Kansas State University Athletics
Wednesday, March 2
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
18-11,8-9Big 12
62
vs
74
West Virginia
14-13,7-10Big 12
1
2
3
4
OT 1
OT 2
F
West Virginia
19
14
12
9
6
14
74
Kansas St.
7
19
21
7
6
2
62
K-State Drops Home Finale in Double Overtime
Mar 02, 2022 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State used a second half rally to send the game into extra sessions on Wednesday night, but the Wildcats went cold from the field in the overtime periods as West Virginia prevailed, 74-62 in double overtime, on K-State's Senior Night at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State (18-11, 8-9 Big 12) trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but outscored the Mountaineers 21-12 in the third quarter to tie the game at 45 entering the fourth frame. Ayoka Lee scored 13 of K-State's 21 points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, K-State built its largest lead of the night of four, 51-47, following a reverse layup from Cymone Goodrich with 8:35 to play. West Virginia (14-13, 7-10 Big 12) responded with a 7-1 run to pull in front by two, 54-52, with 5:25 left in regulation.
A transition jumper from Brylee Glenn squared the game at 54 with 4:52 remaining. K-State would go scoreless for the final 4:51 of the, but defensively, held the Mountaineers to 0-of-6 shooting and five turnovers in the final 5:24 of the fourth quarter.
K-State had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Jaelyn Glenn's three-pointer missed the mark with six seconds left as the shot clock was about to expire. The rebound fell into Emilee Ebert's hands about 14 feet from the basket, but her running layup attempt missed.
In the first overtime, K-State was held without a made field goal as they went 0-of-3 from the field. The Wildcats were 6-of-10 from the free throw line, as the Wildcats held a 60-58 lead with 27 seconds left.
On West Virginia's final possession of the first overtime, Esmery Martinez finished a contested layup with 13 seconds to play. Martinez led the Mountaineers with 22 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
K-State had a second opportunity to win the game. On the final possession of the first overtime, Laura Macke attempted a running jumper from 14 feet as time expired. Her attempt hit the front rim and caromed away.
West Virginia opened the second overtime with a decisive to 7-0 run to build a 67-60 lead with 4:04 to play in the second extra session. A layup from Lee brought the Wildcats within five, 67-62, with 2:44 left but it would be K-State's last field goal of the night. In total, K-State was 1-of-8 from the field in the two overtime sessions.
Lee, a 2022 All-America candidate, ended the night with her 18th double-double of the season as she compiled 24 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal. This was Lee's 11th double-double this season with at least 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
Lee needs one double-double to equal her single-season school record of 19 double-doubles in the 2019-20 season.
Joining Lee in double figures was 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate Serena Sundell with 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block. This was Sundell's seventh game this season with at least 15 or more points and five or more assists.
The Wildcats ended the night shooting 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field and shot 64.5 percent (20-of-31) from the free throw line. The Mountaineers finished the night at 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the field and shot 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the foul line.
K-State will complete the regular season portion of its 2021-22 schedule on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., at TCU. Saturday's game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network, free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"Well, obviously we've lost two very tough, difficult basketball games back to back here. This one was different from the last one though, we made plays in that game, this one we did not make enough plays and we left some plays out on the floor. One thing I'm not pleased with right now is that we're not any better against pressure at times, and we should be. Tonight they turned us over 22 times. Critical turnovers, led to all their fast breaks, led to the second overtime and maybe it's too many minutes you know, obviously a lot of minutes out there and it's not just physical fatigue, but it's mental fatigue as well. And so, all those things factor in but certainly, after the start felt like there were parts that we had decent control and we just didn't finish the game a couple different times."
On the state of the team…
"No, I don't consider them fragile, I don't, I don't because I don't think our flat start had anything to do with coming off the game, I really don't. I've had teams that I would say yes to. Now, obviously I can't 100 percent say that, but I can tell you that the practices were energetic, practices were solid. We didn't have to whip them to work this week. So no, I felt fine coming to this game. I think it boils down to there are times when if we can't get it to (Ayoka) Lee early, we have some players that play tentatively and we're encouraging them. I thought Serena (Sundell) had some good looks early in this game and she missed her first four shots. So some of it is we've got to make those plays, got to make those plays when they're right there for us to make and we had plenty of players that had plays that we left out there tonight."
On getting Ayoka Lee going after the slow start…
"Well, we tried to move the defense a little bit better with some pass fakes and some things. They were bringing some backside help so we tried to move the defense a little bit better. I think she posted up better, we tried to get a little bit of some post touches before they got organized with their help, that was mildly successful. Yeah, that's about it."
On Serena Sundell for Big 12 Freshman of the Year…
"I think she's made the argument all year. I don't know that I have to. Four times Conference Player of the Week, not a player that has over 150 assists as a freshman. Yeah, what she's meant for our team, you can make an argument for her in the discussion across the country of what she's meant for our team. And what she doesn't get a lot of credit for that she deserves probably more credit for, just the overall game defensively. I mean, she fills a stat sheet up, 20 plus and second in blocks, steals, she's got to be somewhere near the top so yeah, she's been a terrific player for us."
MIKE CAREY, WEST VIRGINIA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I thought our girls had a lot of heart. Both teams showed a lot of heart. In double overtime neither team was shooting the ball well, but you know, we needed this win, we needed this win bad, so it was good to show a lot of heart. Esmery (Martinez) had 22 points, 19 rebounds. She's starting to get herself back in shape, getting back to form after having COVID, so we're glad to see that. They weren't hitting their shots. We did a good job. We put more pressure on their guards, so we were able to turn them over more."
On Ayoka Lee…
"It's very important. But you're going to give up something. You got to pick your poison. If you're going to limit her touches you're going to leave the people on the perimeter open for some wide open threes. At our place they were hitting all those threes, so we were able, especially in the first half, to limit her touches, but they weren't hitting the threes so we were able to keep doing that. She's a great player. You just gotta guard her with three people, put pressure on the ball in front of her and get to the weak side or she's going to score. So she ties up three people in one play."
K-State (18-11, 8-9 Big 12) trailed by as many as 14 in the first half, but outscored the Mountaineers 21-12 in the third quarter to tie the game at 45 entering the fourth frame. Ayoka Lee scored 13 of K-State's 21 points in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, K-State built its largest lead of the night of four, 51-47, following a reverse layup from Cymone Goodrich with 8:35 to play. West Virginia (14-13, 7-10 Big 12) responded with a 7-1 run to pull in front by two, 54-52, with 5:25 left in regulation.
A transition jumper from Brylee Glenn squared the game at 54 with 4:52 remaining. K-State would go scoreless for the final 4:51 of the, but defensively, held the Mountaineers to 0-of-6 shooting and five turnovers in the final 5:24 of the fourth quarter.
K-State had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Jaelyn Glenn's three-pointer missed the mark with six seconds left as the shot clock was about to expire. The rebound fell into Emilee Ebert's hands about 14 feet from the basket, but her running layup attempt missed.
In the first overtime, K-State was held without a made field goal as they went 0-of-3 from the field. The Wildcats were 6-of-10 from the free throw line, as the Wildcats held a 60-58 lead with 27 seconds left.
On West Virginia's final possession of the first overtime, Esmery Martinez finished a contested layup with 13 seconds to play. Martinez led the Mountaineers with 22 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
K-State had a second opportunity to win the game. On the final possession of the first overtime, Laura Macke attempted a running jumper from 14 feet as time expired. Her attempt hit the front rim and caromed away.
West Virginia opened the second overtime with a decisive to 7-0 run to build a 67-60 lead with 4:04 to play in the second extra session. A layup from Lee brought the Wildcats within five, 67-62, with 2:44 left but it would be K-State's last field goal of the night. In total, K-State was 1-of-8 from the field in the two overtime sessions.
Lee, a 2022 All-America candidate, ended the night with her 18th double-double of the season as she compiled 24 points, 10 rebounds, a block and a steal. This was Lee's 11th double-double this season with at least 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.
Lee needs one double-double to equal her single-season school record of 19 double-doubles in the 2019-20 season.
Joining Lee in double figures was 2022 Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate Serena Sundell with 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block. This was Sundell's seventh game this season with at least 15 or more points and five or more assists.
The Wildcats ended the night shooting 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field and shot 64.5 percent (20-of-31) from the free throw line. The Mountaineers finished the night at 38.8 percent (26-of-67) from the field and shot 81.0 percent (17-of-21) from the foul line.
K-State will complete the regular season portion of its 2021-22 schedule on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., at TCU. Saturday's game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network, free at kstatesports.com and on the K-State Sports app.
What They Said
JEFF MITTIE, K-STATE HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"Well, obviously we've lost two very tough, difficult basketball games back to back here. This one was different from the last one though, we made plays in that game, this one we did not make enough plays and we left some plays out on the floor. One thing I'm not pleased with right now is that we're not any better against pressure at times, and we should be. Tonight they turned us over 22 times. Critical turnovers, led to all their fast breaks, led to the second overtime and maybe it's too many minutes you know, obviously a lot of minutes out there and it's not just physical fatigue, but it's mental fatigue as well. And so, all those things factor in but certainly, after the start felt like there were parts that we had decent control and we just didn't finish the game a couple different times."
On the state of the team…
"No, I don't consider them fragile, I don't, I don't because I don't think our flat start had anything to do with coming off the game, I really don't. I've had teams that I would say yes to. Now, obviously I can't 100 percent say that, but I can tell you that the practices were energetic, practices were solid. We didn't have to whip them to work this week. So no, I felt fine coming to this game. I think it boils down to there are times when if we can't get it to (Ayoka) Lee early, we have some players that play tentatively and we're encouraging them. I thought Serena (Sundell) had some good looks early in this game and she missed her first four shots. So some of it is we've got to make those plays, got to make those plays when they're right there for us to make and we had plenty of players that had plays that we left out there tonight."
On getting Ayoka Lee going after the slow start…
"Well, we tried to move the defense a little bit better with some pass fakes and some things. They were bringing some backside help so we tried to move the defense a little bit better. I think she posted up better, we tried to get a little bit of some post touches before they got organized with their help, that was mildly successful. Yeah, that's about it."
On Serena Sundell for Big 12 Freshman of the Year…
"I think she's made the argument all year. I don't know that I have to. Four times Conference Player of the Week, not a player that has over 150 assists as a freshman. Yeah, what she's meant for our team, you can make an argument for her in the discussion across the country of what she's meant for our team. And what she doesn't get a lot of credit for that she deserves probably more credit for, just the overall game defensively. I mean, she fills a stat sheet up, 20 plus and second in blocks, steals, she's got to be somewhere near the top so yeah, she's been a terrific player for us."
MIKE CAREY, WEST VIRGINIA HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I thought our girls had a lot of heart. Both teams showed a lot of heart. In double overtime neither team was shooting the ball well, but you know, we needed this win, we needed this win bad, so it was good to show a lot of heart. Esmery (Martinez) had 22 points, 19 rebounds. She's starting to get herself back in shape, getting back to form after having COVID, so we're glad to see that. They weren't hitting their shots. We did a good job. We put more pressure on their guards, so we were able to turn them over more."
On Ayoka Lee…
"It's very important. But you're going to give up something. You got to pick your poison. If you're going to limit her touches you're going to leave the people on the perimeter open for some wide open threes. At our place they were hitting all those threes, so we were able, especially in the first half, to limit her touches, but they weren't hitting the threes so we were able to keep doing that. She's a great player. You just gotta guard her with three people, put pressure on the ball in front of her and get to the weak side or she's going to score. So she ties up three people in one play."
Team Stats
WVU
KState
FG%
.388
.311
3FG%
.263
.167
FT%
.810
.645
RB
50
39
TO
24
22
STL
18
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
0
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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