Another Record for Yokie
Dec 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Ayoka Lee sailed into the record books by posting her 53rd career double-double, the most by any player in school history, as No. 12 Kansas State thumped Oral Roberts, 102-59, on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Afterward, K-State head coach Jeff Mittie took a moment to put his star center's achievement and overall impact into perspective.
"It's a lot deeper than just basketball," Mittie said. "This is a young lady that's been Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the Big 12. She has represented Kansas State Athletics at numerous events throughout whether it be the Catbacker Tour or Ahearn Fund dinners, whether it be pep rallies at the start of the year, whether it be Student-Athlete Council — all of the above. Her platform because she's an outstanding basketball player gives her a bigger platform, and I think she just uses it really, really well. She has as good of an appreciation of the opportunities that are provided to student-athletes as any player I've ever had, and in this era where there's a lot of entitlement, a lot of 'this is what I'm owed,' out there, she sets the tone in that locker room. We don't have that in our locker room. We're owed nothing. We're owed nothing. We earn everything we get. We're owed nothing."
He continued.
"We're lucky to be at Kansas State," he said. "We're lucky to represent Kansas State, and I don't think there's a better representative — and I think we have a lot of really good ones in our athletic department — than Ayoka Lee.
"When you talk about nationally, 61 points, breaks the record, comes off a knee injury that's a challenging knee injury to recover from, and to do it the way she's done it and to come back and play the way she's played, I don't think that whole story is written. I know it's not. She's meant a lot to us but not just us, but the athletic department overall and the university as well, because she does it so well.
"I'm lucky to coach her and I'm lucky to coach this group because we have a lot of really good ones in here, but they've got a good leader in her that have kind of showed the way, too."
The 6-foot-6 Lee, a senior and 2022 All-American, finished with 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting to go along with a career-high 21 rebounds and five blocks for the Wildcats, who won their fifth straight game to improve to 11-1. Oral Roberts dropped to 6-4.
"There've been some great players to play here, so that's a heck of an honor to do that," Mittie said of Lee breaking the double-double record. "There've been some fantastic players that could put up a lot of double-doubles a lot of different ways. She fits right in that group of the very best to have ever played here."
Lee set the K-State double-double record with a move inside the lane to give K-State a 40-23 lead with 4 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter. She topped the 52 double-doubles by Kendra Wecker in 2001-05.
"What does it mean to me? Good question," Lee said. "It's really cool. I think it's a testament to all the workouts I've put in, and all the work I've put in here, all the way back to my first year playing. That doesn't just happen in one or two seasons playing. It's just really cool to reflect on how much it takes to get there."
Lee entered Monday averaging 20.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. She had 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in the first two quarters against Oral Roberts as the Wildcats built a 49-32 advantage.
She scored her 20th point early in the fourth quarter after taking an extended rest. She recorded her 20th rebound moments later. That gave her a 20-20 performance. She is the only player in school history to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.
Lee has now done it twice in her career.
"I've always been told rebounding is effort and I believe that," she said. "Effort is the big thing."
Lee, a native of Byron, Minnesota, is the only player in K-State history with at least 1,900 points, 950 rebounds and 250 blocks. She captured international attention when she set the NCAA Division I women's basketball record by scoring 61 points against Oklahoma on January 23, 2022.
She scored a season-high 36 points against North Florida on Saturday. She had a previous season-high 12 rebounds at No. 4 Iowa on November 16 and again against then-No. 18 North Carolina on November 25.
This comes as she goes through her first season following a knee injury that prevented her from playing all of the 2022-23 season. Senior guard Gabby Gregory, a transfer from Oklahoma, returned to K-State this season to have the opportunity to play with Lee.
"It's been fun, obviously," Gregory said. "I've never played with somebody like this before. It's just been a lot of fun and a work in progress. I think every game, everyone is just getting the offense, and everything is just flowing so much better every game. I think it'll be scary come March."
Ayoka Lee sailed into the record books by posting her 53rd career double-double, the most by any player in school history, as No. 12 Kansas State thumped Oral Roberts, 102-59, on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Afterward, K-State head coach Jeff Mittie took a moment to put his star center's achievement and overall impact into perspective.
"It's a lot deeper than just basketball," Mittie said. "This is a young lady that's been Scholar-Athlete of the Year in the Big 12. She has represented Kansas State Athletics at numerous events throughout whether it be the Catbacker Tour or Ahearn Fund dinners, whether it be pep rallies at the start of the year, whether it be Student-Athlete Council — all of the above. Her platform because she's an outstanding basketball player gives her a bigger platform, and I think she just uses it really, really well. She has as good of an appreciation of the opportunities that are provided to student-athletes as any player I've ever had, and in this era where there's a lot of entitlement, a lot of 'this is what I'm owed,' out there, she sets the tone in that locker room. We don't have that in our locker room. We're owed nothing. We're owed nothing. We earn everything we get. We're owed nothing."
He continued.
"We're lucky to be at Kansas State," he said. "We're lucky to represent Kansas State, and I don't think there's a better representative — and I think we have a lot of really good ones in our athletic department — than Ayoka Lee.
"When you talk about nationally, 61 points, breaks the record, comes off a knee injury that's a challenging knee injury to recover from, and to do it the way she's done it and to come back and play the way she's played, I don't think that whole story is written. I know it's not. She's meant a lot to us but not just us, but the athletic department overall and the university as well, because she does it so well.
"I'm lucky to coach her and I'm lucky to coach this group because we have a lot of really good ones in here, but they've got a good leader in her that have kind of showed the way, too."
The 6-foot-6 Lee, a senior and 2022 All-American, finished with 24 points on 11-for-17 shooting to go along with a career-high 21 rebounds and five blocks for the Wildcats, who won their fifth straight game to improve to 11-1. Oral Roberts dropped to 6-4.
"There've been some great players to play here, so that's a heck of an honor to do that," Mittie said of Lee breaking the double-double record. "There've been some fantastic players that could put up a lot of double-doubles a lot of different ways. She fits right in that group of the very best to have ever played here."
Lee set the K-State double-double record with a move inside the lane to give K-State a 40-23 lead with 4 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter. She topped the 52 double-doubles by Kendra Wecker in 2001-05.
"What does it mean to me? Good question," Lee said. "It's really cool. I think it's a testament to all the workouts I've put in, and all the work I've put in here, all the way back to my first year playing. That doesn't just happen in one or two seasons playing. It's just really cool to reflect on how much it takes to get there."
Lee entered Monday averaging 20.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. She had 16 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in the first two quarters against Oral Roberts as the Wildcats built a 49-32 advantage.
She scored her 20th point early in the fourth quarter after taking an extended rest. She recorded her 20th rebound moments later. That gave her a 20-20 performance. She is the only player in school history to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.
Lee has now done it twice in her career.
"I've always been told rebounding is effort and I believe that," she said. "Effort is the big thing."
Lee, a native of Byron, Minnesota, is the only player in K-State history with at least 1,900 points, 950 rebounds and 250 blocks. She captured international attention when she set the NCAA Division I women's basketball record by scoring 61 points against Oklahoma on January 23, 2022.
She scored a season-high 36 points against North Florida on Saturday. She had a previous season-high 12 rebounds at No. 4 Iowa on November 16 and again against then-No. 18 North Carolina on November 25.
This comes as she goes through her first season following a knee injury that prevented her from playing all of the 2022-23 season. Senior guard Gabby Gregory, a transfer from Oklahoma, returned to K-State this season to have the opportunity to play with Lee.
"It's been fun, obviously," Gregory said. "I've never played with somebody like this before. It's just been a lot of fun and a work in progress. I think every game, everyone is just getting the offense, and everything is just flowing so much better every game. I think it'll be scary come March."
Players Mentioned
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