K-State Begins Home Stand against Southern

GAME #1
Southern (0-0, 0-0 SWAC) at Kansas State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Sunday, November 29, 2020 | 1 p.m. | Bramlage Coliseum | Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
• Brian Smoller (play-by-play)
• Missy Heidrick (analyst)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
• Wade Gerstner (play-by-play)
Listen Online: www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
No fans allowed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 570-314/29th season | At K-State: 116-79/7th season

Newman: Carlos Funchess (ULM '92)
Overall: 36-27/3rd season | At Southern: Same

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (based on previous game)
Kansas State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
G: #2 Cymone Goodrich | F: #13 Laura Macke | G: #24 Emilee Ebert | G: #43 Christianna Carr | C: #50 Ayoka Lee

Southern (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
G: #0 Caitlin Davis | G: #20 Amani McWain | F: #22 Taneara Moore | G: #25 Genovea Johnson | F: #44 Raven White

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads, 2-0
In Manhattan: 2-0
Last Meeting: K-State won, 59-47, on Nov. 25, 2015
Head Coach Jeff Mittie vs. Southern: 1-0
K-State vs. the SWAC: 22-0

MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State begins its 53rd season on Sunday afternoon, as the Wildcats host Southern at 1 p.m. This begins a seven-game home stand for the Wildcats, the longest since the 1992-93 season.

• Sunday's game can be seen live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Missy Heidrick (analyst) will have the call.
• K-State returns eight letterwinners from last season's squad. Returning players are: juniors Christianna Carr, Cymone Goodrich, Laura Macke, Rachel Ranke, Ashley Ray and Savannah Simmons and sophomores Emilee Ebert and Ayoka Lee. Ranke and Ray are redshirt juniors, as each missed over 20 games due to injury last season.
• In October, Lee and Ranke were tabbed by the league as Preseason All-Big 12 and Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention recipients, respectively. In November, Lee was named to the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award, Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy and the Wade Trophy watch lists.
• The Wildcats will blend in four newcomers and one redshirt for the 2020-21 season: senior Sydney Goodson, junior Makayla Pippin, redshirt freshman Jada Thorpe and freshmen Taylor Lauterbach and Jada Moore. Goodson played the last two seasons at Texas Tech, before joining the Wildcats for her lone season in purple in 2020-21.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Schedule Oddity
• In a normal season, K-State typically plays in a multi-team event during this time of the season. However, with the late start to the 2020-21 season, K-State will play its first home game on the date of November 29 since the 1996-97 season.
2. K-State Selected 4th by League's Coaches
• The Wildcats were selected to finish fourth in the 2020-21 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll in October. This is the highest preseason ranking in the Jeff Mittie era and the highest since the 2004-05 season when K-State was selected third.
3. Mittie set for 7th season
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie is prepared for his seventh season in Manhattan. He owns a 116-79 (.595) record and five postseason appearances with the Wildcats.
4. Lee a Candidate for a trio of national awards
• Ayoka Lee, is a candidate for the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy, the 2021 Wade Trophy and the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award. Lee averaged a double-double last season with 15.7 points and 11.4 rebounds.
5. Board Work Not Boring
• In the 2019-20 season, K-State set a school record for rebounds per game by averaging 43.3 rebounds per game (1,257 rebounds). The Wildcats ranked 10th in the nation for rebounds per game and second in the Big 12.

Last Time Out
Kansas State 63, Newman 59 (November 27, 2020; Wichita, Kan.)
• The trio of Christianna Carr (15), Ayoka Lee (14) and Laura Macke (13) combined for 42 of K-State's 63 points. Carr led K-State with nine rebounds, while Lee and Macke each had three steals.
• The Wildcats shot 5-of-33 from beyond the arc.
• K-State held a 51-40 edge on the boards and outscored Newman in the paint, 34-16.

Number to Know
163
• In head coach Jeff Mittie's previous six seasons, K-State has recorded 926 blocked shots (154.3 blocks per season) and have three of the top six season block totals in program history.
• As a team in the 2019-20 season, K-State had 163 blocks which were 5.6 per game.
• The total of 163 tied for second in a season in school history and were the most in the Mittie era. K-State was two blocks from setting a new single-season school record.
• The per game total of 5.6 set the single-season record, topping the previous mark of 5.0 set in the 2007-08 season.
• The Wildcats ranked 16th in the nation for total blocks and 11th for blocks per game.

At a Glance: Southern
• Southern will make its 2020-21 debut on Sunday against the Wildcats. The Jaguars were selected for a third-place finish in the preseason SWAC Coaches Poll.
• On the sideline, Southern is led by third-year head coach Carlos Funchess. In his time with the Jaguars, Funchess has achieved a record of 36-27 (.571) and led the program to the 2019 SWAC Regular Season and Tournament titles and an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament with a 20-13 overall record.
• On the floor, Southern will be paced by Amani McWain.
• McWain is the top returning scorer for the Jaguars, as she averaged 7.0 points per game in 2019-20. McWain is also Southern's top returning 3-point shooter, carding a 22-of-75 (.293) effort last season.

K-State in Season Openers
• The Wildcats have been dominant in season-openers since the team's first season in 1968-69. Kansas State is 43-9 (.827) in season openers and have won 19 of the last 21 season openers, including 10 straight.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 22-6 (.786) in season-openers, including a 6-0 mark at K-State.

K-State in Home Openers
• Kansas State has won 26 of its last 28 home openers in Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats are 43-9 (.827) all-time in home openers and 28-4 (.875) in openers in Bramlage.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 26-2 (.929) in home openers in his previous 28 seasons.

Wildcats with 300+ Wins in Bramlage
• K-State is 344-139 (.712) all-time inside Bramlage Coliseum, which is in its 32nd season of existence.
• In the 2019-20 season, Kansas State is 9-6 in home games. K-State has recorded a .500 or better record at home in 10 straight seasons.
• The 2018-19 season (12-4) marked the 30th time in 52 seasons that the Wildcats reached double figures in home victories. It marked the 22nd season K-State has won 10 or more games in Bramlage including five straight seasons.
• In his career in games played in his home venue, head coach Jeff Mittie is 348-96 (.784) including a 74-31 (.705) record at K-State.
• Kansas State has protected Bramlage Coliseum with determination against non-conference foes with a record of 199-27 (.881). Mittie is 45-6 (.882) in non-conference games in Bramlage Coliseum.

Mittie in 7th Season at K-State
• Jeff Mittie, one of the winningest active coaches in NCAA Division I with over 500 career wins, is in his seventh season at the helm of the K-State program in 2020-21.
• Mittie, the ninth head women's basketball coach in K-State history, owns an overall career record of 570-314 (.645) in 29 years as a head coach, including a 116-79 (.595) mark in his time at K-State. He has won 19 or more games in four of his six seasons with K-State.
• With his 116 wins at Kansas State, Mittie ranks fourth for wins at the helm of the K-State program.
• Mittie registered the 550th win of his coaching career, a 75-72 decision at TCU on Feb. 23, 2019.
• In the 2016-17 season, K-State's 23 wins were Mittie's most at the helm of the Wildcats and the most for Mittie since registering 23 in the 2007-08 season at TCU.
• He has averaged 20.4 wins per season and experienced only one losing season in his previous 28 seasons.
• Mittie has 20 postseason appearances in his career (NCAA or WNIT Tournaments), in which he has a combined record of 20-18 (.526).

Career Debuts at K-State
• Five players - Sydney Goodson, Taylor Lauterbach, Jada Moore, Makayla Pippin and Jada Thorpe - could make their K-State debuts on Sunday against Southern.
• If the five players make their Wildcat debut against Southern, it would be the most K-State players to make their K-State debut in the opener since the 2017-18 season when six players debuted against Stephen F. Austin.
• Of the 75 players to make their K-State women's basketball career debuts from the 2000-01 season to the 2019-20 season, only three scored 20 or more points in their first game.
• The three players to score 20 or more points in their Kansas State career debuts were: Laurie Koehn (27 points, at Georgia Tech, 11/16/2001), Kaylee Page (21 points, at Tulsa, 11/13/2015) and Tasha Dickey (20 points, vs. Dartmouth, 11/12/2011).
• None of the three players were true freshmen at the time of their K-State career debuts. Koehn was a redshirt freshman. Page was a sophomore after transferring from Nebraska and Dickey was a senior who was a graduate transfer from Arizona.

K-State Cleaning the Glass
• In the 2019-20 season, K-State set a school record for rebounds per game by averaging 43.3 rebounds per game (1,257 rebounds). The Wildcats ranked 10th in the nation for rebounds per game and second in the Big 12. K-State's rebounding margin of +5.6 per game ranked third in the Big 12 and 48th in the nation. The Wildcats had the edge on the boards in 19 of 29 games this season.
• The 1,257 rebounds in the 2019-20 season rank fifth in program history for total rebounds in a season.
• This was the 19th straight season K-State pulled in 1,000 or more rebounds and just the seventh time in program history with 1,250 or more rebounds in a season
• Since the 2001-02 season, Kansas State owns a record of 235-35 (.870) when holding the edge on the glass.
• K-State had five games this season with 50 or more rebounds the most since the 1989-90 season (5). The Wildcats had 18 games with 40 or more rebounds, which is the most since the 1989-90 season (20).
• The Wildcats hauled in a season-high 64 rebounds at TCU on February 1. The Wildcats had a season-high 27 offensive rebounds against the Horned Frogs. The 64 rebounds are the most by a Big 12 team this season.
• The 64 rebounds at TCU were the second-most in program history and are the most since the school record of 67 was set on January 17, 1975, against Nebraska.

Lee Highly Decorated in First Year
• Ayoka Lee collected a multitude of awards in her first season on the floor in 2019-20.
• At the conclusion of the Big 12 season, Lee earned: 2020 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, 2020 All-Big 12 First Team and a unanimous 2020 Big 12 All-Freshman Team recipient.
• During the season, Lee was a 12-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week selection and a two-time USBWA Tamicka Catchings National Freshman of the Week.
• She set the Big 12 record for Big 12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week honors in a season, surpassing the previous record of nine held by Courtney Paris of Oklahoma in 2005-06.
• Lee was the first player in the history of the Big 12 to earn five league Freshman of Rookie of the Week awards in the first eight weeks of the season.
• She also earned 2020 Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors for her work in the classroom.

Lee Atop Unique Club
• Ayoka Lee joined and improved upon a unique club in program history.
• Lee set the school record for career double-doubles with five or more blocks with seven career games.
• According to Stats, Inc., Lee was one of three players in the nation with five or more games in the 2019-20 season with a double-double and five or more blocks in the same game. She was the only freshman in the nation with five or more games with a double-double and five or more blocks.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Christianna Carr

Emilee Ebert

Cymone Goodrich

Sydney Goodson

Taylor Lauterbach

Ayoka Lee

Laura Macke

Jada Moore

Kaylee Page

Makayla Pippin

Rachel Ranke

Ashley Ray

Savannah Simmons

Jada Thorpe

Kansas State University Athletics