Younger Wildcats Taking on Leadership Roles
Oct 19, 2022 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
With 2022 All-American center Ayoka Lee sidelined this season following knee surgery, the Kansas State women's basketball team could lean heavily on its sophomore core — Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Jaelyn Glenn — to steer the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament this year.
K-State finished last season 20-13 overall with its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in eight seasons. The Wildcats largely powered their way behind Lee, who scored a NCAA Division I record 61 points against Oklahoma, and who is the second player in school history to reach 1,600 points, 850 rebounds and 225 blocked shots in a career.
"Obviously, Yokie was a huge presence on the floor, and she really is such a great person on and off the court, so it's a big loss," sophomore Brylee Glenn said at Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day on Tuesday. "I think this will also help push some of our players out of their comfort zone and allow them to be more aggressive and score the ball."
Although Sundell doesn't cast a Lee-like shadow inside the paint, the 6-foot-1 guard from Maryville, Missouri, has assumed leadership duties for the Wildcats. She was named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Big 12 Team on October 5 after she finished last season as the first guard in school history to reach 300 points, 175 assists and 20 blocks in a freshman campaign.
"Obviously, leadership and communication are big roles that Yokie had last year and with her not being present on the court, that's a role that needed to be filled, so having all the experience I did last year has helped me to develop my leadership," Sundell said. "I still have a long ways to go on that and want to be better. On the court, I've been trying to be more aggressive.
"I want to be able to score at all three levels — driving, midrange and from the 3-point line."
Sundell averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 assists, Brylee averaged 8.2 points and 2.0 assists, and Jaelyn Glenn 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. They account for 71% of all points returning for the 2022-23 season among active players.
"They had a lot of experience last year," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "But they wanted those opportunities, and you could see it early on in their career last summer when they arrived on campus that they were competitive. We knew that recruiting them. But you didn't know when you got into the grind if they were going to put up shots at night, have the discipline to do it, and if they'd bounce back from a bad practice. All those things were unknown. They handled it really well.
"They've improved and they're tougher players than a year ago, but they still have a ways to go. There are things that they're not doing as well as they're capable of and in the next four or five months we'll see how much they grow."
In Lee's absence, one emphasis will be improvement along the 3-point line. K-State finished ninth in the Big 12 in shooting 28.5% from long range, sinking 181 of 636 3-point attempts.
"We're trying to shoot more 3s, but we were going to shoot more 3s regardless," Mittie said. "Now it becomes a little bit more of a focus. We went into the offseason wanting to improve (3-pointers). We think we improved it. I think our returners are better shooters and our recruiting class shoots the ball well.
"We'll be a better-balanced 3-point shooting team."
K-State returns seven players from last season's squad — sophomore guard Rebekah Dallinger, junior center Taylor Lauterbach, senior forward Emilee Ebert, along with Sundell, the Glenn sisters, and Lee.
The Wildcats brought in graduate transfer Sarah Shematsi (LSU) and senior transfer Gabby Gregory (Oklahoma) along with redshirt sophomore Heavenly Greer (Oklahoma), sophomore Gisela Sanchez (Arizona), and freshmen Mimi Gatewood, Ja'Mia Harris, Eliza Maupin, and Mikayla Parks.
"Gregory is healthy, and this is a player who two years ago averaged 17 points in the Big 12," Mittie said. "She had a rough year last year, but she shoots the ball well and scores at three levels. Sarah from LSU didn't get a lot of run there, but we saw her at (junior college) and she has a good 3-point ability to stretch a defense.
"Then we have some young ones — Eliza Maupin and Ja'Mia Harris come to mind as two who have a chance to get some minutes."
Mittie continued: "Our group has made some improvements, but we're going to have to have some balanced scoring and some people elevate their game numbers from a year ago."
Mittie enters his ninth season at K-State with a 145-110 (.569) record and has led the Wildcats to the postseason six times. He's one win away from reaching 600 career victories in his 31 seasons as a head coach.
K-State was picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll by a vote of the league's coaches. The Wildcats have finished above their preseason projection in 18 of the last 24 seasons.
"All six teams (that made the NCAA Tournament last season) have good quality players back and it looks to me that the Big 12 is set up to have a really, really good year," Mittie said. "While I think there are some clear-cut top challengers, I think it's hard to pick who's going to win this league."
K-State seeks back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2015-16 and 2016-17.
"We want to just play every game to our capabilities knowing that we put 100% into each game," Brylee Glenn said. "Making it back to March Madness would be another big accomplishment in the success area for us as a team. We want to just make sure we're playing to our capabilities and holding each other accountable every step along the way."
With 2022 All-American center Ayoka Lee sidelined this season following knee surgery, the Kansas State women's basketball team could lean heavily on its sophomore core — Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Jaelyn Glenn — to steer the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament this year.
K-State finished last season 20-13 overall with its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in eight seasons. The Wildcats largely powered their way behind Lee, who scored a NCAA Division I record 61 points against Oklahoma, and who is the second player in school history to reach 1,600 points, 850 rebounds and 225 blocked shots in a career.
"Obviously, Yokie was a huge presence on the floor, and she really is such a great person on and off the court, so it's a big loss," sophomore Brylee Glenn said at Big 12 Women's Basketball Media Day on Tuesday. "I think this will also help push some of our players out of their comfort zone and allow them to be more aggressive and score the ball."
Although Sundell doesn't cast a Lee-like shadow inside the paint, the 6-foot-1 guard from Maryville, Missouri, has assumed leadership duties for the Wildcats. She was named to the 2022-23 Preseason All-Big 12 Team on October 5 after she finished last season as the first guard in school history to reach 300 points, 175 assists and 20 blocks in a freshman campaign.
"Obviously, leadership and communication are big roles that Yokie had last year and with her not being present on the court, that's a role that needed to be filled, so having all the experience I did last year has helped me to develop my leadership," Sundell said. "I still have a long ways to go on that and want to be better. On the court, I've been trying to be more aggressive.
"I want to be able to score at all three levels — driving, midrange and from the 3-point line."
Sundell averaged 10.6 points and 5.3 assists, Brylee averaged 8.2 points and 2.0 assists, and Jaelyn Glenn 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. They account for 71% of all points returning for the 2022-23 season among active players.
"They had a lot of experience last year," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "But they wanted those opportunities, and you could see it early on in their career last summer when they arrived on campus that they were competitive. We knew that recruiting them. But you didn't know when you got into the grind if they were going to put up shots at night, have the discipline to do it, and if they'd bounce back from a bad practice. All those things were unknown. They handled it really well.
"They've improved and they're tougher players than a year ago, but they still have a ways to go. There are things that they're not doing as well as they're capable of and in the next four or five months we'll see how much they grow."
In Lee's absence, one emphasis will be improvement along the 3-point line. K-State finished ninth in the Big 12 in shooting 28.5% from long range, sinking 181 of 636 3-point attempts.
"We're trying to shoot more 3s, but we were going to shoot more 3s regardless," Mittie said. "Now it becomes a little bit more of a focus. We went into the offseason wanting to improve (3-pointers). We think we improved it. I think our returners are better shooters and our recruiting class shoots the ball well.
"We'll be a better-balanced 3-point shooting team."
K-State returns seven players from last season's squad — sophomore guard Rebekah Dallinger, junior center Taylor Lauterbach, senior forward Emilee Ebert, along with Sundell, the Glenn sisters, and Lee.
The Wildcats brought in graduate transfer Sarah Shematsi (LSU) and senior transfer Gabby Gregory (Oklahoma) along with redshirt sophomore Heavenly Greer (Oklahoma), sophomore Gisela Sanchez (Arizona), and freshmen Mimi Gatewood, Ja'Mia Harris, Eliza Maupin, and Mikayla Parks.
"Gregory is healthy, and this is a player who two years ago averaged 17 points in the Big 12," Mittie said. "She had a rough year last year, but she shoots the ball well and scores at three levels. Sarah from LSU didn't get a lot of run there, but we saw her at (junior college) and she has a good 3-point ability to stretch a defense.
"Then we have some young ones — Eliza Maupin and Ja'Mia Harris come to mind as two who have a chance to get some minutes."
Mittie continued: "Our group has made some improvements, but we're going to have to have some balanced scoring and some people elevate their game numbers from a year ago."
Mittie enters his ninth season at K-State with a 145-110 (.569) record and has led the Wildcats to the postseason six times. He's one win away from reaching 600 career victories in his 31 seasons as a head coach.
K-State was picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll by a vote of the league's coaches. The Wildcats have finished above their preseason projection in 18 of the last 24 seasons.
"All six teams (that made the NCAA Tournament last season) have good quality players back and it looks to me that the Big 12 is set up to have a really, really good year," Mittie said. "While I think there are some clear-cut top challengers, I think it's hard to pick who's going to win this league."
K-State seeks back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 2015-16 and 2016-17.
"We want to just play every game to our capabilities knowing that we put 100% into each game," Brylee Glenn said. "Making it back to March Madness would be another big accomplishment in the success area for us as a team. We want to just make sure we're playing to our capabilities and holding each other accountable every step along the way."
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