Showing Off the Depth of the Roster
Dec 07, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Earlier in the week, Jeff Mittie said that it was important for No. 13 Kansas State to give opponents its best shot.
The Wildcats responded with their most dominant performance of the season.
Gabby Gregory scored a season-high 16 points, Ayoka Lee added 15 points and six rebounds, and the Wildcats raced away with a 101-39 win over McNeese State on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum. Thirteen players saw the court and 12 scored a point. The lead grew, grew and grew some more as the Wildcats, 8-1, scored their most points this season while holding the Cowgirls, 3-6, to just 25.8% shooting from the floor.
"I like these games from the standpoint of getting to see a lot of players play well," Mittie said. "It was fun to see some players that you could see some growth in. Normally this kind of game gets really sloppy. For the most part we were pretty solid."
Gregory scored her 1,500th career point on a drive down the lane for an and-1 that gave the Wildcats a 56-16 lead with 7:22 left in the third quarter. It marked the first 40-point lead of the game for the Wildcats. Lee gave K-State its first 50-point lead at 78-28 on a layup with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats' star players left the court for good and all that was left were minutes split between replacements.
"This was another game where we showed how deep our team is," Gregory said. "The bench played really, really well. There was no drop off. Even when the starters were sitting on the bench for a super-long time toward the end of the game, it still looked like the same team. The intensity was super high, and people were sharing the ball. That just shows how deep of a team we really have and how talented everyone is."
Brylee Glenn scored 11 points and collected five steals. Gisela Sanchez came off the bench to score 12 points and add eight rebounds and four blocks in 21 minutes. True freshman guard Taryn Sides had nine points and eight assists in 21 minutes as well.
K-State shot 51.9% (40-of-77) from the floor and held a 58-27 rebounding advantage over McNeese State, which shot just 25.8% (16-of-62) and suffered 24 turnovers. K-State held a 58-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Rebekah Dallinger caught a pass from Sides and converted it into a layup to give K-State its first 60-point lead at 93-33 with 4:15 left. Eliza Maupin rebounded a missed shot and hit a layup to give the Wildcats a 101-37 lead with 37 seconds remaining.
"(Getting 100 points) is fun for the fans and players like it, but I was more excited that Eliza went to the offensive glass with 30 seconds to go and just played the play like she was supposed to," Mittie said. "That's an area where she can really help us at and that we're constantly on her to do. I was pleased with that."
K-State held McNeese State to 2-of-17 shooting in the first quarter — furthering the Wildcats' strong defensive effort from their latest win when they held Jackson State to just 14-of-65 shooting (21.5%) — and the Wildcats forced the Cowgirls to shoot just 7-of-29 (22.0%) from the floor with 14 turnovers over the first two quarters while taking a 46-16 lead into halftime.
K-State, which shot 43% from the floor in the first half, took its first 20-point lead when Gregory made an and-1 to put the Wildcats ahead, 24-4, with 9:25 left in the second quarter. Sides lifted K-State to its first 30-point lead at 36-4 with an and-1 of her own.
The Wildcats led by as many as 36 points late in the first half as Mittie shuffled players in and out of the lineup. Nine different players scored in the first half while 13 players saw action on the court in the first half.
"I had a lot of fun," Glenn said. "It's always nice to see everyone get involved and everyone get that chance to show what their hard work has gotten them to. It was fun seeing everyone score and play together in different groups."
The Wildcats gave the Cowgirls their best shot and did so with every available player seeing the court. The collective effort certainly reflected on the scoreboard during another dominant performance by the Wildcats.
"We didn't play by the score," Glenn said. "No matter what the score was, we kept running and kept the same intensity and kept getting out into transition. We knew that was what we wanted to do. We stopped playing by the score and played our game the whole game."
Earlier in the week, Jeff Mittie said that it was important for No. 13 Kansas State to give opponents its best shot.
The Wildcats responded with their most dominant performance of the season.
Gabby Gregory scored a season-high 16 points, Ayoka Lee added 15 points and six rebounds, and the Wildcats raced away with a 101-39 win over McNeese State on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum. Thirteen players saw the court and 12 scored a point. The lead grew, grew and grew some more as the Wildcats, 8-1, scored their most points this season while holding the Cowgirls, 3-6, to just 25.8% shooting from the floor.
"I like these games from the standpoint of getting to see a lot of players play well," Mittie said. "It was fun to see some players that you could see some growth in. Normally this kind of game gets really sloppy. For the most part we were pretty solid."
Gregory scored her 1,500th career point on a drive down the lane for an and-1 that gave the Wildcats a 56-16 lead with 7:22 left in the third quarter. It marked the first 40-point lead of the game for the Wildcats. Lee gave K-State its first 50-point lead at 78-28 on a layup with 9:34 left in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats' star players left the court for good and all that was left were minutes split between replacements.
"This was another game where we showed how deep our team is," Gregory said. "The bench played really, really well. There was no drop off. Even when the starters were sitting on the bench for a super-long time toward the end of the game, it still looked like the same team. The intensity was super high, and people were sharing the ball. That just shows how deep of a team we really have and how talented everyone is."
Brylee Glenn scored 11 points and collected five steals. Gisela Sanchez came off the bench to score 12 points and add eight rebounds and four blocks in 21 minutes. True freshman guard Taryn Sides had nine points and eight assists in 21 minutes as well.
K-State shot 51.9% (40-of-77) from the floor and held a 58-27 rebounding advantage over McNeese State, which shot just 25.8% (16-of-62) and suffered 24 turnovers. K-State held a 58-18 advantage in points in the paint.
Rebekah Dallinger caught a pass from Sides and converted it into a layup to give K-State its first 60-point lead at 93-33 with 4:15 left. Eliza Maupin rebounded a missed shot and hit a layup to give the Wildcats a 101-37 lead with 37 seconds remaining.
"(Getting 100 points) is fun for the fans and players like it, but I was more excited that Eliza went to the offensive glass with 30 seconds to go and just played the play like she was supposed to," Mittie said. "That's an area where she can really help us at and that we're constantly on her to do. I was pleased with that."
K-State held McNeese State to 2-of-17 shooting in the first quarter — furthering the Wildcats' strong defensive effort from their latest win when they held Jackson State to just 14-of-65 shooting (21.5%) — and the Wildcats forced the Cowgirls to shoot just 7-of-29 (22.0%) from the floor with 14 turnovers over the first two quarters while taking a 46-16 lead into halftime.
K-State, which shot 43% from the floor in the first half, took its first 20-point lead when Gregory made an and-1 to put the Wildcats ahead, 24-4, with 9:25 left in the second quarter. Sides lifted K-State to its first 30-point lead at 36-4 with an and-1 of her own.
The Wildcats led by as many as 36 points late in the first half as Mittie shuffled players in and out of the lineup. Nine different players scored in the first half while 13 players saw action on the court in the first half.
"I had a lot of fun," Glenn said. "It's always nice to see everyone get involved and everyone get that chance to show what their hard work has gotten them to. It was fun seeing everyone score and play together in different groups."
The Wildcats gave the Cowgirls their best shot and did so with every available player seeing the court. The collective effort certainly reflected on the scoreboard during another dominant performance by the Wildcats.
"We didn't play by the score," Glenn said. "No matter what the score was, we kept running and kept the same intensity and kept getting out into transition. We knew that was what we wanted to do. We stopped playing by the score and played our game the whole game."
Players Mentioned
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