Friday, November 3
Manhattan, Kan.
6:30 p.m.
Kansas State University
0-0,0-0Big 12
vs
Pittsburg State (exhib.)
0-0,0-0Mid-America Intercollegiate
1
2
3
4
F
Pittsburg St.
17
17
12
19
65
Kansas St.
26
15
19
19
79
K-State Slides Past Pittsburg State in Exhibition Win
Nov 04, 2023 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Playing its lone exhibition game of the 2023-24 season, K-State was tested by Pittsburg State as the Wildcats carded a 79-65 win in the return of senior center and All-American Ayoka Lee at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lee, playing in her first game since March 21, 2022, at NC State in the NCAA Tournament – a stretch of 592 days – received a raucous ovation from the crowd as she was announced as part of Friday night's starting lineup.
- She would lead the Wildcats with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting while hauling in seven rebounds and blocking three shots in just under 20 minutes of action.
- K-State built its largest lead of the first half of 14 points, 26-12, with 2:47 to play in the first quarter, as Gisela Sanchez connected on a 3-pointer. For the night, Sanchez would register 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench.
- Pittsburg State would outscore the Wildcats in the second quarter, 17-15, at one point narrowing K-State's lead to five points, 39-34. A pair of Zyanna Walker free throws with under a second remaining in the second quarter sent K-State into the locker room with a 41-34 halftime lead.
- The Wildcats built the lead to a game-high 17, 56-39, using an 11-0 run in the third quarter. Lee started the run with a layup and was followed by a fadeaway baseline jumper from Heavenly Greer. Jaelyn Glenn knocked down her first 3-pointer of the night with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter and was followed by a runner in the lane from Serena Sundell with 4:41 left. Lee then added a turnaround jumper to cap the run.
- The Gorillas would climb back to within 10, 56-46, with 1:34 remaining but layups from Gregory and Sides gave the Wildcats a 60-46 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Gregory
- Both teams played to a 19-19 stalemate in the fourth quarter. K-State pushed its lead out to 14 points five times in the fourth quarter and never allowed Pittsburg State to pull closer than 10 in the final stanza.
- K-State shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the field, including a sizzling 66.7 percent (12-of-18) in the first quarter. The Wildcats shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the foul line.
- The Wildcats dished out 21 assists and held a 48-18 advantage in points in the paint.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-STATE HEAD COACH JEFF MITTIE
Opening Statement…
"It was good to get the year started. You don't know what you're going to get a lot of times at the start of a year. I'll give Pitt State a lot of credit. I thought [Grace] Pyle had a fantastic game. I'll be curious to watch the film because that was not a player we didn't know about. We talked about her, we knew what she was capable of. So credit to her for knocking some tough shots down. I think for us, the best thing is, that we knew this coming in, we have a large number on this roster that hasn't played in a year. You go down the list of Yokie [Ayoka Lee] who hasn't played in a long time. Zy [Zyanna] Walker played four games last year. Imani Lester didn't play at all, and Gisela Sanchez didn't play at all. Ja'Mia Harris played an exhibition game and one regular season game for about two minutes and got hurt. Taryn Sides and the five players on the floor at the end hadn't played in almost a year. So how are they going to react when the lights are on when things are going? I saw enough glimpses of good things that I'm excited about. I saw enough glimpses of bad things that I'm excited to get to practice tomorrow."
On living up to expectations tonight…
"Let's start defensively. Defensively, I wanted to see how many shots we contested. Contested, by us being within a certain range and hand up on the shot. I won't 100% know that until I watch the film, and they're evaluating it right now. What I can tell you, my eyes told me is they got too deep against us with the dribble. The disappointing thing for us was only one steal in the first half. So we had no other way to score other than to make first shots because we got one steal, and we only had a couple of offensive rebounds. There was no other way to get easy baskets. From an offensive standpoint, I've been saying all fall that we better be patient with this because we've got weapons, but we have so many that are gelling together and playing well together, it's just going to take more time. What I wanted to see was us score together. In stretches, it was pretty good. I thought we integrated [Ayoka] Lee better than we have. That was another thing of how are we going to integrate her? It was a real positive that Lee had to go through some tougher stuff tonight. Just in the sense that they doubled her, they brought traffic around her. We don't double a lot and so we haven't been working on double teams or anything so that was good for her to see that."
On if Ayoka is back to 100%...
"Well, she's fully cleared but no. The most pleasing thing I saw was the right shoulder turnaround jumper because that has been slow to come. That twist on that side of the floor has been slower to come. She's more comfortable on the right block, left shoulder moves. So that looked really good. You can see defensively that she has got to continue to improve the change of direction but I saw enough good stuff tonight to be excited about it."
On the depth of the roster tonight…
"I think that's where we saw glimpses of good things and glimpses of bad things. I think for a lot of them they needed to get on the floor and feel different. It's just different than practice, right? They needed to go through those emotions and go through those things and they'll play better going forward. But like I said, I keep saying, I saw enough good things. I think each player did some positive things and each player did some things that were going to be able to go on film and go here's what you got to do better next time."
FROM THE FLOOR
AYOKA LEE, K-State Senior Center
On being back in Bramlage tonight…
"It was really good. Spending a whole year out but already accomplishing so much prior to coming back. It's just sweet to be out there with my teammates. I'm just thankful. I have a lot of gratitude today, for all of it and to feel as good as it did. It was just such a big blessing and an answer to my prayers."
On feeling like her fullest playing ability…
"I think I got some points. Yes, I think there's still things like as a whole team, I think we need to do better. Details need to be better. Coach [Jeff] Mittie talked to me yesterday and said, 'don't get frustrated, things are going to come, and some things will just be the last thing to come.' I'm just enjoying it, because there's not going to be another night like tonight with it being my first game back. I'm just taking it minute by minute."
GISELA SANCHEZ, K-State Redshirt Sophomore Forward
On being back in Bramlage with the Wildcats…
"I'm so happy to be here. I think that we have a great team, and that we can play good together. Coach [Jeff] Mittie says that we need to keep working, so tomorrow we will continue working on that. I'm so happy to play with them because they're good players."
On her major contributions on the court tonight…
"I feel confident with my shots, and I think I can continue having this confidence because I think that's good for me. If I started the game hard, I think we can continue working hard. I'm feeling good about that."
GABBY GREGORY, K-State Graduate Student Guard
On being able to play with Ayoka…
"It was fun. It's a work in progress, getting everybody used to playing with her. I thought it looked pretty good on the offensive end tonight. Playing with her, [Ayoka Lee] we've had her in practice but every day that we get to practice with her and play, it'll start to look better. It was a lot of fun tonight, and I've been waiting a long time."
On less pressure with more playmakers this season…
"We have a lot of people coming back, plus Gisela [Sanchez] joining us. We just have so many weapons, it's really hard to even focus on one person. Having Ayoka down there in the post, she's going to draw a lot of people, so just figuring out where the open person is going to be, will be the key right now."
UP NEXT
K-State begins the program's 56th season of action on Monday night, as the Wildcats host Presbyterian at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.
Monday night's game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the K-State Sports Network.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lee, playing in her first game since March 21, 2022, at NC State in the NCAA Tournament – a stretch of 592 days – received a raucous ovation from the crowd as she was announced as part of Friday night's starting lineup.
- She would lead the Wildcats with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting while hauling in seven rebounds and blocking three shots in just under 20 minutes of action.
- K-State built its largest lead of the first half of 14 points, 26-12, with 2:47 to play in the first quarter, as Gisela Sanchez connected on a 3-pointer. For the night, Sanchez would register 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench.
- Pittsburg State would outscore the Wildcats in the second quarter, 17-15, at one point narrowing K-State's lead to five points, 39-34. A pair of Zyanna Walker free throws with under a second remaining in the second quarter sent K-State into the locker room with a 41-34 halftime lead.
- The Wildcats built the lead to a game-high 17, 56-39, using an 11-0 run in the third quarter. Lee started the run with a layup and was followed by a fadeaway baseline jumper from Heavenly Greer. Jaelyn Glenn knocked down her first 3-pointer of the night with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter and was followed by a runner in the lane from Serena Sundell with 4:41 left. Lee then added a turnaround jumper to cap the run.
- The Gorillas would climb back to within 10, 56-46, with 1:34 remaining but layups from Gregory and Sides gave the Wildcats a 60-46 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Gregory
- Both teams played to a 19-19 stalemate in the fourth quarter. K-State pushed its lead out to 14 points five times in the fourth quarter and never allowed Pittsburg State to pull closer than 10 in the final stanza.
- K-State shot 50.8 percent (32-of-63) from the field, including a sizzling 66.7 percent (12-of-18) in the first quarter. The Wildcats shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the foul line.
- The Wildcats dished out 21 assists and held a 48-18 advantage in points in the paint.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-STATE HEAD COACH JEFF MITTIE
Opening Statement…
"It was good to get the year started. You don't know what you're going to get a lot of times at the start of a year. I'll give Pitt State a lot of credit. I thought [Grace] Pyle had a fantastic game. I'll be curious to watch the film because that was not a player we didn't know about. We talked about her, we knew what she was capable of. So credit to her for knocking some tough shots down. I think for us, the best thing is, that we knew this coming in, we have a large number on this roster that hasn't played in a year. You go down the list of Yokie [Ayoka Lee] who hasn't played in a long time. Zy [Zyanna] Walker played four games last year. Imani Lester didn't play at all, and Gisela Sanchez didn't play at all. Ja'Mia Harris played an exhibition game and one regular season game for about two minutes and got hurt. Taryn Sides and the five players on the floor at the end hadn't played in almost a year. So how are they going to react when the lights are on when things are going? I saw enough glimpses of good things that I'm excited about. I saw enough glimpses of bad things that I'm excited to get to practice tomorrow."
On living up to expectations tonight…
"Let's start defensively. Defensively, I wanted to see how many shots we contested. Contested, by us being within a certain range and hand up on the shot. I won't 100% know that until I watch the film, and they're evaluating it right now. What I can tell you, my eyes told me is they got too deep against us with the dribble. The disappointing thing for us was only one steal in the first half. So we had no other way to score other than to make first shots because we got one steal, and we only had a couple of offensive rebounds. There was no other way to get easy baskets. From an offensive standpoint, I've been saying all fall that we better be patient with this because we've got weapons, but we have so many that are gelling together and playing well together, it's just going to take more time. What I wanted to see was us score together. In stretches, it was pretty good. I thought we integrated [Ayoka] Lee better than we have. That was another thing of how are we going to integrate her? It was a real positive that Lee had to go through some tougher stuff tonight. Just in the sense that they doubled her, they brought traffic around her. We don't double a lot and so we haven't been working on double teams or anything so that was good for her to see that."
On if Ayoka is back to 100%...
"Well, she's fully cleared but no. The most pleasing thing I saw was the right shoulder turnaround jumper because that has been slow to come. That twist on that side of the floor has been slower to come. She's more comfortable on the right block, left shoulder moves. So that looked really good. You can see defensively that she has got to continue to improve the change of direction but I saw enough good stuff tonight to be excited about it."
On the depth of the roster tonight…
"I think that's where we saw glimpses of good things and glimpses of bad things. I think for a lot of them they needed to get on the floor and feel different. It's just different than practice, right? They needed to go through those emotions and go through those things and they'll play better going forward. But like I said, I keep saying, I saw enough good things. I think each player did some positive things and each player did some things that were going to be able to go on film and go here's what you got to do better next time."
FROM THE FLOOR
AYOKA LEE, K-State Senior Center
On being back in Bramlage tonight…
"It was really good. Spending a whole year out but already accomplishing so much prior to coming back. It's just sweet to be out there with my teammates. I'm just thankful. I have a lot of gratitude today, for all of it and to feel as good as it did. It was just such a big blessing and an answer to my prayers."
On feeling like her fullest playing ability…
"I think I got some points. Yes, I think there's still things like as a whole team, I think we need to do better. Details need to be better. Coach [Jeff] Mittie talked to me yesterday and said, 'don't get frustrated, things are going to come, and some things will just be the last thing to come.' I'm just enjoying it, because there's not going to be another night like tonight with it being my first game back. I'm just taking it minute by minute."
GISELA SANCHEZ, K-State Redshirt Sophomore Forward
On being back in Bramlage with the Wildcats…
"I'm so happy to be here. I think that we have a great team, and that we can play good together. Coach [Jeff] Mittie says that we need to keep working, so tomorrow we will continue working on that. I'm so happy to play with them because they're good players."
On her major contributions on the court tonight…
"I feel confident with my shots, and I think I can continue having this confidence because I think that's good for me. If I started the game hard, I think we can continue working hard. I'm feeling good about that."
GABBY GREGORY, K-State Graduate Student Guard
On being able to play with Ayoka…
"It was fun. It's a work in progress, getting everybody used to playing with her. I thought it looked pretty good on the offensive end tonight. Playing with her, [Ayoka Lee] we've had her in practice but every day that we get to practice with her and play, it'll start to look better. It was a lot of fun tonight, and I've been waiting a long time."
On less pressure with more playmakers this season…
"We have a lot of people coming back, plus Gisela [Sanchez] joining us. We just have so many weapons, it's really hard to even focus on one person. Having Ayoka down there in the post, she's going to draw a lot of people, so just figuring out where the open person is going to be, will be the key right now."
UP NEXT
K-State begins the program's 56th season of action on Monday night, as the Wildcats host Presbyterian at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.
Monday night's game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can also be heard on the K-State Sports Network.
Team Stats
PittSt
KState
FG%
.411
.508
3FG%
.412
.250
FT%
.750
.733
RB
31
34
TO
17
13
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballK-State Women's Basketball | Tess Heal Senior Video
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Mikayla Parks Senior Video
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Senior Night Ceremony 2025 - 2026 Season
Sunday, February 22
K-State Women's Basketball | Coach Mittie Press Conference vs Kansas
Sunday, February 22
