Rivalry Game Provided Bounce Back Opportunity
Feb 23, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State felt badly after its most recent loss at TCU. The Wildcats came home and took it out on Kansas.
Serena Sundell scored a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and seven assists, and Gabby Gregory added 20 points and four boards, as K-State raced away from Kansas, 63-45, on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The victory was much needed for K-State, 16-12 overall and 5-10 in the Big 12 Conference, which continues to claw at a potential postseason berth, but came off a 75-62 loss against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday.
"I was glad to be playing Kansas after the way we played Saturday and mainly not because it was Kansas, they're really good, but because of the rivalry game, you knew it was going to get our attention," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie, who improved to 16-4 against KU in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. "You knew it was going to be different. From that standpoint, I thought, 'OK, we're going to get a good effort.' Kansas is really good, so I wasn't that excited about playing them, but anytime you have a game like we had (at TCU), you want to get back onto the floor and erase it."
K-State trailed 15-12 after the first quarter, but took a 26-22 lead into halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Jayhawks, 37-23, over the final two quarters and led by as many as 23 points in the final minute.
K-State held Kansas to its fewest points all season and to its worst shooting percentage at 31.4%. The 45 points marked the fewest points K-State has allowed the Jayhawks in a game since 2012.
The Wildcats did all the right things while responding to an 85-72 loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence on January 29.
"This game just means more," said Sundell, who shot 8-of-10 from the floor and sank 8-of-9 free throws. "After going there and not winning like we wanted to, we definitely wanted to get this win at home and prove that we can compete and beat that team.
"It just means more to our fans, community and university, so it feels good to come out with a win."
The Wildcats steadily improved their shooting — they went from 25.0% shooting in the first quarter, to 35.3%, to 46.7%, and to 53.8% in the final period — and forced Kansas in 21 turnovers.
Zakiyah Franklin scored 10 points for Kansas, which dropped to 16-10 and 6-9, after suffering its third straight loss. K-State held Kansas to just 31.4% shooting overall, and kept star center Taiyanna Jackson in check, as she managed seven points to go along with 14 rebounds. Jackson entered averaging 15.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest.
"We took KU out of what they wanted to do and that helped out a lot and I'm really proud of our defense," said Jaelyn Glenn, who had eight points and six assists. "Sometimes when our shots aren't falling, we tend to struggle a little bit, and that goes into our defense. We all kept working hard."
Effort hasn't been an issue for K-State, which beat No. 4 Iowa, 84-83, on November 17. However, K-State has had an inconsistent conference season without All-American center Ayoka Lee due to surgery. Although sophomores Sundell and Jaelyn Glenn and Brylee Glenn have stepped up, and Gregory, the senior transfer who arrived prior to the season, is a likely an All-Big 12 First Team selection, the Wildcats have had a difficult time shooting the ball at times. They entered ranked eighth in the league in field-goal percentage (40.0%) and ninth in 3-point field-goal percentage (29.4%).
The ability for the Wildcats to overcome early shooting inconsistencies against the Jayhawks and maintain a strong defensive presence paved way for them to run away in the second half.
"As a coach, you want your team not to worry about the result of shooting," Mittie said. "Shooting can be fickle. If you're getting ball movement and sharing the basketball, that's what you're looking for. We've too often tied that to our effort sometimes so we're getting better at that. I thought our group battled for 35 minutes and our defense was excellent. The first five was not what we'd talked about doing and they hit us with some shots early.
"For 35 minutes, I thought it was the best we've played."
It was exactly what the Wildcats needed.
"It's a big win," Mittie said. "I'm proud of them for bouncing back. We were not happy with how we played (at TCU) and I'm not happy about being on this rollercoaster — we're too up and down — but I do think from an overall standpoint we're continuing to improve."
K-State is 13-3 in games played in Bramlage this season and 27-6 in games played in Bramlage over the past two seasons.
"(Playing at home) is a sense of comfort," Glenn said. "Of course, you have all the fans that come out and bring a whole lot of energy, which you don't really get on the road. It gives us a lot of energy. When we really lock in on what we need to do, we're really good."
K-State travels to West Virginia on Saturday and visits Oklahoma next Wednesday before finishing out the regular season against Texas on March 4. The Wildcats seek their first Big 12 road win of the season.
How might K-State keep its trajectory going upward after this win over the Jayhawks?
"It's a good question," Mittie said. "We need to take this show on the road. It'd be a good start to do that. We've got a good opportunity on Saturday. We need to have a carryover game and have that kind of effort on the road."
Kansas State felt badly after its most recent loss at TCU. The Wildcats came home and took it out on Kansas.
Serena Sundell scored a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and seven assists, and Gabby Gregory added 20 points and four boards, as K-State raced away from Kansas, 63-45, on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum.
The victory was much needed for K-State, 16-12 overall and 5-10 in the Big 12 Conference, which continues to claw at a potential postseason berth, but came off a 75-62 loss against the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday.
"I was glad to be playing Kansas after the way we played Saturday and mainly not because it was Kansas, they're really good, but because of the rivalry game, you knew it was going to get our attention," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie, who improved to 16-4 against KU in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. "You knew it was going to be different. From that standpoint, I thought, 'OK, we're going to get a good effort.' Kansas is really good, so I wasn't that excited about playing them, but anytime you have a game like we had (at TCU), you want to get back onto the floor and erase it."
K-State trailed 15-12 after the first quarter, but took a 26-22 lead into halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Jayhawks, 37-23, over the final two quarters and led by as many as 23 points in the final minute.
K-State held Kansas to its fewest points all season and to its worst shooting percentage at 31.4%. The 45 points marked the fewest points K-State has allowed the Jayhawks in a game since 2012.
The Wildcats did all the right things while responding to an 85-72 loss to the Jayhawks in Lawrence on January 29.
"This game just means more," said Sundell, who shot 8-of-10 from the floor and sank 8-of-9 free throws. "After going there and not winning like we wanted to, we definitely wanted to get this win at home and prove that we can compete and beat that team.
"It just means more to our fans, community and university, so it feels good to come out with a win."
The Wildcats steadily improved their shooting — they went from 25.0% shooting in the first quarter, to 35.3%, to 46.7%, and to 53.8% in the final period — and forced Kansas in 21 turnovers.
Zakiyah Franklin scored 10 points for Kansas, which dropped to 16-10 and 6-9, after suffering its third straight loss. K-State held Kansas to just 31.4% shooting overall, and kept star center Taiyanna Jackson in check, as she managed seven points to go along with 14 rebounds. Jackson entered averaging 15.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest.
"We took KU out of what they wanted to do and that helped out a lot and I'm really proud of our defense," said Jaelyn Glenn, who had eight points and six assists. "Sometimes when our shots aren't falling, we tend to struggle a little bit, and that goes into our defense. We all kept working hard."
Effort hasn't been an issue for K-State, which beat No. 4 Iowa, 84-83, on November 17. However, K-State has had an inconsistent conference season without All-American center Ayoka Lee due to surgery. Although sophomores Sundell and Jaelyn Glenn and Brylee Glenn have stepped up, and Gregory, the senior transfer who arrived prior to the season, is a likely an All-Big 12 First Team selection, the Wildcats have had a difficult time shooting the ball at times. They entered ranked eighth in the league in field-goal percentage (40.0%) and ninth in 3-point field-goal percentage (29.4%).
The ability for the Wildcats to overcome early shooting inconsistencies against the Jayhawks and maintain a strong defensive presence paved way for them to run away in the second half.
"As a coach, you want your team not to worry about the result of shooting," Mittie said. "Shooting can be fickle. If you're getting ball movement and sharing the basketball, that's what you're looking for. We've too often tied that to our effort sometimes so we're getting better at that. I thought our group battled for 35 minutes and our defense was excellent. The first five was not what we'd talked about doing and they hit us with some shots early.
"For 35 minutes, I thought it was the best we've played."
It was exactly what the Wildcats needed.
"It's a big win," Mittie said. "I'm proud of them for bouncing back. We were not happy with how we played (at TCU) and I'm not happy about being on this rollercoaster — we're too up and down — but I do think from an overall standpoint we're continuing to improve."
K-State is 13-3 in games played in Bramlage this season and 27-6 in games played in Bramlage over the past two seasons.
"(Playing at home) is a sense of comfort," Glenn said. "Of course, you have all the fans that come out and bring a whole lot of energy, which you don't really get on the road. It gives us a lot of energy. When we really lock in on what we need to do, we're really good."
K-State travels to West Virginia on Saturday and visits Oklahoma next Wednesday before finishing out the regular season against Texas on March 4. The Wildcats seek their first Big 12 road win of the season.
How might K-State keep its trajectory going upward after this win over the Jayhawks?
"It's a good question," Mittie said. "We need to take this show on the road. It'd be a good start to do that. We've got a good opportunity on Saturday. We need to have a carryover game and have that kind of effort on the road."
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