Kansas State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 23
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
5-1,0-0Big 12
93
vs
53
Abilene Christian
3-1,0-0WAC
1
2
3
4
F
Abilene Christian
5
11
15
22
53
Kansas St.
31
16
23
23
93
K-State Cruises to Pre-Thanksgiving Win Over Abilene Christian
Nov 23, 2021 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State saw three players in double figures and used a big first quarter to ease past Abilene Christian, 93-53, on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have now won five straight home games.
"I didn't really expect the start," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about the first 10 minutes of Tuesday's game. "We were a little flat in warm-ups so I was concerned about that and the staff was concerned about that. So I did not expect the start, but I do think our group addressed it and knew we needed to raise their enthusiasm and their effort. They obviously went out and played well. I thought they had a good read defensively. I thought they really understood what Abilene Christian was trying to run. Obviously, their attention to detail and scout was pretty good. Coaches did a pretty good job with that."
K-State (5-1) blitzed ACU from the opening tip, as the Wildcats went on a 19-3 run in the first six minutes to force an Abilene Christian timeout. Freshman Serena Sundell registered 11 of the 19 points, including three connections from beyond the arc. The K-State defense held ACU to 1-of-7 shooting and four turnovers during the opening run.
Sundell ended the game with a game- and career-high 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Sundell also added five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Among her 25 points, Sundell set the school records for points in a first quarter with 14 and three-point field goals made in a first quarter with four.
In the last two games, Sundell is averaging 23 points and five connections from beyond the arc. Sundell went into the game with a shot-ready approach.
"I think I just wanted to be more shot ready. That was kind of my mindset, being ready to shoot it and shooting it confidently. I think there was a little bit in my head going on, but I found it again and I give credit to my teammates for just making the right read. Obviously, people are helping a lot inside so we have open three-pointers so I just have to be ready catch and shoot."
K-State upped its first quarter advantage to 27-3, as the Wildcats scored eight straight following the ACU timeout. Sundell knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the quarter, while Rebekah Dallinger added her first. Laura Macke finished a layup in transition to force a second ACU timeout.
K-State would end the first quarter with a 31-5 lead, as Ayoka Lee finished a layup and Macke beat the buzzer with a fast break layup. For the quarter, K-State shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field including a 50.0 percent effort (5-of-10) from beyond the arc.
Ayoka Lee recorded her fourth straight double-double, notching 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds and two blocks on Tuesday night. With her double-double, Lee improved her career total to 33 and tied former teammate Peyton Williams for third in program history for career double-doubles.
Joining Sundell and Lee in double figures was freshman Jaelyn Glenn with a career night, as she tallied a diverse stat line of 13 points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds. Glenn was prepared for whatever the game asked of her.
"It's always being shot ready of course, and Coach tells us to play with the open player. So of course, you want to do that, if your shots not there, then you are looking into Ayoka (Lee), or we're looking for skips. I wouldn't say do-it-all just being long on defense and being shot ready."
In the second quarter, K-State found Lee for five of its first seven points and extend its lead to 38-9 with 6:22 remaining and force ACU to take its third timeout of the first half.
K-State then went on a four-plus minute drought, as Abilene Christian (3-1) registered five straight points to cut the K-State lead to 38-14.
Kansas State found its offensive groove again in the final two minutes, as K-State outscored ACU, 9-2, to hold a 47-16 lead at the half. The 31-point halftime advantage was K-State's largest of the season, as the Wildcats shot 50.0 percent (18-of-36) from the field and held ACU to 20.7 percent (6-of-29).
ACU scored the first four points of the third quarter, which was followed by a 16-0 run by K-State over the next four minutes, as the Wildcats built a 63-20 lead with 4:39 remaining in the third stanza. During the run, Lee scored seven points while Jaelyn Glenn added five.
K-State would complete the third quarter with a 70-31 lead, as Macke made a trio of free throws and Sundell finished with a cut to the basket and layup.
Sundell connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the night to start the fourth quarter. The Wildcats would push their advantage to 42, 86-44, with 5:01 remaining on a fastbreak layup from Emilee Ebert.
K-State ended the night shooting 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the field and were 10-of-29 (.345) from beyond the arc. This was the second straight game K-State made 10 three-point field goals. The Wildcats dished out 25 assists and committed just seven turnovers, which improves upon K-State's Big 12 lead in assist-to-turnover ratio.
K-State continues its three-game home stand on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., as the Wildcats host Northwestern State. To purchase tickets, call (800) 221-CATS, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or purchase in-person at the Bramlage Coliseum ticket windows.
Saturday's game will stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also air on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I didn't really expect the start. We were a little flat in warmups so I was concerned about that and staff was concerned about that. So I did not expect the start, but I do think our group addressed it and knew we needed to raise their enthusiasm and their effort. They obviously went out and played well. I thought they had a good read defensively. I thought they really understood what Abilene Christian was trying to run. Obviously, their attention to detail and scout was pretty good. Coaches did a pretty good job with that. Then we were making some shots, and then we were just keeping the game pretty easy. Playing with the open player. Our zone offense got a lot of work tonight and I think we continued to move the basketball to good areas of the floor."
On his huddle talks with the team and whether there is encouragement or dismissal of the previous quarter...
"Well it's probably a little bit of both. I mean we were challenging them to win every five minutes we did not play well in the second quarter. We were down 9-7 in that quarter and not playing very well. I thought we had lost some intensity in that stretch, and missed some easy shots, and kind of flattened out. Those are growing things for a team that you have to keep your foot on the pedal and foot on the gas. I think all and all from an offensive standpoint I think we continued to share the ball very well. Defensively is where I think we lost some intensity in that second quarter."
On transition offense...
"Yeah I thought they were really good tonight, and really making the right pass and making the right drive. Sometimes you can get pass happy in that situation. I thought we made the right read a lot. I thought Jae (Jaelyn Glenn) had a great stretch in there. She ends up with I think five steals. I think you are going to see a stat line for her a lot like you see tonight. She's a player who can affect stat line in every area. Rebounding is an area I wanted her to be more aggressive in, and tonight she gets four rebounds. So I'm pretty pleased with the improvement we've seen across the board. I did not think our zone defense was very good in the second half, but it was a great opportunity for us to play it against a good shooting team. It will give us some things we can improve on. You can work on those things in practice, but until you see a team running a different offense, or doing things differently I just don't think it's the same, and that's why we went to it in the second half because we just wanted our players to get a look at that against somebody different than each other."
SERENA SUNDELL, FRESHMAN GUARD
On her first quarter...
"I think I just wanted to be more shot ready. That was kind of my mindset, being ready to shoot it and shooting it confidently. I think there was a little bit in my head going on, but I found it again and I give credit to my teammates for just making the right read. Obviously, people are helping a lot inside, so we have open three pointers so I just have to be ready catch and shoot."
On passing to Ayoka Lee when teams double and triple team...
"I would want to think by this point it's a habit. I mean every time you catch you're looking for your shot, you're looking for your post player. Ayoka (Lee) is good enough that we can still find her even when she's double or triple teamed, but we've been working on the skips too so obviously you're looking at her and if there are two people on her, someone else is open. So we are just moving the ball well and eventually the defense is gonna hopefully slip up at some point and then we are gonna find her."
JAELYN GLENN, FRESHMAN GUARD
On her career high performance...
"Well it's always being shot ready of course, and coach is like play with the open player. So of course you want to do that, if your shots not there, then you are looking into Ayoka (Lee), or we're looking for skips. I wouldn't say do it all just being long on defense and being shot ready."
On passing to Serena (Sundell)...
"For me I'm definitely looking for that extra pass. If she (Serena Sundell) is hot it will turn to me then I want to get it back to her because she's making those so I don't want to throw her off."
"I didn't really expect the start," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie about the first 10 minutes of Tuesday's game. "We were a little flat in warm-ups so I was concerned about that and the staff was concerned about that. So I did not expect the start, but I do think our group addressed it and knew we needed to raise their enthusiasm and their effort. They obviously went out and played well. I thought they had a good read defensively. I thought they really understood what Abilene Christian was trying to run. Obviously, their attention to detail and scout was pretty good. Coaches did a pretty good job with that."
K-State (5-1) blitzed ACU from the opening tip, as the Wildcats went on a 19-3 run in the first six minutes to force an Abilene Christian timeout. Freshman Serena Sundell registered 11 of the 19 points, including three connections from beyond the arc. The K-State defense held ACU to 1-of-7 shooting and four turnovers during the opening run.
Sundell ended the game with a game- and career-high 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Sundell also added five rebounds, three steals and two assists. Among her 25 points, Sundell set the school records for points in a first quarter with 14 and three-point field goals made in a first quarter with four.
In the last two games, Sundell is averaging 23 points and five connections from beyond the arc. Sundell went into the game with a shot-ready approach.
"I think I just wanted to be more shot ready. That was kind of my mindset, being ready to shoot it and shooting it confidently. I think there was a little bit in my head going on, but I found it again and I give credit to my teammates for just making the right read. Obviously, people are helping a lot inside so we have open three-pointers so I just have to be ready catch and shoot."
K-State upped its first quarter advantage to 27-3, as the Wildcats scored eight straight following the ACU timeout. Sundell knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the quarter, while Rebekah Dallinger added her first. Laura Macke finished a layup in transition to force a second ACU timeout.
K-State would end the first quarter with a 31-5 lead, as Ayoka Lee finished a layup and Macke beat the buzzer with a fast break layup. For the quarter, K-State shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field including a 50.0 percent effort (5-of-10) from beyond the arc.
Ayoka Lee recorded her fourth straight double-double, notching 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds and two blocks on Tuesday night. With her double-double, Lee improved her career total to 33 and tied former teammate Peyton Williams for third in program history for career double-doubles.
Joining Sundell and Lee in double figures was freshman Jaelyn Glenn with a career night, as she tallied a diverse stat line of 13 points, eight assists, five steals and four rebounds. Glenn was prepared for whatever the game asked of her.
"It's always being shot ready of course, and Coach tells us to play with the open player. So of course, you want to do that, if your shots not there, then you are looking into Ayoka (Lee), or we're looking for skips. I wouldn't say do-it-all just being long on defense and being shot ready."
In the second quarter, K-State found Lee for five of its first seven points and extend its lead to 38-9 with 6:22 remaining and force ACU to take its third timeout of the first half.
K-State then went on a four-plus minute drought, as Abilene Christian (3-1) registered five straight points to cut the K-State lead to 38-14.
Kansas State found its offensive groove again in the final two minutes, as K-State outscored ACU, 9-2, to hold a 47-16 lead at the half. The 31-point halftime advantage was K-State's largest of the season, as the Wildcats shot 50.0 percent (18-of-36) from the field and held ACU to 20.7 percent (6-of-29).
ACU scored the first four points of the third quarter, which was followed by a 16-0 run by K-State over the next four minutes, as the Wildcats built a 63-20 lead with 4:39 remaining in the third stanza. During the run, Lee scored seven points while Jaelyn Glenn added five.
K-State would complete the third quarter with a 70-31 lead, as Macke made a trio of free throws and Sundell finished with a cut to the basket and layup.
Sundell connected on her fifth 3-pointer of the night to start the fourth quarter. The Wildcats would push their advantage to 42, 86-44, with 5:01 remaining on a fastbreak layup from Emilee Ebert.
K-State ended the night shooting 51.4 percent (37-of-72) from the field and were 10-of-29 (.345) from beyond the arc. This was the second straight game K-State made 10 three-point field goals. The Wildcats dished out 25 assists and committed just seven turnovers, which improves upon K-State's Big 12 lead in assist-to-turnover ratio.
K-State continues its three-game home stand on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., as the Wildcats host Northwestern State. To purchase tickets, call (800) 221-CATS, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or purchase in-person at the Bramlage Coliseum ticket windows.
Saturday's game will stream on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also air on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I didn't really expect the start. We were a little flat in warmups so I was concerned about that and staff was concerned about that. So I did not expect the start, but I do think our group addressed it and knew we needed to raise their enthusiasm and their effort. They obviously went out and played well. I thought they had a good read defensively. I thought they really understood what Abilene Christian was trying to run. Obviously, their attention to detail and scout was pretty good. Coaches did a pretty good job with that. Then we were making some shots, and then we were just keeping the game pretty easy. Playing with the open player. Our zone offense got a lot of work tonight and I think we continued to move the basketball to good areas of the floor."
On his huddle talks with the team and whether there is encouragement or dismissal of the previous quarter...
"Well it's probably a little bit of both. I mean we were challenging them to win every five minutes we did not play well in the second quarter. We were down 9-7 in that quarter and not playing very well. I thought we had lost some intensity in that stretch, and missed some easy shots, and kind of flattened out. Those are growing things for a team that you have to keep your foot on the pedal and foot on the gas. I think all and all from an offensive standpoint I think we continued to share the ball very well. Defensively is where I think we lost some intensity in that second quarter."
On transition offense...
"Yeah I thought they were really good tonight, and really making the right pass and making the right drive. Sometimes you can get pass happy in that situation. I thought we made the right read a lot. I thought Jae (Jaelyn Glenn) had a great stretch in there. She ends up with I think five steals. I think you are going to see a stat line for her a lot like you see tonight. She's a player who can affect stat line in every area. Rebounding is an area I wanted her to be more aggressive in, and tonight she gets four rebounds. So I'm pretty pleased with the improvement we've seen across the board. I did not think our zone defense was very good in the second half, but it was a great opportunity for us to play it against a good shooting team. It will give us some things we can improve on. You can work on those things in practice, but until you see a team running a different offense, or doing things differently I just don't think it's the same, and that's why we went to it in the second half because we just wanted our players to get a look at that against somebody different than each other."
SERENA SUNDELL, FRESHMAN GUARD
On her first quarter...
"I think I just wanted to be more shot ready. That was kind of my mindset, being ready to shoot it and shooting it confidently. I think there was a little bit in my head going on, but I found it again and I give credit to my teammates for just making the right read. Obviously, people are helping a lot inside, so we have open three pointers so I just have to be ready catch and shoot."
On passing to Ayoka Lee when teams double and triple team...
"I would want to think by this point it's a habit. I mean every time you catch you're looking for your shot, you're looking for your post player. Ayoka (Lee) is good enough that we can still find her even when she's double or triple teamed, but we've been working on the skips too so obviously you're looking at her and if there are two people on her, someone else is open. So we are just moving the ball well and eventually the defense is gonna hopefully slip up at some point and then we are gonna find her."
JAELYN GLENN, FRESHMAN GUARD
On her career high performance...
"Well it's always being shot ready of course, and coach is like play with the open player. So of course you want to do that, if your shots not there, then you are looking into Ayoka (Lee), or we're looking for skips. I wouldn't say do it all just being long on defense and being shot ready."
On passing to Serena (Sundell)...
"For me I'm definitely looking for that extra pass. If she (Serena Sundell) is hot it will turn to me then I want to get it back to her because she's making those so I don't want to throw her off."
CATS WIN!!#KStateWBB pic.twitter.com/2qrA8aTZrD
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 24, 2021
Wildcat W's, best W's #KStateWBB x #BeKStateGr8 pic.twitter.com/jDZLAwvtIp
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 24, 2021
Run that lane, @serena_sundell!#KStateWBB pic.twitter.com/sYzALisyH0
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 24, 2021
Cherry on top 🍒#KStateWBB x @laura_macke pic.twitter.com/ma9WjDTbBS
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 24, 2021
FOR THREE!! 🔥#KStateWBB x @serena_sundell pic.twitter.com/e4qsonBixN
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 24, 2021
Team Stats
ACU
KState
FG%
.276
.514
3FG%
.222
.345
FT%
.833
.643
RB
33
42
TO
17
7
STL
4
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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