Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, December 5
Conway, Ark.
2 p.m.
Kansas State University
2-1,0-0Big 12
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33
Central Arkansas
1-3,0-0Southland
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Kansas St.
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Central Ark.
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K-State Defense Throttles Central Arkansas
Dec 05, 2020 | Women's Basketball
CONWAY, Arkansas – K-State's defense held Central Arkansas to single digits in three of the four quarters on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats won a defensive battle at the Farris Center, 47-33, in a game which was added to the schedules of both teams on Thursday.
The 33 points allowed by K-State were the fewest surrendered by the Wildcats since holding Chicago State to 33 on November 11, 2016, in Bramlage. The Wildcats held the Sugar Bears to a 17.5 percent (10-of-57) effort from the field for the contest.
"We didn't complicate it," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about Saturday's defensive game plan. "We really did similar things we did the other night against Kentucky. We tried to keep things pretty simple. We felt the more we looked at Central Arkansas that that would be a solid plan. I thought our team was decent at keeping them in front of them. The second half they got to the rim too much, but I think overall our size bothered them."
It was the fewest points allowed by K-State in a road game under Mittie and the fewest since K-State won at Kansas City on December 11, 2004, by a score of 63-31.
K-State (2-1) was led by freshman Taylor Lauterbach and redshirt junior Rachel Ranke. Lauterbach came off the bench and narrowly missed her first career double-double with career-highs of nine points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.
"She grew up today, she really did," said Mittie about the 6' 7" center. "She was able to get position better. She was quicker. Even when they brought extra help in there, I thought she played stronger. She moved better. We knew that they would attack her off the bounce and I thought she moved better there. It was a real positive performance by her and I thought a real positive performance by Ashley (Ray) as well."
Ranke made her first start of the 2020-21 season on Saturday and registered nine points and three rebounds.
K-State held an 18-12 lead at halftime, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Ranke. The Wildcats boosted the lead in the third quarter to 28-20 following a layup from Lauterbach with 3:17 remaining.
Central Arkansas (1-3) used a 9-3 run to close the third quarter to narrow the deficit to two, 31-29, entering the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats would outscore the Sugar Bears 16-4 to capture the win. After Central Arkansas tied the game at 31 on their first possession of the fourth frame, Ranke would score the next five points to begin a 12-0 run for K-State. Ranke and Lauterbach combined to score nine of the 12 points during the run.
"I thought the bench really gave us a lift there," said Mittie about the team's second half ball movement. "I thought (Savannah) Simmons came in there and gave us a lift. I thought (Cymone) Goodrich continued to give us a lift in the second half with moving the basketball. (Emilee) Ebert with moving the basketball. (Laura) Macke did some nice things. I thought that group played better together and got us going a little bit."
Macke finished with seven points and five rebounds off the bench, while Goodrich tallied six points and a career-high six assists in a career-best 28 minutes of action. Simmons saw her first action of the 2020-21 season and added three assists in eight minutes.
K-State returns home on Tuesday, December 8 against Idaho State at 1 p.m. Tuesday's game will be limited to 15% capacity. A limited number of single-game tickets are available by calling (800) 221-CATS or online at kstatesports.com,
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
The 33 points allowed by K-State were the fewest surrendered by the Wildcats since holding Chicago State to 33 on November 11, 2016, in Bramlage. The Wildcats held the Sugar Bears to a 17.5 percent (10-of-57) effort from the field for the contest.
"We didn't complicate it," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about Saturday's defensive game plan. "We really did similar things we did the other night against Kentucky. We tried to keep things pretty simple. We felt the more we looked at Central Arkansas that that would be a solid plan. I thought our team was decent at keeping them in front of them. The second half they got to the rim too much, but I think overall our size bothered them."
It was the fewest points allowed by K-State in a road game under Mittie and the fewest since K-State won at Kansas City on December 11, 2004, by a score of 63-31.
K-State (2-1) was led by freshman Taylor Lauterbach and redshirt junior Rachel Ranke. Lauterbach came off the bench and narrowly missed her first career double-double with career-highs of nine points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.
"She grew up today, she really did," said Mittie about the 6' 7" center. "She was able to get position better. She was quicker. Even when they brought extra help in there, I thought she played stronger. She moved better. We knew that they would attack her off the bounce and I thought she moved better there. It was a real positive performance by her and I thought a real positive performance by Ashley (Ray) as well."
Ranke made her first start of the 2020-21 season on Saturday and registered nine points and three rebounds.
K-State held an 18-12 lead at halftime, thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Ranke. The Wildcats boosted the lead in the third quarter to 28-20 following a layup from Lauterbach with 3:17 remaining.
Central Arkansas (1-3) used a 9-3 run to close the third quarter to narrow the deficit to two, 31-29, entering the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats would outscore the Sugar Bears 16-4 to capture the win. After Central Arkansas tied the game at 31 on their first possession of the fourth frame, Ranke would score the next five points to begin a 12-0 run for K-State. Ranke and Lauterbach combined to score nine of the 12 points during the run.
"I thought the bench really gave us a lift there," said Mittie about the team's second half ball movement. "I thought (Savannah) Simmons came in there and gave us a lift. I thought (Cymone) Goodrich continued to give us a lift in the second half with moving the basketball. (Emilee) Ebert with moving the basketball. (Laura) Macke did some nice things. I thought that group played better together and got us going a little bit."
Macke finished with seven points and five rebounds off the bench, while Goodrich tallied six points and a career-high six assists in a career-best 28 minutes of action. Simmons saw her first action of the 2020-21 season and added three assists in eight minutes.
K-State returns home on Tuesday, December 8 against Idaho State at 1 p.m. Tuesday's game will be limited to 15% capacity. A limited number of single-game tickets are available by calling (800) 221-CATS or online at kstatesports.com,
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com.
Cats Win! #KStateWBB x Honor The Journey pic.twitter.com/08ZOiy1CFt
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) December 5, 2020
Drained.#KStateWBB x @ranke_12 pic.twitter.com/wpHVbRxj2s
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) December 5, 2020
🎯🎯🎯#KStateWBB x Honor The Journey pic.twitter.com/krKZnnVVl6
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) December 5, 2020
Team Stats
KState
UCA
FG%
.341
.175
3FG%
.294
.125
FT%
.583
.667
RB
40
37
TO
19
14
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
C
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