K-State Prepped to Face (5/4) NC State on Friday

GAME #5
Kansas State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) at (5/4) NC State (3-1, 0-0 ACC)
Friday, November 19, 2021 | 6 p.m. (CT) | Reynolds Coliseum | Raleigh, N.C.

TELEVISION
ACC NetworkX
Play-by-Play: Evan Budrovich
Analyst: Ernie Myers
Sideline: Marilyn Payne

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Randy Peterson

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 583-332/30th season | At K-State: 129-97/8th season

NC State: Wes Moore (Johnson University '84)
Overall: 751-235/33rd season | At NC State: 193-66/9th season

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (based on previous game)
Kansas State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12)
G: #2 Cymone Goodrich | G: #3 Jaelyn Glenn | G: #4 Serena Sundell | F: #13 Laura Macke | C: #50 Ayoka Lee

(5/4) NC State (3-1, 0-0 ACC)
G: #2 Raina Perez | G: #3 Kai Crutchfield | F: #11 Jakia Brown-Turner | F: #25 Kayla Jones | C: #33 Elissa Cunane

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: NC State leads, 2-1
In Raleigh: First meeting
Last Meeting: Nov. 24, 2016; K-State won 67-50 (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands)
Head Coach Jeff Mittie vs. NC State: 1-2
• The Wildcats are 7-9 all-time against current members of the ACC.

MANHATTAN, Kansas - K-State will conclude its appearance in the 2021 Preseason WNIT and embark on its first road trip of the 2021-22 season, as the Wildcats travel to Raleigh, North Carolina, to face (5/4) NC State on Friday night at 6 p.m. (CT). This will be the first meeting between the teams at one of their respective campuses.

• Friday's game can be seen live on ACC NetworkX, as Evan Budrovich (play-by-play), Ernie Myers (analyst) and Marilyn Payne (sideline) will have the call.
• The Wildcats have won four straight games to open a season for the first time since the start of the 2017-18 season.
• K-State was led in the first three games of the 2021 Preseason WNIT by junior Ayoka Lee and freshman Serena Sundell. Lee, a center from Byron, Minnesota, was named 2021 Preseason WNIT Most Valuable Player and All-Tournament Team selection for the K-State pod by averaging 24.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.
• Sundell was selected to the 2021 Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team by averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Lee Garners Pair of Player of the Week Honors
• Ayoka Lee was named the first Big 12 Player of the Week and ESPN.com National Player of the Week in the 2021-22 season. Lee averaged 28.7 points on a .720 field goal percentage and added 10.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.3 blocks.
2. The D is the Key
• K-State has held its opponents to 40.8 points per game, a .279 field goal percentage and a .138 three-point field goal percentage. The Wildcats rank seventh in the nation in scoring defense, 15th in the nation in field goal percentage defense and eighth for 3-point field goal percentage defense.
3. Lee Back-to-Back 30 Nights
• Ayoka Lee achieved a rarity in K-State women's basketball history - consecutive 30-point games. Lee scored 33 against Western Kentucky on Nov. 14 and 31 against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 15. She joins Brittany Chambers as the only players in school history to notch consecutive games with 30 or more points.
4. Cats Haul in the Boards
• K-State registered a season-high 51 rebounds against North Carolina A&T. This was the highest rebound total for the Wildcats since December 14, 2020, against Kansas City (57).
5. Brushing Up in the Paint
• K-State has scored 40 or more points in the paint in three games this season including 56 in the paint against Central Arkansas on Nov. 9. The 56 points marked the most since scoring 60 against Tulsa on Nov. 14, 2016.

Number to Know
78

• K-State has continued to distribute the ball at a high level.
• The Wildcats lead the nation in total assists with 78 and are 35th in the nation for assists per game with 19.5.
• Serena Sundell leads the Wildcats and is third in the nation with 24 assists. She is tied for the Big 12 lead in assists per game (6.0).
• K-State has recorded an assist on 70.3 percent of its made field goals this season. Last season, K-State set the school record for assisted shot rate at 71.3 percent.

At a Glance: NC State
• (5/4) NC State has opened the season with a 3-1 record. The Wolfpack were selected as preseason favorites in the ACC following back-to-back conference titles.
• On the sideline, NC State is led by ninth-year head coach Wes Moore. The 2021 WBCA National Coach of the Year owns a career record of 751-235 (.762) and is 193-66 (.745) during his time in Raleigh.
• On the floor, the Wolfpack are led by senior Elissa Cunane and junior Jakia Brown-Turner.
• Cunane, the preseason ACC Player of the Year, is averaging 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.
• Brown-Turner, a preseason All-ACC selection, is averaging 11.5 points and 5.0 rebounds.

Last Time Out
at K-State 73, North Carolina A&T 49 (Nov. 15, 2021; Manhattan, Kan.)
• K-State completed its season-opening four-game home stand unbeaten with a 73-49 win over North Carolina A&T in the 2021 Preseason WNIT.
• The Wildcats registered a season-high 11 blocks and all 10 active players registered at least one assist.
• Ayoka Lee finished with 31 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks in 25 minutes of action.

Remember the Month of November
• In its 54 seasons of action, K-State has accumulated a record of 144-50 (.742) in the month of November.
• K-State has won 32 of its last 40 games in the month of November dating back to a 49-46 win over Virginia on Nov. 29, 2013.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 30-8 (.789) in November games.
• The Wildcats have ended the 11th month with a .500 or better record in 10 straight seasons, including a 6-0 mark in 2016-17. Overall, K-State has registered a .500 or better record in November 41 times in its history.

Wildcats on the Road
• K-State has a 281-303 (.481) record in road games during the program's 53-year history.
• Since the 2000-01 season, K-State owns an 121-123 (.496) mark in road contests. K-State is 15-16 (.484) in the last three seasons in road games.
• With a 76-72 win at Texas Tech on January 11, K-State tied the school record for consecutive Big 12 road wins with six straight.
• In his career in games played on the road, head coach Jeff Mittie is 158-181 (.466) including a 32-44 (.421) mark during his time at K-State.

K-State Against Ranked Opponents
• The Wildcats are 83-222 (.272) against teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll including a 52-65 (.444) mark against AP ranked teams in Manhattan.
• K-State is 11-46 (.193) against AP ranked opponents in head coach Jeff Mittie's seven seasons in Manhattan.
• The Wildcats ended an eight-game losing streak against AP ranked opponents with a 62-53 win over South Dakota State on December 10, 2020. This was K-State's first win against a ranked non-conference opponent since defeating Drake on March 18, 2017, in the NCAA Tournament.

Cats Send Back Shots Under Mittie
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, Kansas State has sent back 1,079 shots for 4.77 per game in the 226 games. K-State has 120 or more blocks in each of Mittie's previous seven seasons.
• The 1,079 blocks in the eight seasons are the most in any eight-season span in program history.
• This season, K-State has 29 blocks (7.3 bpg) and leads the nation in total blocks. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 and rank 21st in the nation in blocks per game.
• Against North Carolina A&T, the Wildcats recorded a season-high 11 blocks. The 11 blocks are the sixth-most in a game in school history. The Wildcats have blocked 10 or more shots in a game 12 times (11-1) since Mittie's first season in 2014-15.
• In the 2020-21 season, the Wildcats blocked 123 shots (4.56 bpg) and ranked third in the Big 12 and 39th in the nation for blocks per game. K-State was 23rd in the nation for total blocks.
• The 123 blocks last season were the 14th highest total in program history and marked the seventh straight season K-State has blocked 120 or more shots.
• K-State had a blocked shot differential of +44 in the 2020-21 season (123-79). Since blocks became official in 1982-83, K-State has 20 seasons with a positive blocked shot differential including a school record +73 (163-90) in the 2005-06 season.

Sharing is Caring
• The Wildcats have been unselfish this season, dishing out 78 assists (19.5 apg). K-State leads the nation in total assists and ranks 35th in assists per game. The Wildcats lead the Big 12 in assists per game and assist-turnover ratio at 1.56.
• Of its 111 made field goals, K-State has recorded an assist on 70.3 percent of those field goals.
• K-State opened the 2021-22 season with 26 assists. Of the 10 players that saw the floor against the Sugar Bears, eight recorded an assist.
• The 26 assists in the opener were the most by a K-State team since handing out 30 assists against UIW on Dec. 3, 2019.
• Against Western Kentucky, K-State handed out 24 assists on 28 made field goals which was the a season-high assisted shot rate of 85.7 percent.
• The Wildcats are 73-6 (.924) when handing out 20 or more assists over the last 15 years.
• In the 2020-21 season, K-State dished out 429 assists (15.89 apg) on 602 made field goals which was an assist percentage of 71.3. The Wildcats ranked third in the Big 12 for all games in assists per game and third in the league for Big 12-only games (16.0 apg).
• The assisted shot rate of 71.3 percent was the highest in school history. According to HerHoopStats.com, K-State ranked fifth in the nation in assist percentage and were the top Power 5 program in the category. Since assists became an officially tracked stat in 1981-82, K-State has registered an assisted shot rate of 60.0 percent or higher at the end of a season 21 times in its history.
• K-State handed out the most assists per game, 15.9, in the Jeff Mittie era. The 15.9 assists per game were the most for the program since the 2005-06 season.
• K-State had eight games last season with 20 or more assists.

Sundell Sets the Table
• Freshman guard Serena Sundell has helped K-State to an unbeaten start to the season with her distribution skills.
• The product of Maryville, Missouri, has handed out 24 assists (6.0 apg) and owns a 4.8 assist to turnover ratio. She leads the Big 12 and is third in the nation for total assists, tied for the Big 12 lead and 37th in the nation for assists per game and fourth in the Big 12 and 33rd in the nation for assist to turnover ratio.
• Sundell leads the nation's freshmen in total assists and ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game.
• Sundell handed out nine assists with one turnover against Central Arkansas on Nov. 9.
• Her nine assists set the school record for assists in a K-State debut.

Nobody Does It Like Ayoka Lee
• Ayoka Lee is quickly climbing the K-State career scoring list and has opened the 2021-22 season on a scoring tear.
• In her career, Lee has scored 1,051 points in 58 career games (18.1 ppg). Her career scoring average of 18.1 ranks third in school history. She was the 44th player in school history with 1,000 or more career points and ranks 39th on the K-State career scoring list.
• This season, Lee is averaging 29.3 points per game which leads the Big 12 and ranks second in the nation. Lee leads the nation in total points scored (117) and was the first player in NCAA Division I to score 100 points, reaching the mark in four games.
• With her 117 points over a four-game span, Lee set the school record for points in any four-game span in school history.
• Against Central Arkansas on November 9, Lee scored a career-high and school record 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting from the field and 9-of-12 from the free throw line to go with nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals. According to HerHoopStats.com, no player since at least 2009-10 has recorded a single-game stat line like Lee achieved in the season-opener.
• Her 43 points tied for the 11th highest single-game total in Big 12 history and were the most by any player in the nation in the first game this season.
• She has tied the school record for career games with 30 or more points in a game with six.
• During the 2020-21 season, Lee averaged a career-best 19.1 points per game while scoring a career-high 478 points. She ranked seventh in the Big 12 and 41st in the nation in scoring. Nationally among centers, Lee ranked second in the nation for scoring average.
• According to HerHoopStats.com, Lee led the Big 12 and ranked third in the nation in PER (39.9). PER measures a player's value based on their box score stats.

Lee Efficient from the Field
• Ayoka Lee continues to put the ball in the hoop at a high rate and is among the top-five on the K-State career field goal percentage list.
• To begin the 2021-22 season, Lee is shooting .731 (49-of-67) from the field. Lee ranks 23rd in the nation and fourth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage and leads the nation in total field goals made (49).
• Against Central Arkansas, Lee made a career-high 17 field goals which was tied for second in school history and tied for fifth in Big 12 history for field goals made in a single-game.
• In her career, Lee has a field goal percentage of .607 (418-of-689) and holds the school record for career field goal percentage. Among active NCAA career leaders for field goal percentage, Lee ranks fifth among all players. Her career field goal percentage ranks fourth in Big 12 history.
• Lee owns 43 career games with a field goal percentage of .500 or better. She has made 10 or more field goals in a game 15 times in her career.
• In the 2020-21 season, Lee shot a career-high .621 (185-of-298) from the field and led the Big 12 and ranked third in the nation for field goal percentage. Among centers, Lee ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage.
• Lee was the only player in NCAA Division I in the 2020-21 season to shoot 60.0 percent or better from the field (min. 5 FGs made/game) and 80.0 percent or better from the foul line (min. 2.5 FTs made/game).

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Players Mentioned

Jaelyn Glenn

Cymone Goodrich

Ayoka Lee

Laura Macke

Serena Sundell

Kansas State University Athletics