Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, November 1
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
0-0,0-0Big 12
78
vs
60
Fort Hays State (exhib.)
0-0,0-0Mid-America Intercollegiate
1
2
3
4
F
Fort Hays St.
15
16
16
13
60
Kansas St.
18
23
11
26
78
K-State Closes Out Fort Hays State to Complete Exhibition Play
Nov 01, 2019 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State used a 26-point fourth quarter to pull away from Fort Hays State for a 78-60 win on Friday night in Bramlage Coliseum in the final exhibition tune-up for the Wildcats.
K-State entered the final period with a five-point lead, 52-47. The pair of Ayoka Lee and Christianna Carr then went to work, as the duo combined to score 22 of the 26 points in the fourth frame. In total K-State would shoot 52.6 percent from the field (10-of-19) in the fourth quarter.
Lee did her damage on the interior, while Carr knocked down three 3-pointers on three consecutive trips as she scored 13 points in the frame.
Lee led all scorers with 24 points and pulled in 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Carr added 18 points.
"I think tonight and every night, it's just about going out and trying to get the team win and trying to contribute in any way I can, leaving it on the floor," said Lee about her second double figure scoring performance of the exhibition schedule. "We got the win, so that first and foremost, is the best thing. To be able to celebrate that win with my teammates - if I'm able to contribute like that any night, just go out and work hard, then that's the goal."
Fort Hays State was led by Belle Barbieri and Jaden Hobbs with 10 points each.
Lee and Peyton Williams started the night by combining to score K-State's first eight points. The Wildcats would build a five-point lead twice in the opening quarter, but Fort Hays State would pull to within three at the end of the frame, 18-15.
In the second quarter, the Tigers closed to within one, 20-19, but K-State used a 17-5 run over a three and a half minute stretch in the second quarter to build a 37-24 lead with 2:06 remaining. Savannah Simmons started the run with a corner three-pointer and added a layup later during the stretch. Simmons would finish with seven points off the bench.
The Wildcats would close the first half with a 41-31 lead, as Lee would tally eight points in the second quarter and 14 in the first half.
K-State started the third quarter hot, as Carr tallied five of K-State's first seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Wildcats would hold a 48-31 lead with 7:52 to play in the third stanza.
Fort Hays State would take advantage of cold shooting from the Wildcats to pull within five at the end of the frame. K-State would close the third by shooting 1-of-11 from the field. The Tigers pounced with a 16-4 run and bring K-State's lead to five, 52-47, entering the fourth quarter.
K-State closed the night by shooting 30-of-71 (.423) from the field and were 11-of-12 (.917) from the free throw line. Fort Hays State was held to under 30 percent shooting in the second half and shot 33.9 percent for the night (21-of-62).
Kansas State begins its 52nd season of action on Friday, November 8, against Omaha. Game time in Bramlage Coliseum is set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the 2019-20 season-opener can be purchased by calling (800) 221-CATS or at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Friday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"It was good to have our full bench tonight. I think one of the things that we needed to do was get some rotations in there and get some work in. It was good to get Peyton (Williams) in, I think it's important, she just hasn't had a whole lot of contact reps and, obviously, doing both. I just think it's good to get her in there and even though it wasn't a great night for her, I think it was a productive night in that she kind of sees things in what other people are doing and obviously rebounded well and that was probably the biggest improvement overall as a team tonight was we just rebounded the ball pretty well."
On Ayoka Lee being option one even when double teamed...
"Well we've got to make better reads there but what I like about Ayoka is that she's got pretty good hands and even those kind of passes, they don't have to be perfect. She really does a nice job of tracking the ball and I think Peyton will do a nice job tracking the ball, so they're going to be a really good one-two punch in there. I like the fact that we're probably forcing it right now. I think over time we'll see that play better and hopefully it'll be a cleaner play for her."
On Breanna Lewis comparison for Ayoka Lee...
"Well I don't know where her ceiling is. I think that the thing I've really enjoyed about her is that she comes in, she works, she's coachable, she makes adjustments. I think those things set her up to have an opportunity to be good, but we're early in her career so I'm not gonna look too far down. We've got the next practice, she's got to get better tomorrow. We were talking about those things coming up here. Certainly, she knows that bigger post players are coming. Each game is going to present different challenges. Today's challenge was they really surrounded her with a lot of help down there and she handled that pretty well. She just keeps getting better everyday and our focus is going to be on having a good practice tomorrow, putting together some good work. We certainly need it, but that will be our focus."
On Ayoka Lee's start after missing last season...
"I felt like one of the parts of our decision of having that group go out to New York and play in the three-on-three had to do with her because that'd be her first competition for K-State. Although it was three-on-three, just having her have that experience benefitted her even coming into this year. Yoki's a pretty consistent person, so you know what you're going to get in practice every day. You know that she's going to come and work. It's our job to help her and put her through adverse situations to prepare her for what she's going to see going forward. We know we're going to see a lot of physicality. She's going to start seeing some double-teams. All those things are coming, and we'll continue to work on them."
On Christianna Carr getting hot in the fourth...
"I thought Chrissy really got a good look to her. I think it starts with Chrissy mixing her game up. She got that drive to the basket, she got a layup there, she got it in transition, she got a bucket. Sometimes she can settle too much with the three but that really got her going so it was just different things and I do think that has been better for her. It's part of the growth of her game. I think the one thing with Peyton playing tonight, my goal with Peyton every exhibition game is to try to get her legs a little bit better. And we only use her in about three minute stretches. A long stretch in this one is four, four and a half. I saw her do better things, quicker things, as the game went on. This is actually a pretty good team for her to have to do some things because they spread you out. She was out there guarding a three-point shooter. There were some positives that, for us as a team, of having her here tonight. And then, obviously, you talked about, I think the positives in that fourth quarter were that Chrissy caught fire, we got a little bit better balance, got the ball inside and finished it off."
AYOKA LEE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN CENTER
On her performance tonight ...
"I think tonight and every night, it's just about going out and trying to get the team win and trying to contribute in any way I can, leaving it on the floor. We got the win, so that first and foremost, is the best thing. To be able to celebrate that win with my teammates - if I'm able to contribute like that any night, just go out and work hard, then that's the goal."
On moving forward to the rest of the season…
"It's definitely a great start to the season, but like Coach Mittie said, every game is going to present different challenges. Really it's just about doing my best to get better, coming in and working hard because it's not really going to get easier. We can't settle as a team and if I want to be able to contribute then I have to get better."
PEYTON WILLIAMS, SENIOR FORWARD
On being back on the basketball court despite still playing with K-State Volleyball...
"It is what it is. You get a little tired, but you got to push through it. I couldn't really hit all the shots that I'm used to and that just comes with getting back and used to my game, back to playing through contact like Coach Mittie said. I got super excited to see Ayoka (Lee) open a bunch of times that I passed too much sometimes. It's going to come eventually and it was good just to be back."
On shots not falling...
"I came into the game kind of telling myself even if it doesn't fall offensively, defensively is where I can contribute. Even though it is an adjustment coming back, obviously I'm a little slow, my step is a little slow still, but I did focus a little more on trying to grab rebounds."
K-State entered the final period with a five-point lead, 52-47. The pair of Ayoka Lee and Christianna Carr then went to work, as the duo combined to score 22 of the 26 points in the fourth frame. In total K-State would shoot 52.6 percent from the field (10-of-19) in the fourth quarter.
Lee did her damage on the interior, while Carr knocked down three 3-pointers on three consecutive trips as she scored 13 points in the frame.
Lee led all scorers with 24 points and pulled in 10 rebounds and blocked four shots. Carr added 18 points.
"I think tonight and every night, it's just about going out and trying to get the team win and trying to contribute in any way I can, leaving it on the floor," said Lee about her second double figure scoring performance of the exhibition schedule. "We got the win, so that first and foremost, is the best thing. To be able to celebrate that win with my teammates - if I'm able to contribute like that any night, just go out and work hard, then that's the goal."
Fort Hays State was led by Belle Barbieri and Jaden Hobbs with 10 points each.
Lee and Peyton Williams started the night by combining to score K-State's first eight points. The Wildcats would build a five-point lead twice in the opening quarter, but Fort Hays State would pull to within three at the end of the frame, 18-15.
In the second quarter, the Tigers closed to within one, 20-19, but K-State used a 17-5 run over a three and a half minute stretch in the second quarter to build a 37-24 lead with 2:06 remaining. Savannah Simmons started the run with a corner three-pointer and added a layup later during the stretch. Simmons would finish with seven points off the bench.
The Wildcats would close the first half with a 41-31 lead, as Lee would tally eight points in the second quarter and 14 in the first half.
K-State started the third quarter hot, as Carr tallied five of K-State's first seven points on 3-of-4 shooting. The Wildcats would hold a 48-31 lead with 7:52 to play in the third stanza.
Fort Hays State would take advantage of cold shooting from the Wildcats to pull within five at the end of the frame. K-State would close the third by shooting 1-of-11 from the field. The Tigers pounced with a 16-4 run and bring K-State's lead to five, 52-47, entering the fourth quarter.
K-State closed the night by shooting 30-of-71 (.423) from the field and were 11-of-12 (.917) from the free throw line. Fort Hays State was held to under 30 percent shooting in the second half and shot 33.9 percent for the night (21-of-62).
Kansas State begins its 52nd season of action on Friday, November 8, against Omaha. Game time in Bramlage Coliseum is set for 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the 2019-20 season-opener can be purchased by calling (800) 221-CATS or at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Friday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, HEAD COACH
Opening statement…
"It was good to have our full bench tonight. I think one of the things that we needed to do was get some rotations in there and get some work in. It was good to get Peyton (Williams) in, I think it's important, she just hasn't had a whole lot of contact reps and, obviously, doing both. I just think it's good to get her in there and even though it wasn't a great night for her, I think it was a productive night in that she kind of sees things in what other people are doing and obviously rebounded well and that was probably the biggest improvement overall as a team tonight was we just rebounded the ball pretty well."
On Ayoka Lee being option one even when double teamed...
"Well we've got to make better reads there but what I like about Ayoka is that she's got pretty good hands and even those kind of passes, they don't have to be perfect. She really does a nice job of tracking the ball and I think Peyton will do a nice job tracking the ball, so they're going to be a really good one-two punch in there. I like the fact that we're probably forcing it right now. I think over time we'll see that play better and hopefully it'll be a cleaner play for her."
On Breanna Lewis comparison for Ayoka Lee...
"Well I don't know where her ceiling is. I think that the thing I've really enjoyed about her is that she comes in, she works, she's coachable, she makes adjustments. I think those things set her up to have an opportunity to be good, but we're early in her career so I'm not gonna look too far down. We've got the next practice, she's got to get better tomorrow. We were talking about those things coming up here. Certainly, she knows that bigger post players are coming. Each game is going to present different challenges. Today's challenge was they really surrounded her with a lot of help down there and she handled that pretty well. She just keeps getting better everyday and our focus is going to be on having a good practice tomorrow, putting together some good work. We certainly need it, but that will be our focus."
On Ayoka Lee's start after missing last season...
"I felt like one of the parts of our decision of having that group go out to New York and play in the three-on-three had to do with her because that'd be her first competition for K-State. Although it was three-on-three, just having her have that experience benefitted her even coming into this year. Yoki's a pretty consistent person, so you know what you're going to get in practice every day. You know that she's going to come and work. It's our job to help her and put her through adverse situations to prepare her for what she's going to see going forward. We know we're going to see a lot of physicality. She's going to start seeing some double-teams. All those things are coming, and we'll continue to work on them."
On Christianna Carr getting hot in the fourth...
"I thought Chrissy really got a good look to her. I think it starts with Chrissy mixing her game up. She got that drive to the basket, she got a layup there, she got it in transition, she got a bucket. Sometimes she can settle too much with the three but that really got her going so it was just different things and I do think that has been better for her. It's part of the growth of her game. I think the one thing with Peyton playing tonight, my goal with Peyton every exhibition game is to try to get her legs a little bit better. And we only use her in about three minute stretches. A long stretch in this one is four, four and a half. I saw her do better things, quicker things, as the game went on. This is actually a pretty good team for her to have to do some things because they spread you out. She was out there guarding a three-point shooter. There were some positives that, for us as a team, of having her here tonight. And then, obviously, you talked about, I think the positives in that fourth quarter were that Chrissy caught fire, we got a little bit better balance, got the ball inside and finished it off."
AYOKA LEE, REDSHIRT FRESHMAN CENTER
On her performance tonight ...
"I think tonight and every night, it's just about going out and trying to get the team win and trying to contribute in any way I can, leaving it on the floor. We got the win, so that first and foremost, is the best thing. To be able to celebrate that win with my teammates - if I'm able to contribute like that any night, just go out and work hard, then that's the goal."
On moving forward to the rest of the season…
"It's definitely a great start to the season, but like Coach Mittie said, every game is going to present different challenges. Really it's just about doing my best to get better, coming in and working hard because it's not really going to get easier. We can't settle as a team and if I want to be able to contribute then I have to get better."
PEYTON WILLIAMS, SENIOR FORWARD
On being back on the basketball court despite still playing with K-State Volleyball...
"It is what it is. You get a little tired, but you got to push through it. I couldn't really hit all the shots that I'm used to and that just comes with getting back and used to my game, back to playing through contact like Coach Mittie said. I got super excited to see Ayoka (Lee) open a bunch of times that I passed too much sometimes. It's going to come eventually and it was good just to be back."
On shots not falling...
"I came into the game kind of telling myself even if it doesn't fall offensively, defensively is where I can contribute. Even though it is an adjustment coming back, obviously I'm a little slow, my step is a little slow still, but I did focus a little more on trying to grab rebounds."
Team Stats
FHSU
KState
FG%
.339
.423
3FG%
.353
.280
FT%
.667
.917
RB
27
53
TO
15
21
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballK-State WBB | Feeding the Band
Wednesday, September 10
K-State WBB | Postgame Press Conference vs USC (NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen)
Saturday, March 29
K-State WBB | Postgame Highlights vs USC (NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen)
Saturday, March 29
K-State WBB | Player Press Conference (NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen - USC Preview)
Friday, March 28