SE: K-State WBB Enters Big 12 Play Off Strong Finish to Non-Conference
Jan 01, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Some things cannot really be explained; they simply have to be experienced.
K-State women's basketball senior Kayla Goth said the Big 12 schedule, which her team starts on Wednesday at Iowa State, is one of them.
"You are facing something new basically every night, so it is kind of hard to explain that," she said, after Saturday's 72-62 win over Northern Iowa. "But I feel pretty good with where we are at."
Part of Goth's confidence in her team (9-3), the program's youngest since the 1977-78 season, going into the Big 12's gauntlet round robin schedule stemmed from how the Wildcats closed their non-conference slate.
Unlike most of her teammates, Goth had played Northern Iowa the last two years right before conference play began. Both games ended in frustrating losses. Junior forward Peyton Williams is the only other Wildcat on this year's roster who experienced both of those, too.
"A lot of them weren't there for the loss two years ago when we were at UNI," Goth said, sitting next to Williams. "So, for us two, I don't want to say it was a revenge game, but it was kind of a revenge game that we needed to get that win. So that was really big for us."
In the win, K-State head coach Jeff Mittie took in plenty of positives from his team.
One of them was most certainly the play from K-State's bench, which collectively scored 11 points. Mittie specifically named freshman Laura Macke, who picked up three rebounds in five minutes; Maary Lakes, whom contributed three blocks and four rebounds in six minutes; and Ashley Ray, who recorded five points, two rebounds, one block and a steal in 12 minutes.
"Our bench gave us some good energy," Mittie said. "They had some turnovers in that second quarter but if they can give us that energy, I think as they play more, they'll clean up some of those turnovers."
Defense was another one of K-State's highlights in its final non-conference tune-up.
Mittie said Northern Iowa, traditionally, is a "tough matchup" because of how it can spread the defense with five shooters on the floor. Point in case: A year ago, the Panthers made 16 treys against the Wildcats and shot 42 percent from the field. This time, they made only 6-of-22 (27 percent) from beyond the arc and converted 36 percent from the field.
"They're able to spread you, they're able to move our size into spaces you don't like to guard. They do it at a speed that is difficult to defend," he said. "Our zone was more effective because we weren't just staying in the zone all the time. We were mixing up our stuff."
K-State's defense keyed a 16-0 run in the second quarter. It also stifled the Panthers in the fourth, when they shot 4-of-14 from the field. For the game, UNI turned the ball over 15 times that turned into 18 points for K-State.
"We did get a great push in the second quarter while we were in zone, so I think the zone played a big part of this game, but I also think our man (defense), being able to lock them down, also played a big part in this game," Mittie said. "They probably had four to five air balls and shot clock violations. I thought this was an excellent test for us in regard to discipline defensively and having to sustain a shot clock defensively. They are able to run their stuff for 25, 26 seconds and do it at a pretty high level."
Iowa State, K-State's first taste of Big 12 play, will bring a similar style to the floor. While the Cyclones bolster more size and may not play at as quick a pace as UNI, their 8.6 treys-made-per-game average reinforces how much pressure they can put on a team to defend the perimeter.
"They're similar in that they can put out five shooters at times. They'll run similar actions. Iowa State has always been that way," Mittie said of the Cyclones, 10-2 entering Wednesday's game in Ames, Iowa. "They've had a very successful non-conference. They've played a good schedule as well. They're deeper than they've been. They look like they're playing very well."
Some things cannot really be explained; they simply have to be experienced.
K-State women's basketball senior Kayla Goth said the Big 12 schedule, which her team starts on Wednesday at Iowa State, is one of them.
"You are facing something new basically every night, so it is kind of hard to explain that," she said, after Saturday's 72-62 win over Northern Iowa. "But I feel pretty good with where we are at."
Part of Goth's confidence in her team (9-3), the program's youngest since the 1977-78 season, going into the Big 12's gauntlet round robin schedule stemmed from how the Wildcats closed their non-conference slate.
Unlike most of her teammates, Goth had played Northern Iowa the last two years right before conference play began. Both games ended in frustrating losses. Junior forward Peyton Williams is the only other Wildcat on this year's roster who experienced both of those, too.
"A lot of them weren't there for the loss two years ago when we were at UNI," Goth said, sitting next to Williams. "So, for us two, I don't want to say it was a revenge game, but it was kind of a revenge game that we needed to get that win. So that was really big for us."
In the win, K-State head coach Jeff Mittie took in plenty of positives from his team.
One of them was most certainly the play from K-State's bench, which collectively scored 11 points. Mittie specifically named freshman Laura Macke, who picked up three rebounds in five minutes; Maary Lakes, whom contributed three blocks and four rebounds in six minutes; and Ashley Ray, who recorded five points, two rebounds, one block and a steal in 12 minutes.
"Our bench gave us some good energy," Mittie said. "They had some turnovers in that second quarter but if they can give us that energy, I think as they play more, they'll clean up some of those turnovers."
Defense was another one of K-State's highlights in its final non-conference tune-up.
Mittie said Northern Iowa, traditionally, is a "tough matchup" because of how it can spread the defense with five shooters on the floor. Point in case: A year ago, the Panthers made 16 treys against the Wildcats and shot 42 percent from the field. This time, they made only 6-of-22 (27 percent) from beyond the arc and converted 36 percent from the field.
"They're able to spread you, they're able to move our size into spaces you don't like to guard. They do it at a speed that is difficult to defend," he said. "Our zone was more effective because we weren't just staying in the zone all the time. We were mixing up our stuff."
K-State's defense keyed a 16-0 run in the second quarter. It also stifled the Panthers in the fourth, when they shot 4-of-14 from the field. For the game, UNI turned the ball over 15 times that turned into 18 points for K-State.
"We did get a great push in the second quarter while we were in zone, so I think the zone played a big part of this game, but I also think our man (defense), being able to lock them down, also played a big part in this game," Mittie said. "They probably had four to five air balls and shot clock violations. I thought this was an excellent test for us in regard to discipline defensively and having to sustain a shot clock defensively. They are able to run their stuff for 25, 26 seconds and do it at a pretty high level."
Iowa State, K-State's first taste of Big 12 play, will bring a similar style to the floor. While the Cyclones bolster more size and may not play at as quick a pace as UNI, their 8.6 treys-made-per-game average reinforces how much pressure they can put on a team to defend the perimeter.
"They're similar in that they can put out five shooters at times. They'll run similar actions. Iowa State has always been that way," Mittie said of the Cyclones, 10-2 entering Wednesday's game in Ames, Iowa. "They've had a very successful non-conference. They've played a good schedule as well. They're deeper than they've been. They look like they're playing very well."
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