaul won, 75-68, on Nov. 29, 1997 in Chicago, Ill.

Overall vs. Princeton: K-State leads 3-0
Last Meeting: K-State won, 60-42, on Dec. 18, 2016, in Manhattan, Kan.

MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State will make its fifth appearance at a tournament in Mexico and its first since the 2014-15 season, as the Wildcats face a strong field in the 2018 Cancun Challenge on Thursday-Saturday.

• All games can be seen live on CBS Sports Digital or heard on the K-State Sports Network, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Randy Peterson (color analyst) will have the call.
• For the fifth straight season in the Jeff Mittie era, Kansas State has started a season 3-0 following a 61-50 win over UMKC on November 18.
• The Wildcats registered a season-high 44 points in the paint against the Kangaroos. The 44 points in the lane were the most since K-State tallied 50 against Texas Tech on Feb. 7, 2018.
• Kansas State was led by senior forward Kali Jones and junior forward Peyton Williams, who combined for 27 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks.
• Jones tied her career-high in points and blocked shots, as she was one rebound from recording her second straight double-double. The product of Murrieta, California, led all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.
• For the season, Jones ranks second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds with 4.3 per game. She is averaging 10.7 points, eight rebounds and 1.7 blocks in three games.
• After resting for a game due to her commitment to K-State's volleyball team, Williams registered her second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. This was the first time in her career, that Williams has tallied a double-double in consecutive games played.

Number to Know
2
• #KStateWBB will play consecutive games against ranked non-conference opponents for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
• K-State will face (14) Syracuse on Thursday, followed by (16) DePaul in their first two games of the Cancun Challenge.
• In 2012-13, the Wildcats faced (22) Texas A&M and (5) Notre Dame in the first two games of the World Vision Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• In its history, K-State is 6-6 (.500) against teams ranked 14th in the Associated Press top-25 poll and 4-5 (.444) against teams ranked 16th in the nation.
• K-State has registered at least one win over an AP top-25 team in 12 straight seasons.

K-State in Mexico
• Kansas State will make its fifth appearance in Mexico for a Thanksgiving holiday tournament and its fourth in Cancun.
• K-State is 1-6 (.143) in games played in Mexico, including an 0-6 mark in Cancun. Head coach Jeff Mittie owns an all-time record of 4-4 in games played in Mexico, including a 1-1 mark in Cancun. Mittie is 1-0 at K-State in games played in Mexico.
• The Wildcats won their last appearance in Mexico, downing UTEP, 72-43, on Nov. 25, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The final two games of the Hardwood for Hope were cancelled in 2014.

K-State Against Ranked Opponents
• The Wildcats are 80-203 (.283) against teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll including a 50-57 (.467) mark against AP ranked teams in Manhattan.
• With its 60-52 win at No. 12 West Virginia on Jan. 3, 2018, K-State has registered a win over an AP top-25 team in 12 straight seasons.
• It was the highest ranked opponent K-State has defeated on the road since upsetting No. 10 Texas Tech on Jan. 14, 2012.
• K-State is 8-28 (.222) against AP ranked opponents in head coach Jeff Mittie's four seasons in Manhattan.

Wildcats' Defense Forges Identity
• K-State has continued to be a force on the defensive end during head coach Jeff Mittie's five seasons on the bench.
• In the first three games of the 2018-19 season, the Wildcats are third in the Big 12 and are 15th in the nation in scoring defense with 46.0 points per game allowed. The Wildcats are fourth in the Big 12 and 17th in the nation in field goal percentage at .298 allowed.
• For the first time in the Mittie era and the first time since the 2011-12 season, Kansas State held its first two opponents of a season to 49 points or less. The Wildcats held Omaha to 46 points, then kept North Texas to 42 points.
• The 42 points allowed to North Texas were the fewest surrendered by K-State since allowing 42 to Princeton on Dec. 18, 2016.
• During the last 17 seasons, K-State is 108-3 (.973) when holding an opponent to 49 points or less.

K-State Cleaning the Glass; Results in Shiny Wins
• Since the 2001-02 season, Kansas State owns a record of 213-27 (.888) when holding the edge on the glass. K-State had won 31 straight games when it won the battle of the boards, as the streak was snapped at Oklahoma on Jan. 4, 2017.
• K-State registered a +12.0 rebounding advantage against UMKC (50-38).
• The 50 rebounds against UMKC were the most by a K-State team since pulling down 51 against Chicago State on Nov. 11, 2016.

Jones on the Boards
• Senior forward Kali Jones has started the 2018-19 season strong on the boards, as she is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game and ranks 11th in the Big 12 in the category.
• Against North Texas, Jones set a new career-high with 11 rebounds. This was her second career double-figure rebound game, surpassing her 10 at Oklahoma on Jan. 31, 2018.
• Of her 24 total rebounds, 13 (4.3 orpg) have come on the offensive end of the floor. Jones ranks second in the Big 12 in and 44th in the nation in offensive rebounding.
• According to herhoopstats.com, Jones ranks 83rd in the nation in offensive rebound rate at 18.7 percent.
• Including her 11 games at UC Santa Barbara in 2015-16, Jones owns 66 offensive rebounds in her career which is 42.9 percent of her career total.

Williams on the Defensive
• Forward Peyton Williams has continued her solid defense into the start of the 2018-19 season.
• Against UMKC, Williams tallied two blocks and two steals. This was her 13th career game with two or more blocks.
• Williams continues to work her way toward the K-State top-10 for career blocks and needs 13 to move into 10th in program history. She ranks seventh in program history for blocks per game at 0.83.
• In the 2017-18 season, Williams registered career-highs of 47 blocks (1.4 bpg) and 50 steals (1.5 spg). Her 47 blocks last season are 88.7 percent of her career total (53). Her 50 steals in 2017-18 were 82.0 percent of her career total (61).
• Her 47 blocks led the team, while her 50 steals were third on the team. She ranked sixth in the Big 12 in blocks per game.
• Williams had a pair of games in 2017-18 with a career-high five steals (at Oklahoma State, 12/31/17; vs. West Virginia, 2/20/18).

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Players Mentioned

Jasauen Beard

Christianna Carr

Kayla Goth

Kali Jones

Rachel Ranke

Peyton Williams

Kansas State University Athletics