Kansas State Athletics

GAME #33 – 2018 Postseason WNIT
Utah (18-13, 8-10 Pac 12) vs. Kansas State (17-15, 7-11 Big 12)
Sunday, March 18, 2018  |  5 p.m.  |  Bramlage Coliseum  |  Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
K-StateHD.TV
• Brian Smoller (play-by-play)
• Kristin Waller (analyst)

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

COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 532-288/26th season  |  At K-State: 78-53/4th season
vs. Utah: 9-8

Utah: Lynne Roberts (Seattle Pacific '97)
Overall: 273-218/16th season  |  At Utah: 52-43/3rd season

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (17-15, 7-11 Big 12)
G: #10 Kayla Goth  |  G: #12 Rachel Ranke  |  F: #1 Kaylee Page  |  F: #11 Peyton Williams |  F: #50 Shaelyn Martin
                
Utah (18-13, 8-10 Pac 12)
G: #2 Tori Williams  |  G: #11 Erika Bean  |  W: #24 Tilar Clark  |  F: #5 Megan Huff  |  F: #12 Emily Potter

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Utah leads, 4-2
In Manhattan: 1-2
Last Meeting: April 3, 2013; Utah won 54-46 (ot)


MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State will continue its postseason journey on Sunday evening at 5 p.m., as the Wildcats host Utah in Bramlage Coliseum. This will be K-State's 20th Postseason WNIT game in program history (15-4, .789) and the 18th home game (15-2, .882).

• Sunday's game will be available on K-StateHD.TV, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Kristin Waller (analyst) will have the call.
• K-State led wire-to-wire in its 75-61 first round win over Saint Louis on Thursday. The Wildcats have advanced out of the first round in all six of its WNIT appearances.
• Kansas State was led by the trio of Peyton Williams, Kayla Goth and Rachel Ranke. The three players registered 57 of K-State's 75 points against the Billikens.
• Williams, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, tallied a game-high 21 points on 10-of-20 shooting and also hauled in eight rebounds. Williams has 15 games this season with 15 or more points and five or more rebounds.
• The forward from Topeka, Kansas, is averaging career-highs 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. Overall, she has set career-highs in 16 statistical categories.
• Goth, an All-Big 12 Second Team, notched her 18th game this season with 15 or more points and five or more assists as she finished with 19 points and six assists.
• The junior from DeForest, Wisconsin, leads the Wildcats in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (6.8 apg). She has set career season-highs in 15 categories.
• Goth is the first player in program history and one of nine players in the country with 500 or more points and 200 or more assists this season.
• Ranke, an All-Big 12 Freshman Team selection, carded her first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Over the last five games, Ranke is averaging 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds.
• The Burnsville, Minnesota, product is averaging 11.9 points which has been boosted by 2.8 three-point field goals made per game. Ranke is second in program history for 3-point field goals made by a freshman (88) and is tied for seventh for single-season 3-point field goals made by all players.

Number to Know
428
• #KStateWBB has registered a combined 428 blocks and steals this season.
• K-State's 428 blocks and steals this season are the fifth-highest total in school history.
• This is the fourth straight season K-State has recorded 400 or more combined blocks and steals in a season.
• The Wildcats have 149 blocks, which ranks as the seventh-highest single season total in program history.

At a Glance: Utah
• Utah (18-13, 8-10 Pac 12) is making its third straight WNIT appearance. The Utes reached the second round with a 78-68 win over UNLV in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
• On the sideline, Utah is led by third-year head coach Lynne Roberts. Roberts is 52-43 (.547) in her time in Salt Lake City.
• Leading Utah on the floor this season are juniors forwards Megan Huff and Daneesha Provo and senior forward Emily Potter.
• Huff, a 2018 All-Pac 12 selection, is pacing the Utes with 14.4 points and 7.8 rebounds. Against UNLV, Huff tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
• Provo, a transfer from Clemson, is second on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game.
• Potter, a 2018 All-Pac 12 honorable mention recipient, is third on the team with 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds. She also leads the team with 54 blocks on the year.

K-State In Postseason WNIT
• By accepting its at-large bid into the 2018 Postseason WNIT, Kansas State is playing in its sixth WNIT in the program's history.
• K-State is 15-4 (.789) in its WNIT Tournament appearances and have advanced at least one round in all six WNIT appearances and has reached at least the semifinals in three appearances.
• The Wildcats captured the 2006 WNIT title for the first postseason title in school history in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,340 fans while defeating Marquette, 77-65, on March 31, 2006.
• With K-State's bid into the Postseason WNIT, the Wildcats are one of seven Big 12 schools to earn a women's basketball postseason bid.

Wildcats With 300+ Wins in Bramlage
• K-State is 322-128 (.716) all-time inside Bramlage Coliseum, which is in its 30th season of existence.
• In his career in games played in his home venue, Mittie is 326-85 (.793).
• Kansas State has protected its home floor with determination against non-conference foes with a record of 176-29 (.859) record. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 30-4 (.882) in non-conference games in Bramlage Coliseum.
• K-State is 10-7 at home this season. This is the 29th time the Wildcats reached double figures in home victories in program history. The Wildcats have won 10 or more games in Bramlage in four straight seasons.

Magic Number is 70 Points for Wildcats
• Since the 2001-02 season, K-State is 187-22 (.895) when scoring 70 or more points in a game including a 35-8 (.814) record in the Jeff Mittie era.
• K-State has scored 70 or more points in a game 15 times this season (12-3) including a high of 99 against Chicago State on Dec. 18. The 99 points were the most since scoring 102 against Florida Atlantic on Dec. 13, 2015.
• This is the 18th season in program history in which K-State has 15 or more games with 70 or more points scored. The 2017-18 season in the first since the 2005-06 season (17) that K-State scored 70 or more points in 15 or more games.
• Against Kansas on Feb. 24, K-State scored 91 points. This marked the most points K-State has scored in regulation against the Jayhawks in the history of the series. The 91 points were the most in a Big 12 game since Feb. 11, 2015, when K-State scored 93 against TCU.
• Kansas State scored 85 or more points in consecutive Big 12 games for the first time as a member of the Big 12. It is the first time K-State scored 85 or more points in conference play since the 1983-84 season in three straight Big Eight games.

Goth, Williams Form Potent Duo
• K-State's Kayla Goth (17.0 ppg) and Peyton Williams (14.3 ppg) have combined to average 31.3 points per game this season. In Big 12 action, the pair averaged 32.1 points per game.
• Goth (545 points) and Williams (458 points) are the eighth tandem in program history to register 1,000 or more points in a season and the first since 2012-13 (min. 1,000 total points & 400+ by each player).
• The duo, who have each surpassed career season-highs in scoring, is responsible for 46.2 percent of K-State's total point production this season. In league play, they were responsible for 48.7 percent of K-State's points.
• The last time K-State had a duo responsible for 45 percent or more of the team's point production was in 2012-13 when Brittany Chambers (21.0 ppg; 778 pts) and Haley Texada (11.8 ppg; 423 pts) were responsible for 53.0 percent of K-State's points.
• Each player has improved their scoring average by 10.0+ points this season, as Goth has improved by 11.2 points (5.8 to 17.0 ppg) while Williams has improved by 10.6 points (3.7 to 14.3 ppg). Goth ranks fourth in the nation in scoring average increase, while Williams is seventh.
• According to Stats, Inc., Goth and Williams are the only teammates in the nation this season to increase their scoring average by 10.0 or more points this season. This is the first time in program history that two players have improved by 10 or more points from one season to the next.
• Goth and Williams have reached double figures in the same game 23 times this season, including a high of 47 combined points against Northern Iowa on Dec. 21.
• Goth and Williams are fourth in the Big 12 in percentage of their team's overall point total.

Wildcats Solid From Beyond the Arc
• In the 2017-18 season, K-State is shooting .313 percent from 3-point range (216-of-689) which includes 6.8 made 3-point field goals per game. Kansas State is scoring 29.9 percent (648 points; 0.94 points/attempt) of its points from beyond the arc. K-State ranks fifth in the Big 12 in three-point field goals made per game.
• Kansas State registered a season-high 12 connections from beyond the arc three times this season: against Omaha on Nov. 13, against Kansas on Feb. 24 and at Texas Tech on Feb. 26. This is the second-most 3-point field goals made in the Jeff Mittie era and the most since Dec. 13, 2016 against Florida Atlantic when the Wildcats made 14.
• K-State has made five or more 3-pointers in a game 27 times (14-13) this season. In the Jeff Mittie era, the Wildcats have made five or more 3-pointers in a game 97 times in 131 total games.
• In four seasons under Mittie, K-State has buried 806 three-pointers which is 6.2 per game.
• The Wildcats have made 175 or more 3-point field goals in 17 of the last 18 seasons. This is the 11th time in program history K-State has made 200 or more 3-pointers in a season.
• K-State has made at least one 3-point field goal in 372 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2007.

Board Work for Williams    
• Sophomore Peyton Williams has improved her all-around game in just one season, including her rebounding ability.
• The product of Topeka, Kansas, is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game and has set a career season-high for rebounds with 216 this season. Her 6.8 rebounds per game are double her per game average from last season (3.4 rpg).
• Williams ranks 10th in the Big 12 in rebounds per game (6.8 rpg) and within Big 12-only games she ranks eighth (6.9 rpg).
• Of her 331 career rebounds, Williams has pulled in 65.3 percent of her career rebounds this season.
• Williams is the eighth player in program history to register 400 or more points and 200 or more rebounds in her sophomore season. She is the first sophomore to achieve this milestone since Kendra Wecker and Megan Mahoney in the 2002-03 season.

Home is Where the Rebounds are for Martin    
• Shaelyn Martin has been a diligent rebounder for K-State this season, including in the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum.
• In K-State's 17 home games this season, Martin is averaging 7.8 rebounds, 6.8 points and 4.6 assists.
• Martin has two games this season, both at home, with 15 rebounds which is her career-high. She is tied for fourth in school history for career games with 15 or more rebounds.
• Martin is the first K-State player in since Nicole Ohlde in the 2002-03 season to have two games with 15 or more rebounds in one season.
• In 72 career home games, Martin is averaging 6.4 rebounds. Her 461 rebounds at home represent 60.6 percent of her career total of 761.