K-State Hosts Pitt State in Exhibition on Friday

Friday, November 3

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

Pittsburg State (exhib.)

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Nov 01, 2023 | Women's Basketball

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EXHIBITION GAME #1
Pittsburg State (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) at K-State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Friday, November 3, 2023 | 6:30 p.m. | Bramlage Coliseum | Manhattan, Kan.

TICKETS & PROMOTIONS
Call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets

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

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Gerard Wellbrock
Analyst: Kristin Waller

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

SERIES HISTORY
3-0
• K-State and Pittsburg State have played three regular season matchups, with the Wildcats owning a 3-0 record.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 3-1 against Pitt State in regular season games.
• The team last played an exhibition game on November 5, 2021, a 101-54 K-State win.

MANHATTAN, Kansas - K-State will play its only exhibition game of the 2023-24 season on Friday night, as the Wildcats host Pittsburg State in Bramlage Coliseum at 6:30 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 Sophie Smith (sideline) will have the call.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Cats Picked 4th in Big 12 Preseason Poll
• K-State was chosen for fourth in the 2023-24 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll. This is the second time (2020-21) K-State has been selected to finish fourth by the league's coaches.
2. Trio Named Preseason All-Big 12
• K-State's Gabby Gregory (unanimous selection) and Ayoka Lee were 2023-24 Preseason All-Big 12 selections, while Serena Sundell was an honorable mention recipient.
3. Mittie Set for 10th Season
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie is prepared for his tenth season in Manhattan. He owns a 164-127 (.564) record and seven postseason appearances with the Wildcats.
4. Gregory a Rarity in K-State History
• Fifth-year senior and 2023-24 Drysdale Award candidate Gabby Gregory was the first player in program history to register 625 or more points, 160 or more free throws and 80 or more 3-point field goals made. She was one of four players in the nation during the 2022-23 season to achieve these numbers.
5. Always Sunny with Sundell
• Junior guard and 2023-24 Lieberman Award candidate Serena Sundell set the school record for assists in a sophomore season (184) and was the sixth-highest in school history for a single season. She also set the school records for free throws made and attempted in a season (165-of-206; .801)

Number to Know
2,120
• K-State returns 84 percent (2,120 points) of its points from the 2022-23 season.
• Of the 2,120 points scored last season, K-State returns its top four scorers (Gabby Gregory, 648 points; Serena Sundell, 501 points; Jaelyn Glenn, 406 points; Brylee Glenn, 300 points).
• The Wildcats scored 2,524 points in the 2022-23 season, the fifth time in program history in which the Wildcats scored 2,500 or more points in a season.
• K-State's point total ranked as the fifth-highest in program history and the most under Jeff Mittie. The point total was the highest since the 2002-03 season.
• The 2,524 points last season marked the first time since the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons in which K-State tallied consecutive seasons with 2,000 or more points.

2023-24 Player Milestones to Watch
Ayoka Lee
• Needs 339 points to reach 2,000 career points; would be the fourth player in program history to reach the mark
• Needs 113 rebounds to reach 1,000 career rebounds; would be second player in program history to reach the mark
• Needs one double-double to reach 50 for her career and become the second player in school history (Kendra Wecker) to reach 50 career double-doubles
• Needs four double-doubles to break the school record for career double-doubles (Kendra Wecker, 52).
• Needs 201 rebounds to set the school record for career rebounds
• Needs 48 blocked shots to set the school record for career blocks

Gabby Gregory
• Needs 67 points to reach 1,500 points in her collegiate career
• Needs 352 points to reach 1,000 points scored in her K-State career

Serena Sundell
• Needs 148 points to reach 1,000 career points
• Needs 140 assists to reach 500 career assists; would be the fifth player in school history with 500 or more career assists

Jaelyn Glenn
• Needs 63 steals to reach 200 career steals; would be the 10th player in program history to reach 200 or more career steals

They Got Their Eye on Them
• K-State women's basketball placed three players on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national positional awards watch lists. Fans can vote for these honors daily at hoophallawards.com.
• Junior guard Serena Sundell was chosen for the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list, given annually to the top point guard in the nation. This was the first time Sundell was named to the list.
• Senior guard Gabby Gregory was selected to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list, given annually to the nation's top shooting guard. Gregory was a top-10 selection for the Drysdale Award in 2023.
• Senior center Ayoka Lee was named to the Lisa Leslie Award watch list, given annually to the top center in the nation. This is the third time in her career that Lee was named to the Leslie Award watch list. In 2022, Lee was a finalist for the honor.
• K-State was one of 11 teams in the nation and one of three in the Big 12 (Baylor, Texas) this season to place three players on three different positional award watch lists.

New Faces on the Bench
• K-State women's basketball and head coach Jeff Mittie will have new faces on the bench this season as part of the coaching staff.
• During the offseason, former associate head coach Brian Ostermann was named the head women's basketball coach at Emporia State.
• Filling the assistant coach role is Staci Gregorio, as she was promoted from co-Coordinator of Recruiting Operations/Skill Development Coach.
• Newcomers to Mittie's staff include: Katie Falco (Recruiting Coordinator), Elisabeth Brown (Director of Student Development and Branding) and Erin Greenwald (Athletic Trainer).
• Falco was the head coach at Lindenwood for the previous five seasons. Brown comes to K-State after two seasons with the Allen (Texas) Americans, an ECHL professional hockey team, as the director of digital media. Greenwald was at K-State last season and served as the athletic trainer with the track and field team.

Preseason Poll Not Final Verdict
• K-State has a history of exceeding the expectations of the league's coaches.
• Entering the 2023-24 season, the Wildcats were voted fourth in the preseason poll.
• In its history, K-State is second among Big 12 members in exceeding preseason predictions, finishing on average +1.04 positions higher than its preseason prediction in the 25 polls that have a preseason prediction and a final standing attached to it. The 1996-97 and 2017-18 seasons are not included in these calculations, as neither had a preseason poll.
• The Wildcats have finished 18 of 25 seasons above its preseason prediction and own the largest single-season deviation in league history from its preseason prediction and its final place with a +7 by winning the Big 12 in 2007-08.

Team Odds & Ends from 2022-23
• In its 55th season of action, Kansas State registered the second-most games played in school history with 36.
• The Wildcats opened the 55th season of action with an 12-3 record in its first 15 games. This was the 10th time since 2000-01 in which K-State has opened a season with at least 12 wins in the first 15 games.
• K-State was ranked as high as 24th in the Associated Press top-25 poll during the week of Dec. 5.
• In the 2022-23 season, K-State tallied a 15-4 (.789) mark at home. The 15 home wins were the most since the 2014-15 season (15-5).
• K-State's home record over the last two seasons is 29-7. The 29 home wins over the two-season span are the third-most since the Wildcats started playing in Bramlage Coliseum in 1988-89.
• Kansas State scored 2,524 points in the 2022-23 season. which ranks fifth in school history for a single season. The 2,524 points are the most scored in the Jeff Mittie era. Under Mittie, K-State has scored 2,000 or more points in a season six times.
• The Wildcats scored 70 or more points in 21 games during the 2022-23 season, which is the most since the 2001-02 season (23).
• K-State carded the first 500-free throw made/250 three-point field goals made season in program history. The Wildcats were one of five teams in the nation with 500 or more free throws made and 250 three-point field goals made this season.
• The Wildcats set the school records for free throws made in a season (579) and free throw percentage in a season (.769). K-State was one of four teams in the nation to make 575 or more free throws this season.
• K-State's 265 three-point field goals made were the second-most in program history and the sixth time in nine seasons in which the Wildcats made 180 or more 3-point field goals.
• With its per game average of 7.36, K-State recorded the third-highest 3-point field goals made per game average in school history and the highest since the 2012-13 season set the record of 8.78.
• K-State registered five players with 20 or more made 3-point field goals this season. This is the third time in program history (2002-03 & 2009-10).
• The Wildcats set the school records for free throws made in a season (579) and free throw percentage (.769). The 2022-23 edition of the Wildcats bested the 40-year old record of 506 free throws made in 1983-84 by 73 made free throws.
• K-State handed out 516 assists in the 2022-23 season, the 10th time in program history with 500 or more assists in a season and the fourth in the Mittie era.
• The Wildcats pocketed 336 steals in the 2022-23 season, the 10th time in program history with 300 or more steals in a season and the second in the Mittie era.
• Gabby Gregory established a new career-high for points (648) and registered the fourth-highest point total in a season.
• Gregory was the first player in program history with 625 or more points, 160 or more made free throws and 80 or more made 3-point field goals in a season.
• Gregory was the second player in program history to average 18 or more points, five or more rebounds and two or more connections from 3-point range in a season (Brittany Chambers, 2012-13). Gregory was one of five player in the nation to achieve these averages in the 2022-23 season.
• Gregory made a career-best 84 three-point field goals, which were the most since Kindred Wesemann made 90 in the 2016-17 season and the fourth-highest total in a senior season.
• Gregory made and attempted a career-high from the free throw line (162-of-193; .839). Gregory's 162 made free throws are second in school history for a season, while her 193 free throws attempted ranks fourth in school history for a season. Gregory's K-State career free throw percentage ranks second in school history.
• Serena Sundell was the seventh player in program history to score 500 or more points in a sophomore season (501).
• Sundell became the second player the 55-season history of K-State women's basketball with 500 or more points and 175 or more assists (Kayla Goth, 2017-18).
• Sundell set the school records for free throws made and attempted in a season (165-of-206; .801).
• Sundell's 184 assists this season set the school record for assists in a sophomore season.
• Jaelyn Glenn is the first player in school history to register 400 or more points, 175 or more rebounds and 90 or more steals in a season. She was one of five players in the nation to achieve these marks in the 2022-23 season.
• Glenn pocketed a career-high and team-best 91 steals (2.54 spg). Glenn was the third player in school history to register 90 or more assists in a season. Glenn's steal total ranks fourth in school history for a season.
• Glenn was the only player in the nation in the 2022-23 season with 70 or more 3-point field goals made and 90 or more steals.
• Glenn made a career-high 71 three-point field goals and was one of four sophomores from a Power 5 conference to make 70 or more 3-point field goals in the 2022-23 season.