‘We’re Not Going to Lose This’
Jan 15, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Jeff Mittie, following one of the biggest wins this season for his Kansas State squad, entered the postgame news conference after a 61-58 victory over No. 10 Texas at Bramlage Coliseum wearing a dry, white Nike Wildcats quarter-zip and a smile the size of Salina.
There were no postgame locker room water-bottle showers after No. 12 K-State defeated its second top-10 team this season (it beat then-No. 2 Iowa, 65-58, on November 16), simply because, well, as 2022 All-American Ayoka Lee said, "We're not going to lose this." In other words, the Wildcats, who ran their winning streak to 11 games, expected to win.
"This was a big game," Mittie said, "and we knew it was a big game."
K-State, which is 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2008-09, certainly played like it was a big game, and their fans, 7,062 strong, showed up like it was a big game despite minus-4 degree temperatures in Manhattan, and Texas, 16-2 and 3-2, battled like it was a big game during a contest that featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Neither team led by more than seven points.
K-State held Texas to 30 points below its season scoring average and beat the Longhorns for the first time in five years.
"Kansas State was really tough," said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer, the 2023 Big 12 Coach of the Year. "In a game like this it's all about one possession. We have a poem that we give to the kids, and it's titled, 'It's only one possession.' Today's game was one possession."
When K-State redshirt freshman Zyanna Walker took a pass from Serena Sundell and nailed a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter to give her team a 46-45 lead, the momentum change swept across the arena. It marked a climb back from a six-point deficit earlier that quarter.
"I just knew the time was going down and I wanted to at least get a shot off," Walker said. "I was confident, and it felt good."
Walker's long-range bomb became part of a 15-2 scoring run between the third and fourth quarters for the Wildcats, who took a 54-47 lead when Sundell found Lee inside for a short jumpshot.
The Wildcats, who led the entirety of the fourth quarter, held on when Gisela Sanchez blocked a 3-pointer from Shaylee Gonzalez with 10 seconds remaining. Texas fouled Walker after she grabbed the rebound with 4 seconds left. Then the Longhorns fouled Lee just before time expired on one of the most thrilling games by two top-15 teams ever played in Bramlage over the last quarter century.
"Definitely a momentum changer," Lee said of Walker's 3-pointer. "To go into the last 10 minutes ahead means we don't have to dig ourselves out of a hole, let's make them dig themselves out of a hole. For all of us, it was let's lock in and not lose this lead."
During the game, Lee became just the second active Division I women's basketball player to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career while becoming just the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 points.
"We needed every one of them tonight," Mittie said, chuckling. "She just does so much, and she's a joy to coach. She's not caught up in individual things. I think she'll look down the road and be really proud of these numbers and should be."
Lee finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
"Lee had a very good game," Schaefer said. "She's hard to guard. She's really special. She's somebody who obviously is really difficult to handle."
Sundell scored 12 points and added five assists, and Jaelyn Glenn had 10 points. Walker had nine points, five rebounds and three assists while coming off the bench to play 31 minutes.
"We were all locked in," Walker said. "We weren't going to lose that game for sure. Everybody had that mentality."
The K-State fans certainly carried the mentality that the Wildcats were going to win one of the most entertaining clashes among top-25 teams this season. Fans arrived early and stayed until the very end. In between, they danced to "Sandstorm" and "Wabash Cannonball." In the end, the fans gave their team a standing ovation.
"Man, this is serious weather out there," Mittie said. "Anybody who came to this game, I am thanking them 100% to get out and make this commitment to come out and support us. I thought it was an awesome crowd. Most women's basketball teams across the country would've had 1,500 out there. We had a hell of a crowd."
Schaefer said: "They had a nice crowd today, a great environment for college athletics and college basketball. They were really good. A classy group."
The Wildcats now prepare to visit TCU on Wednesday, then face Kansas in Manhattan on Saturday before traveling to play at No. 4 Baylor two days later.
"I told the team before the game and people talk about all the time — 'One of 18,'" Mittie said. "We're going to prepare for every single game and every single game is important but it's disingenuous to say this wasn't a big game and we knew it. But our preparation and communication, those things don't change. I'll continue to beat the drum that teams go one of two ways — they have success and then stop doing what got them there, or they have success, and it drives them to do more.
"Which team are you going to be?"
For now, K-State is tied for Iowa State atop the Big 12 standings, owns the best record and longest winning streak in the league, and shows little signs of wilting behind its veteran core group with a proven track record of being able to withstand pressure moments.
It's precisely where K-State fancied itself to be because of one key element.
It refused to lose.
Jeff Mittie, following one of the biggest wins this season for his Kansas State squad, entered the postgame news conference after a 61-58 victory over No. 10 Texas at Bramlage Coliseum wearing a dry, white Nike Wildcats quarter-zip and a smile the size of Salina.
There were no postgame locker room water-bottle showers after No. 12 K-State defeated its second top-10 team this season (it beat then-No. 2 Iowa, 65-58, on November 16), simply because, well, as 2022 All-American Ayoka Lee said, "We're not going to lose this." In other words, the Wildcats, who ran their winning streak to 11 games, expected to win.
"This was a big game," Mittie said, "and we knew it was a big game."
K-State, which is 17-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since 2008-09, certainly played like it was a big game, and their fans, 7,062 strong, showed up like it was a big game despite minus-4 degree temperatures in Manhattan, and Texas, 16-2 and 3-2, battled like it was a big game during a contest that featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Neither team led by more than seven points.
K-State held Texas to 30 points below its season scoring average and beat the Longhorns for the first time in five years.
"Kansas State was really tough," said Texas head coach Vic Schaefer, the 2023 Big 12 Coach of the Year. "In a game like this it's all about one possession. We have a poem that we give to the kids, and it's titled, 'It's only one possession.' Today's game was one possession."
When K-State redshirt freshman Zyanna Walker took a pass from Serena Sundell and nailed a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter to give her team a 46-45 lead, the momentum change swept across the arena. It marked a climb back from a six-point deficit earlier that quarter.
"I just knew the time was going down and I wanted to at least get a shot off," Walker said. "I was confident, and it felt good."
Walker's long-range bomb became part of a 15-2 scoring run between the third and fourth quarters for the Wildcats, who took a 54-47 lead when Sundell found Lee inside for a short jumpshot.
The Wildcats, who led the entirety of the fourth quarter, held on when Gisela Sanchez blocked a 3-pointer from Shaylee Gonzalez with 10 seconds remaining. Texas fouled Walker after she grabbed the rebound with 4 seconds left. Then the Longhorns fouled Lee just before time expired on one of the most thrilling games by two top-15 teams ever played in Bramlage over the last quarter century.
"Definitely a momentum changer," Lee said of Walker's 3-pointer. "To go into the last 10 minutes ahead means we don't have to dig ourselves out of a hole, let's make them dig themselves out of a hole. For all of us, it was let's lock in and not lose this lead."
During the game, Lee became just the second active Division I women's basketball player to reach 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career while becoming just the fourth player in school history to reach 2,000 points.
"We needed every one of them tonight," Mittie said, chuckling. "She just does so much, and she's a joy to coach. She's not caught up in individual things. I think she'll look down the road and be really proud of these numbers and should be."
Lee finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
"Lee had a very good game," Schaefer said. "She's hard to guard. She's really special. She's somebody who obviously is really difficult to handle."
Sundell scored 12 points and added five assists, and Jaelyn Glenn had 10 points. Walker had nine points, five rebounds and three assists while coming off the bench to play 31 minutes.
"We were all locked in," Walker said. "We weren't going to lose that game for sure. Everybody had that mentality."
The K-State fans certainly carried the mentality that the Wildcats were going to win one of the most entertaining clashes among top-25 teams this season. Fans arrived early and stayed until the very end. In between, they danced to "Sandstorm" and "Wabash Cannonball." In the end, the fans gave their team a standing ovation.
"Man, this is serious weather out there," Mittie said. "Anybody who came to this game, I am thanking them 100% to get out and make this commitment to come out and support us. I thought it was an awesome crowd. Most women's basketball teams across the country would've had 1,500 out there. We had a hell of a crowd."
Schaefer said: "They had a nice crowd today, a great environment for college athletics and college basketball. They were really good. A classy group."
The Wildcats now prepare to visit TCU on Wednesday, then face Kansas in Manhattan on Saturday before traveling to play at No. 4 Baylor two days later.
"I told the team before the game and people talk about all the time — 'One of 18,'" Mittie said. "We're going to prepare for every single game and every single game is important but it's disingenuous to say this wasn't a big game and we knew it. But our preparation and communication, those things don't change. I'll continue to beat the drum that teams go one of two ways — they have success and then stop doing what got them there, or they have success, and it drives them to do more.
"Which team are you going to be?"
For now, K-State is tied for Iowa State atop the Big 12 standings, owns the best record and longest winning streak in the league, and shows little signs of wilting behind its veteran core group with a proven track record of being able to withstand pressure moments.
It's precisely where K-State fancied itself to be because of one key element.
It refused to lose.
Players Mentioned
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