K-State Hosts Pittsburg State in Final Exhibition on Friday Night

K-State Hosts Pittsburg State in Final Exhibition on Friday Night

Nov 03, 2021 | Women's Basketball

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EXHIBITION GAME #2
Pittsburg State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) at Kansas State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, November 5, 2021 | 6:30 p.m. | Bramlage Coliseum | Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Missy Heidrick
Sideline: Katherine Benhardt

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Matt Walters
Analyst: Kaylee Page

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

PROMOTIONS & TICKETS
Promotions
Postgame Meet & Greet with the 2021-22 Roster in the Shamrock Zone

Tickets
Call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets

COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 579-332/30th season | At K-State: 125-97/8th season

Pittsburg State: Amanda Davied (Pittsburg State '03)
Overall: 52-29/4th season | At Pittsburg State: Same

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (based on previous game)
Kansas State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
G: #2 Cymone Goodrich | G: #3 Jaelyn Glenn | G: #4 Serena Sundell | G: #24 Emilee Ebert | C: #50 Ayoka Lee

Pittsburg State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
G: #10 Tristan Gegg | G: #11 Jayme Jackson | G: #13 Erin Davis | F: #21 Julia Johnson | G: #23 Sydnee Crain

SERIES HISTORY
Overall (regular season only): K-State leads, 3-0
In Manhattan: 1-0
Last Meeting (exhibition): Nov. 5, 2018; K-State won 65-50 (Manhattan)
Head Coach Jeff Mittie vs. Pittsburg State (regular season): 3-1

MANHATTAN, Kansas - Kansas State will complete its two-game exhibition schedule on Friday, as the Wildcats host Pittsburg State in Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m.

• Friday's game can be seen live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play), Missy Heidrick (analyst) and Katherine Benhardt (sideline) will have the call.
• The Wildcats opened their exhibition schedule with a 68-39 win over Washburn on Halloween. Ayoka Lee led K-State with 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, as nine of the 10 active players registered at least three or more points.
• Entering the 2021-22 season, K-State returns eight letterwinners from last season's squad. Returning players are: seniors Cymone Goodrich, Laura Macke, Rachel Ranke and Savannah Simmons, juniors Emilee Ebert and Ayoka Lee and sophomores Taylor Lauterbach and Jada Moore.
• The Wildcats will blend in six newcomers for the 2021-22 season: sophomores Rebekah Dallinger and Heavenly Greer and freshmen Brylee Glenn, Jaelyn Glenn, Malene Lind Pedersen and Serena Sundell.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Lee Named to Leslie Award Watch List
• Ayoka Lee was just one of two Big 12 players selected to the 20-member candidate list for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award Watch List. This is the second straight season Lee has been named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List.
2. Mittie Set for 8th Season
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie is prepared for his eighth season in Manhattan. He owns a 125-97 (.563) record and five postseason appearances with the Wildcats.
3. Lee Nearing 1K
• With 66 points, Ayoka Lee will become the 44th player in program history to reach 1,000 or more career points. When she reaches the milestone, Lee will become the 27th player in program history and the sixth center to reach 1,000 or more career points and 500 or more career rebounds.
4. Experienced Guards
• With their first official game action in the 2021-22 season, senior guards Cymone Goodrich and Rachel Ranke will become the third and fourth players in program history - Jenny Coalson (1995-00) and Kim Price (1978-83) - to play at least one game in five different seasons for the Wildcats and the first set of teammates to achieve the feat.
5. K-State Selected 8th by League's Coaches
• The Wildcats were selected to finish eighth in the 2021-22 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll in October. The Wildcats have finished 17 of 23 seasons above its preseason prediction.

Number to Know
71.3

• K-State was generous with its assists in the 2020-21 season, as the Wildcats assisted on 71.3 percent of K-State's made baskets.
• According to HerHoopStats.com, K-State ranked fifth in the nation in assisted shot rate and are the highest ranked Power 5 member in the category.
• The assisted shot rate of 71.3 percent was the highest in school history.
• K-State handed out the most assists per game, 15.9, in the Mittie era. The 15.9 assists per game were the most for the program since the 2005-06 season.

At a Glance: Pittsburg State
• Pittsburg State will play one exhibition game before beginning its 2021-22 season on November 12 against Oklahoma Baptist in the MIAA/GAC Conference Challenge.
• On the sideline, the Gorillas are led by fourth-year head coach Amanda Davied. In her time with Pitt State, Davied owns a record of 52-29 (.642) and led her alma mater to a 2019 NCAA Tournament appearance.
• The Gorillas were voted seventh in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.
• On the floor, Pittsburg State returns three starters from the 2020-21 roster and are led by senior Tristan Gegg.
• Gegg is a three-time All-MIAA honoree and was the 2018-19 MIAA Freshman of the Year. The senior from Altamont, Kansas, is Pitt State's top returning scorer with 15.8 points and second-leading rebounder with 4.3 rebounds. At the conclusion of the season, Gegg named an All-MIAA Second Team selection.

Last Time Out
at K-State 68, Washburn 39 (October 31, 2021; Manhattan, Kan.)
• K-State held Washburn to two made field goals in the second quarter to build a 19-point halftime lead.
• The Wildcats held the Ichabods to 26.4 percent from the field and just 2-of-15 shooting from 3-point range.
• Ayoka Lee led the Wildcats with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocks.

Rules Changes for the 2021-22 Season
• NCAA Division I women's basketball made a number of rules changes to aid the quality of the game for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
• The first noticeable change will be the distance of the 3-point line. The line has been moved back to 22 feet, 1.75 inches and 21 feet, 7.875 inches in the corners to match the NCAA men's/FIBA distance.
• The officials uniforms have been updated to a gray and white striped shirt with black side panels, black raglan-style sleeves with blue accents and black pants. This is to modernize the official's uniform and establist a style specific for NCAA women's basketball.
• An instant-replay review may now trigger a media timeout in each period or the first media timeout of the second half, which will reduce the number of stoppages in the game and aid in the pace of play.

Team Odds & Ends from 2020-21
• Playing a reduced non-conference schedule due to COVID-19 precautions in its 53rd season of action, K-State (9-18, 3-15) Big 12) jumped into its 18-game Big 12 schedule in mid-December. The Wildcats finished tied for ninth in the Big 12 and won four of their last 10 games of the season.
• K-State endured a 30-day gap between games from December 21 to January 20 due to COVID-19 protocols. Due to the postponement of five Big 12 games in early January, the Wildcats would play five games in 12 days to end its regular season schedule.
• Combined with the postponements, the Wildcats also suffered through a 10-game losing streak when action resumed on January 20. This was the longest losing streak for the program since the 1991-92 season.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, K-State played 27 games which marked the fewest since the 1994-95 season. This marked the second consecutive season that K-State played fewer than 30 games in a season.
• With its three Big 12 wins in the 2020-21 season, K-State secured its fewest league wins since the 2000-01 season.
• K-State registered a 62-53 win over (22/21) South Dakota State on December 10. This was K-State's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating Drake on March 18, 2017.
• The Wildcats defeated seven-seed Texas Tech in the first round of the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. This marked the 18th time in the 24 Big 12 Championships in which K-State has advanced at least one round.
• K-State registered one road win in the 2020-21 season. The one road win was the fewest since the 2012-13 season.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie tied for third in school history for career wins, capturing his 125th victory with the Wildcats on March 11 in the first round of the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
• This season's free throw percentage of .736 was second in school history for a single season and the highest in the Mittie era.
• K-State's three-point field goal percentage of .309 was the highest for the Wildcats since the 2016-17 season.
• The 123 blocks this season were the 14th highest total in program history and marks the seventh straight season K-State has blocked 120 or more shots.
• K-State had a blocked shot differential of +44 this season (123-79). This was the fifth-highest block shot differential in program history.
• The Wildcats held opponents to a field goal percentage of less than 40.0 percent for the third straight season and the sixth time in the seven seasons under head coach Jeff Mittie.
• Ayoka Lee, a 2021 WBCA All-Region 3 selection and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention recipient, led K-State in scoring (19.1 ppg), field goal percentage (.621), rebounds (8.7 rpg) and blocks (2.0).
• Lee, a 2021 All-Big 12 First Team selection, led the Big 12 and ranked third in the nation in field goal percentage (.621) and ranked fifth in the Big 12 in free throw percentage (.812). She was the only player in NCAA Division I this season to shoot 60.0 percent or better from the field and 80.0 percent of better from the line.
• Since the 1999-00 season, Lee joins Baylor's Brittney Griner (2011-12) as the only two players in the Big 12 to shoot 60.0 percent or better from the field and 80.0 percent or better from the free throw line. Lee's field goal percentage in the 2020-21 season ranks eighth all-time in Big 12 history.
• Lee also led the Big 12 and ranked third in the nation, according to HerHoopStats.com, for PER (39.9) which is a measure of a player's value based on their box score stats.
• Lee became the first player in program history with the combination of 450 or more points, 200 or more rebounds and 45 or more blocks in her first two seasons with the Wildcats.
• Lee's field goal percentage ranked second in school history for a single-season and the second-highest field goal percentage in a sophomore season.
• Lee is the eight players with two or more consecutive seasons with 200 or more rebounds in a season.
• Lee blocked 49 shots and tallied 1.96 blocks per game. Her blocks per game ranked seventh in school history for a single-season.
• Rachel Ranke made 55 three-point field goals in the 2020-21 season. She was the 12th player in program history to make 55 or more 3-point field goals in a junior season.
• Ranke was the eighth player in program history to register 50 or more 3-point field goals made and 50 or more assists in a junior season.
• Emilee Ebert set the school record for blocks by a guard with her career-high 25.
• Ebert was the only player in the Big 12 in the 2020-21 season to appear in the top-15 in assists per game and blocks per game.