SE: Lee's Return Powers K-State Past No. 22 South Dakota State
Dec 11, 2020 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Ayoka Lee is the last Wildcat introduced before every game, when each of the K-State starters has a choreographed handshake with Savannah Simmons.
These things get complicated - we're talking about multi-step high fives with some practice beforehand, a different one for each player.
Except Lee's pregame handshake isn't really a handshake at all. It's a hair flip.
Not fancy. Not flashy. Nothing to worry about.
It's exactly how Lee played on Thursday, helping lead the Wildcats to a season-altering 62-53 win over No. 22 South Dakota State.
"Coming off our loss the other day, we just wanted to play hard," she said. "We knew we had to hit first, go in there aggressive and protect our floor."
After going down with a leg injury in the first few minutes of last week's loss to No. 9 Kentucky, Lee missed the last two games for the Wildcats.
After a road win over Central Arkansas, K-State struggled in a double-digit loss to Idaho State on Tuesday afternoon that left the Wildcats looking for answers.
They found some against the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State came into Manhattan undefeated, with wins over No. 15 Iowa State and No. 18 Gonzaga.
But from the opening tip, K-State controlled the tempo against the Jackrabbits, forcing the issue at the rim and ending the first quarter on a 14-1 run.
The Wildcats never trailed on Thursday night and Lee's bounce-back performance was a big reason why.
"You're talking about one of the best players in the country. You're talking about a player coming off of a special year last year for her as a freshman," Jeff Mittie said. "You certainly saw us in the previous game struggle to find offense. The game is a lot easier, and I think that our players were excited to have both her and (Jada) Moore back."
Lee finished with 18 points and nine rebounds against South Dakota State, the second time this season she's finished a rebound shy of a double-double.
And she gave the Wildcats more than just second chance points. With a rotation heavy on guards, K-State has been prone to cold-shooting streaks early in the 2020 season.
An 11-minute scoreless drought doomed them against Idaho State, and the Wildcats came out in the third quarter on Thursday night needing a spark.
Even going without a field goal for the first four minutes of the second half, K-State could get the ball to Lee, and Lee could get to the free throw line.
"We knew that we would be able to get it inside, because we knew they didn't have size and their post defense wasn't great," she said. "We knew that the guards would get more shots once we got the ball inside and got that movement. It just goes back to sticking to our scout."
It was a game made even more remarkable because Lee wasn't 100 percent sure she was going to play when she woke up on Thursday.
Lee had just one practice after Tuesday's game to see if she could return against South Dakota State, and even then, she didn't get the all-clear until after a workout on Thursday morning.
"I was determined to play," she said. "Coming into it, I was confident. That's why I did stuff this morning and yesterday. I was excited to get back on the floor with my teammates and go get that dub."
The win gives K-State their first victory over a ranked opponent since February of 2019, even more valuable coming in this season's abbreviated non-conference schedule.
Perhaps most importantly, Thursday night helped reintroduced the college basketball world to Ayoka Lee.
Even if that reintroduction came on short notice to most of her teammates.
"I kind of wanted to keep it a secret," she said. "I didn't tell a lot of people at first, but when Coach Mittie told them everybody was super excited. I was super excited."
Ayoka Lee is the last Wildcat introduced before every game, when each of the K-State starters has a choreographed handshake with Savannah Simmons.
These things get complicated - we're talking about multi-step high fives with some practice beforehand, a different one for each player.
Except Lee's pregame handshake isn't really a handshake at all. It's a hair flip.
Not fancy. Not flashy. Nothing to worry about.
It's exactly how Lee played on Thursday, helping lead the Wildcats to a season-altering 62-53 win over No. 22 South Dakota State.
"Coming off our loss the other day, we just wanted to play hard," she said. "We knew we had to hit first, go in there aggressive and protect our floor."
After going down with a leg injury in the first few minutes of last week's loss to No. 9 Kentucky, Lee missed the last two games for the Wildcats.
After a road win over Central Arkansas, K-State struggled in a double-digit loss to Idaho State on Tuesday afternoon that left the Wildcats looking for answers.
They found some against the Jackrabbits.
South Dakota State came into Manhattan undefeated, with wins over No. 15 Iowa State and No. 18 Gonzaga.
But from the opening tip, K-State controlled the tempo against the Jackrabbits, forcing the issue at the rim and ending the first quarter on a 14-1 run.
The Wildcats never trailed on Thursday night and Lee's bounce-back performance was a big reason why.
"You're talking about one of the best players in the country. You're talking about a player coming off of a special year last year for her as a freshman," Jeff Mittie said. "You certainly saw us in the previous game struggle to find offense. The game is a lot easier, and I think that our players were excited to have both her and (Jada) Moore back."
Lee finished with 18 points and nine rebounds against South Dakota State, the second time this season she's finished a rebound shy of a double-double.
And she gave the Wildcats more than just second chance points. With a rotation heavy on guards, K-State has been prone to cold-shooting streaks early in the 2020 season.
An 11-minute scoreless drought doomed them against Idaho State, and the Wildcats came out in the third quarter on Thursday night needing a spark.
Even going without a field goal for the first four minutes of the second half, K-State could get the ball to Lee, and Lee could get to the free throw line.
"We knew that we would be able to get it inside, because we knew they didn't have size and their post defense wasn't great," she said. "We knew that the guards would get more shots once we got the ball inside and got that movement. It just goes back to sticking to our scout."
It was a game made even more remarkable because Lee wasn't 100 percent sure she was going to play when she woke up on Thursday.
Lee had just one practice after Tuesday's game to see if she could return against South Dakota State, and even then, she didn't get the all-clear until after a workout on Thursday morning.
"I was determined to play," she said. "Coming into it, I was confident. That's why I did stuff this morning and yesterday. I was excited to get back on the floor with my teammates and go get that dub."
The win gives K-State their first victory over a ranked opponent since February of 2019, even more valuable coming in this season's abbreviated non-conference schedule.
Perhaps most importantly, Thursday night helped reintroduced the college basketball world to Ayoka Lee.
Even if that reintroduction came on short notice to most of her teammates.
"I kind of wanted to keep it a secret," she said. "I didn't tell a lot of people at first, but when Coach Mittie told them everybody was super excited. I was super excited."
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