K-State Upsets (12/12) West Virginia on Sunday

Sunday, January 1

Manhattan, Kan.

2:00 PM

Kansas State University

11-3, 1-1

West Virginia

13-1, 1-1

West Virginia

Kansas State

Jan 01, 2017 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Kansas State rung in the new year with a resounding 86-71 upset win over (12/12) West Virginia on Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum. The win by the Wildcats ended a two-game skid and snapped the Mountaineers' 13-game win streak to open the season.

This was K-State's second win of the season over an Associated Press top-25 opponent and was the highest ranked opponent the Wildcats have defeated since downing No. 12 Oklahoma State on Jan. 23, 2013.

Kansas State (11-3, 1-1 Big 12) had four players score in double figures led by Naismith Trophy candidate Breanna Lewis with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and nine rebounds. Lewis has led K-State in rebounding in 10 straight games.

Joining Lewis in double figures were senior guard Kindred Wesemann with 16 points and five assists and 10 points each from juniors Shaelyn Martin and Kaylee Page. Martin also dished out a game-high eight assists.

West Virginia (13-1, 1-1 Big 12) also had four players in double figures paced by Chania Ray with 23 points, including a 6-of-10 effort from beyond the arc.

Kansas State shot a season-high 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the field, which is the third time this season K-State has been over 50.0 percent from the field in a game and the first time since Nov. 14, 2016 against Tulsa. West Virginia shot 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the floor and were 14-of-29 (.483) from the 3-point line. K-State did its damage from near the rim, outscoring West Virginia 54-22 in the paint. The 54 points in the lane were the second-high total by the Wildcats this season.

Page's 10 points were part of a 28-0 advantage in bench points for K-State on Sunday. Joining Page were freshman Eternati Willock with nine points and four rebounds, while sophomore Kayla Goth added five points and senior Jessica Sheble chipped in with four points and four rebounds.

The first quarter featured five ties and three lead changes as the teams played a back and forth opening 10 minutes. K-State secured a 17-14 lead with 2:55 left, as Page scored five straight points to push K-State in front.

After Ray rattled home her second 3-pointer of the first quarter to tie the game at 20, K-State ended the quarter with four straight points from Lewis to hold a 24-20 lead after one quarter. Lewis registered eight points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first quarter.

Kansas State continued its offensive momentum into the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the frame to build a 30-20 lead with 7:25 to play. Ray ended West Virginia's five-minute drought without a field goal by draining a transition 3-pointer to pull within seven, 30-23, with 6:50 to play. The Wildcats continued their offensive push, as Martin found Sheble for a left handed hook shot to force a Mountaineer timeout with 5:44 left in the first half.

The Wildcat offensive machine continued to roll after the timeout, as K-State went on a 9-5 run to force a second West Virginia timeout with 3:27 left. Willock continued her strong first half with a layup and Martin followed with a pair of layups.

West Virginia was able to within 10, 46-36, as Kristina King completed a 3-point play with 1:14 remaining before halftime. The Wildcats were able to quickly push the advantage back to 14 with 38 seconds left as Page finished a layup and Karyla Middlebrook converted a running lefthanded layup. K-State would hold a 51-39 lead at the half. Middlebrook finished the afternoon with nine points.

The 51 first half points by K-State were a season-high for an opening half and the most since Dec. 13, 2015 when K-State scored 54 points in the first half against Florida Atlantic.

K-State shot 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from the field in the first half, including a 63.2 percent effort in the second quarter. West Virginia checked in at 44.8 percent (13-of-29). The Mountaineers were aided by a 9-of-14 performance from the 3-point line in the opening half, while K-State did their damage near the rim, holding a 34-8 advantage in points in the paint.

West Virginia opened the second half with an 8-2 run, bolstered by a 3-pointers from Ray and Tynice Martin, which forced a K-State timeout with 8:02 to play in the third quarter leading 53-47.

The Wildcats responded well to the timeout, as K-State dashed out to a 11-2 run to increase its lead to 15, 64-49, with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Page started the run with her second 3-pointer of the afternoon, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Wesemann. Following a transition layup from Lewis, West Virginia was forced to call a timeout to halt the run.

Following the West Virginia timeout, K-State ended the third quarter by outscoring the Mountaineers 10-6 and held a 74-55 lead entering the fourth quarter.

West Virginia outscored K-State 16-12 in the final quarter, narrowing the game to 14 points, 82-68, with 2:58 remaining. A Lewis putback and a Wesemann jumper with 1:19 remaining in the game halted the comeback attempt.

K-State returns to the road to face (24/24) Oklahoma on Wednesday, January 7. Game time is 7 p.m., in Norman and will be broadcast on FCS Central and on the K-State Sports Network.

Noteworthy
• K-State is in its 49th season of women's basketball and owns an overall record of 902-559… Head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 503-265, including a 49-30 mark in three seasons at K-State.
• West Virginia leads the series, 8-2.
• The Wildcats have an all-time record of 228-161 in the month of January… Under Mittie, K-State is 8-10 in January.
• Kansas State is 76-187 (.289) against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25, including a 47-51 (.480) mark in games played in Manhattan... The Wildcats are 2-2 against AP top 25 opponents this season… K-State is 6-7 (.462) against teams ranked 12th in the AP poll.
• K-State's starting lineup: guards - Kindred Wesemann and Karyla Middlebrook; forwards – Peyton Williams and Shaelyn Martin; center - Breanna Lewis… This was the fifth game for this lineup this season… Williams made her ninth career start…12th career K-State start for Middlebrook and the 82nd of her collegiate career… Martin started her ninth game this season and the 74th of her career… Wesemann has played in 108 career games and started 87... Lewis has played in 108 career games and started 103.
• K-State has made a three-point field goal in 320 straight games... The streak dates back to Feb. 7, 2007.
• Kansas State has held the edge on the glass in 10 games this season… The Wildcats have now won 31 straight games when holding the edge in rebounding… Since the 2001-02 season, K-State is 195-25 (.886) when outrebounding its opponent.
• With her 23 points, Lewis moved into 17th on the K-State career scoring list with 1,287 points… This was her 65th career game in double figures… This was Lewis's 18th career game with 20 or more points and her third this season… Lewis tallied nine rebounds, which is her 77th career game with five or more rebounds… She ranks 12th in school history for career rebounds with 710… Lewis finished with one block and ranks eighth in Big 12 history for career blocks with 251.
• With her 16 points on Sunday, Wesemann ranks 38th in program history for career points with 1,022… Wesemann tallied her 48th career game in double figures for points… She finished the afternoon 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, her 65th career game with two or more made and her 19th career game with four or more connections… She has made 218 three-pointers in her career and ranks sixth in program history… Her five assists on Sunday were a personal season-high… This was her 10th career game with five or more assists… Wesemann's career assist total stands at 264 and ranks 17th in program history.
• Kaylee Page registered her 12th career game in double figures and her fourth this season… Page was 2-of-7 from beyond the arc… This was her 18th career game with two or more connections from deep.
• Martin registered her second game in double figures and the seventh of her career… Her eight assists were one off her season-high of nine against Chicago State in the season-opener… This was her 19th career game with five or more assists… She now ranks 18th in school history for career assists with 256.