Enjoy Playing in March
Mar 21, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie has a short message to his Wildcats as they prepare for the second round of the Postseason WNIT: Enjoy playing this time of year.
The Wildcats certainly enjoyed their first-round game of the Postseason WNIT with a dominant 90-56 win over Wichita State on Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Now K-State, 18-16, prepares to face Wyoming, 23-10, in Tuesday's 6 p.m. tipoff in Bramlage — a second-round game that features intrigue as the Wildcats look to make a run in the postseason.
"It's a one-game-at-a-time tournament and your goal is to win it all," Mittie said. "We've seen over the past 10 years if you follow the WNIT that if you have a fairly young team, it's propelled teams to special things.
"Indiana won the WNIT in 2018 and is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year. There are examples of those types of things. If you have a team that can make a deep run or win the championship there's value in that."
K-State had little trouble with Wichita State, as the Wildcats set school Postseason WNIT records in total points and scoring margin. K-State made 11 3-pointers and its 252 3-pointers this season are third-most in school history.
"For every league, you beat up on each other in the Power 5 that you get excited to see somebody else and have a different scout, and in some cases a different style," Mittie said. "In the case of (Wichita State) it was also an in-state opponent so that made it more fun."
Sophomore Serena Sundell was brilliant with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added seven assists and two steals. Brylee Glenn added 15 points while Jaelyn Glenn had her third double-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Gabby Gregory had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
While Gregory finished second in the Big 12 in scoring in averaging 18.4 points this season, the impact of Sundell and the Glenn sisters has been off the charts as well. Sundell is second on the team with 13.4 points and her 175 assists are second-most by a sophomore in school history while she leads the team with 29 total blocks. Jaelyn Glenn averages 11.7 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds while pocketing a career-high 83 steals. Brylee Glenn averages 8.5 points and 2.7 rebounds and is among the toughest players on the team while battling a foot injury.
"There's no doubt when they really get to moving the basketball and playing at a good pace we've been really, really good," Mittie said. "That particular group has continued to make strides all year. We knew coming into the year that certainly with our injury situation they were going to be asked to do more things and there's growth in that.
"Everybody always thinks growth is this steady improvement but there's a lot of hills and valleys in that. All of them have fought through the valleys and they've continued to get better."
K-State is 17-3 all-time in Postseason WNIT games played in Manhattan. The Wildcats are 14-4 at home this season, including a 84-83 win over then-No. 4 Iowa and a 78-77 victory over then-No. 12 Iowa State.
Mittie appreciates the support that K-State fans have shown all season.
"Our fans have been great all year," Mittie said. "We're hosting because of them. They've been great all year. When we were struggling in January, I was amazed that we'd come back and they were there. I'm excited about our opportunity."
K-State will be tested against a Wyoming team that posted a 75-41 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the WNIT on Friday.
Allyson Fertig, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led Wyoming with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
"They're really good at what they do," Mittie said. "Their motion offense is very patient, and they get great player movement. When you talk about Fertig, they're able to run offense through her, so not only can they use her as a facilitator where she'll pass it and create opportunities for others, but she has great patience where she can score as well. They have great balance with their offense."
Wyoming is 20-9 all-time in the WNIT. K-State suffered a triple-overtime loss to Wyoming in the 2007 semifinals, and the Cowgirls went on to win the WNIT Championship.
This will mark the third time Wyoming has played a road game in the WNIT. The Cowgirls have never won a road game in the WNIT.
Wyoming is 7-7 in road games this season.
The winner between K-State and Wyoming will face the Washington in the third round.
"(We need to) play with great energy and great joy, focus on the things that you can help your team succeed and keep it simple," Mittie said. "It's a great time of the year to be playing."
Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie has a short message to his Wildcats as they prepare for the second round of the Postseason WNIT: Enjoy playing this time of year.
The Wildcats certainly enjoyed their first-round game of the Postseason WNIT with a dominant 90-56 win over Wichita State on Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Now K-State, 18-16, prepares to face Wyoming, 23-10, in Tuesday's 6 p.m. tipoff in Bramlage — a second-round game that features intrigue as the Wildcats look to make a run in the postseason.
"It's a one-game-at-a-time tournament and your goal is to win it all," Mittie said. "We've seen over the past 10 years if you follow the WNIT that if you have a fairly young team, it's propelled teams to special things.
"Indiana won the WNIT in 2018 and is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament this year. There are examples of those types of things. If you have a team that can make a deep run or win the championship there's value in that."
K-State had little trouble with Wichita State, as the Wildcats set school Postseason WNIT records in total points and scoring margin. K-State made 11 3-pointers and its 252 3-pointers this season are third-most in school history.
"For every league, you beat up on each other in the Power 5 that you get excited to see somebody else and have a different scout, and in some cases a different style," Mittie said. "In the case of (Wichita State) it was also an in-state opponent so that made it more fun."
Sophomore Serena Sundell was brilliant with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added seven assists and two steals. Brylee Glenn added 15 points while Jaelyn Glenn had her third double-double of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Gabby Gregory had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
While Gregory finished second in the Big 12 in scoring in averaging 18.4 points this season, the impact of Sundell and the Glenn sisters has been off the charts as well. Sundell is second on the team with 13.4 points and her 175 assists are second-most by a sophomore in school history while she leads the team with 29 total blocks. Jaelyn Glenn averages 11.7 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds while pocketing a career-high 83 steals. Brylee Glenn averages 8.5 points and 2.7 rebounds and is among the toughest players on the team while battling a foot injury.
"There's no doubt when they really get to moving the basketball and playing at a good pace we've been really, really good," Mittie said. "That particular group has continued to make strides all year. We knew coming into the year that certainly with our injury situation they were going to be asked to do more things and there's growth in that.
"Everybody always thinks growth is this steady improvement but there's a lot of hills and valleys in that. All of them have fought through the valleys and they've continued to get better."
K-State is 17-3 all-time in Postseason WNIT games played in Manhattan. The Wildcats are 14-4 at home this season, including a 84-83 win over then-No. 4 Iowa and a 78-77 victory over then-No. 12 Iowa State.
Mittie appreciates the support that K-State fans have shown all season.
"Our fans have been great all year," Mittie said. "We're hosting because of them. They've been great all year. When we were struggling in January, I was amazed that we'd come back and they were there. I'm excited about our opportunity."
K-State will be tested against a Wyoming team that posted a 75-41 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the WNIT on Friday.
Allyson Fertig, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led Wyoming with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
"They're really good at what they do," Mittie said. "Their motion offense is very patient, and they get great player movement. When you talk about Fertig, they're able to run offense through her, so not only can they use her as a facilitator where she'll pass it and create opportunities for others, but she has great patience where she can score as well. They have great balance with their offense."
Wyoming is 20-9 all-time in the WNIT. K-State suffered a triple-overtime loss to Wyoming in the 2007 semifinals, and the Cowgirls went on to win the WNIT Championship.
This will mark the third time Wyoming has played a road game in the WNIT. The Cowgirls have never won a road game in the WNIT.
Wyoming is 7-7 in road games this season.
The winner between K-State and Wyoming will face the Washington in the third round.
"(We need to) play with great energy and great joy, focus on the things that you can help your team succeed and keep it simple," Mittie said. "It's a great time of the year to be playing."
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