Kansas State Athletics

GAME #34 – 2018 Postseason WNIT Round of 16
UC Davis (26-7, 14-2 Big West) vs. Kansas State (18-15, 7-11 Big 12)
Friday, March 23, 2018  |  7 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: 533-288/26th season  |  At K-State: 79-53/4th season
vs. UC Davis: First Meeting

UC Davis: Jennifer Gross (UC Davis '97)
Overall: 130-90/7th season  |  At UC Davis: Same

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (18-15, 7-11 Big 12)
G: #10 Kayla Goth  |  G: #12 Rachel Ranke  |  F: #1 Kaylee Page  |  F: #11 Peyton Williams |  F: #50 Shaelyn Martin
                
UC Davis (27-6, 14-2 Big West)
G: #2 Kourtney Eaton  |  G: #4 Rachel Nagel  |  F: #10 Pele Gianotti  |  G/F: #13 Dani Nafekh  |  F: #22 Morgan Bertsch

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads, 2-0
In Manhattan: 1-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 12, 2010; K-State won 61-41



MANHATTAN, Kansas - For the first time since the 2013 Postseason WNIT, Kansas State will play a Round of 16 game in the event as the Wildcats host UC Davis in Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night at 7 p.m. This is K-State's fourth Round of 16 appearance in the Postseason WNIT.

• Friday's game will be available on K-StateHD.TV, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Kristin Waller (analyst) will have the call.
• For the second straight game, K-State led wire-to-wire as the Wildcats defeated Utah, 74-57, in the second round of the WNIT. The Wildcats set a school record (minimum 55 field goal attempts) for a Postseason WNIT game by shooting .491 (28-of-57) from the field.
• Kansas State was led by the trio of Peyton Williams, Kayla Goth and Kaylee Page. The three players registered 58 of K-State's 74 points against the Utes.
• Williams, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, tallied a game-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting and also hauled in seven rebounds. In K-State's two WNIT games, Williams is averaging 22.5 points on a .588 field goal percentage and 7.5 rebounds.
• The forward from Topeka, Kansas, is averaging career-highs 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds. Overall, she has set career-highs in 16 statistical categories.
• Goth, an All-Big 12 Second Team, notched her 32nd game in double figures this season as she finished with 23 points and four assists. She is averaging 21.0 points and 5.0 assists in K-State's two WNIT games.
• The junior from DeForest, Wisconsin, leads the Wildcats in scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (6.7 apg). 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.
• Page chipped in with 11 points, four assists, three steals, two rebounds and a block.
• The Wamego, Kansas, product is averaging a career-high 9.1 points this season.  She has also established career season-highs for field goals made and attempted (107-298), 3-point field goals made and attempted (57-194), blocks (28) and steals (34).

Number to Know
221 | 711
• #KStateWBB has carded a three-point effort of 221-of-711 (.311) this season.
• The 221 connections from beyond the arc rank seventh in program history for 3-point field goals made in a season.
• The 711 three-point attempts this season ranks second in program history for attempts in a season.
• Both numbers are highs in the Jeff Mittie era.

At a Glance: UC Davis
• UC Davis (27-6, 14-2 Big West), 2018 regular season champions of the Big West conference, ventured on the road to defeat Wyoming, 74-64, on Sunday in the second round of the 2018 Postseason WNIT.
• On the sideline, UC Davis is led by seventh-year head coach Jennifer Gross. The 1997 graduate of UC Davis is 130-90 (.591) in her time at her alma mater. Gross is a two-time Big West Conference Coach of the Year recipient, including the 2018 honor.
• Leading UC Davis on the floor this season are redshirt junior Morgan Bertsch and seniors Pele Gianotti and Rachel Nagel.
• Bertsch, a 2018 All-Big West First Team selection, is pacing the Aggies with 19.9 points. At Wyoming, Bertsch recorded 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and three assists.
• Gianotti, a 2018 All-Big West Second Team selection, is second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 5.8 per game. Against the Cowgirls, Gianotti finished with 12 points and six rebounds.
• Nagel, a 2018 All-Big West Second Team selection, is third on the team in scoring with 10.4 points. At Wyoming, Nagel registered 14 points.

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 16-4 (.800) 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 Send Back Shots Under Mittie
• In the first four seasons under head coach Jeff Mittie, Kansas State has piled up blocked shots. Under Mittie, K-State has sent back 612 shots for 4.64 per game in the 132 games. K-State's 612 blocked shots are the most over a 4-season span since K-State blocked 615 shots from 2005-06 to 2008-09.
• The Wildcats have 156 blocks this season (4.73 bpg). K-State ranks 37th in the nation and third in the Big 12 in blocks per game. According to herhoopstats.com, K-State ranks 35th in the nation in block rate (11.8 percent).
• K-State has 19 games this season with five or more blocks. This is the fourth straight season with 100 or more blocks and the 12th time in program history.

Generating Offense from the Defense
• Kansas State has used an opportunistic defense to create additional offensive chances this season.
• K-State's opponents have turned the ball over 527 times this season (16.0 topg). K-State ranks 58th in the nation and third in the Big 12 in turnover margin at 3.2.
• The Wildcats have tallied 574 points off opponent turnovers this season (17.4 per game/1.09 points per turnover). The 574 points are 25.6 percent of K-State's overall point total. K-State has a +199 margin in points off turnovers compared to its opponents (574-375), which is the highest in the last 10 seasons.
• The Wildcats have 12 games with 20 or more points off turnovers this season, including a season-high 32 against Chicago State on Dec. 16. The 32 points off turnovers marked the most in the Jeff Mittie era.
• K-State has 16 games with 25 percent or more of its points off turnovers, including a season-high 43.6 percent against UCLA on Nov. 24.

Scoring Up for K-State in 2017-18
• Kansas State's offensive numbers continue to improve in Jeff Mittie's four seasons. K-State is averaging 68.0 points per game with 2,244 points scored this season.
• In 2016-17, K-State scored 2,294 points which were the most since the 2005-06 season when K-State scored 2,386 points.
• This is the first time K-State scored 2,000 or more points in three straight seasons since reaching the mark in eight straight seasons from 2001-02 to 2008-09.

Sharing is Caring
• Kansas State has dished out 15.5 assists per game, which ranks fifth in the Big 12, and own a 1.2 assist to turnover ratio, which ranks third in the Big 12. The Wildcats have an assisted shot rate of 63.9 percent (510 assists/798 made field goals). According to herhoopstats.com, K-State ranks 30th in the nation in assisted shot rate.
• The 510 assists by K-State this season are the most in the Jeff Mittie-era and the sixth-highest total in program history. This marked the eighth time in program history that K-State registered 500 or more assists in a season.
• Since assists became an officially tracked stat in 1981-82, Kansas State has registered an assist percentage of 60.0 percent or higher 19 times in its history including a current streak of five straight seasons.
• K-State dished out 25 assists on 34 made field goals (73.5 percent) against Chicago State on Dec. 18, the most since handing out 26 against TCU on Feb. 11, 2015. K-State has 12 games this season with assists on 70 percent or more of the made field goals.
• K-State has handed out 20 or more assists in eight games this season. The Wildcats are 58-2 when handing out 20 or more assists over the last 12 years.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State has registered 1,911 assists on 3,044 made field goals which is an assisted shot rate of 62.8 percent.

Goth Piling Up the Points from the Foul Line
• Kayla Goth has been able to boost her scoring this season with her ability to get to the free throw line.
• Goth leads the Wildcats in free throws made and attempted at 127-of-175 (.726). She has set career season-highs for free throws made, attempted and free throw percentage.
• Goth's 127 free throws made this season rank sixth in school history for free throws made in a season. Goth's 127 free throws are the most since Ashley Sweat made 135 in the 2009-10 season.
• Her 175 free throws attempted this season rank sixth in school history for free throws attempted in a season. Her 175 free throws attempted are the most since Nicole Ohlde attempted 196 in the 2003-04 season.