The Crowd Made an Impact
Jan 22, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State players warmed up prior to facing Kansas in the 130th edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. They had no idea what was in store. Their 2022 All-American center Ayoka Lee, the heart of the Wildcats, was out with a fractured ankle. The Jayhawks had won two of their last three games, including a 21-point victory over Baylor. Then there's the juice that comes with the in-state rivalry of two teams separated by a stretch of Interstate-70. No. there was no way of telling how this was going to end.
Then, one by one, K-State students, some bundled in heavy winter coats, and others wearing lavender jerseys, but all thawing from the wait in 4-degree weather, began their descent into the student section at Bramlage Coliseum. One by one, they marched, or trotted, or jogged down the steps, the rows quickly filling as 53, 52 then 51 minutes remained until tipoff. The only question was when the parade of students would stop.
They didn't stop.
Players of No. 7 K-State took notice. Yes, junior guard Serena Sundell stole a glance during warmups. She had not seen anything quite like it for a K-State women's basketball game. Her teammates took note as well. Adrenaline, yes, adrenaline was flowing. It flowed from the top of Bramlage, as the K-State pep band belted Wildcat Victory, and it flowed as the thawed-out students performed the Wabash Cannonball, and it flowed during pre-game introductions, as each starting player received brilliant, deafening cheers. Yes, it was the first women's basketball game for some K-State students, for sure, but it very well might not be their last, what with the electric energy crackling within the Wildcats with each step on the court, with their playmaking ability that makes them among the top-10 teams in America, and with their innate desire to please those fans who traveled and braved the cold to catch a glimpse of them on the hardwood in Manhattan.
A total crowd of 9,602 rocked Bramlage.
"It was amazing. K-State is amazing," Sundell said. "We want to keep getting wins for them."
The crowd's energy wasn't lost on Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider, who paid the Wildcats the biggest compliment that an opposing team, and its crowd, can receive.
"First, I want to compliment the K-State student section," Schneider said. "I've been a head coach for 26 years, and I thought that was the best road student section of a game that I've ever been a part of so credit to their students and all involved."
The game seemingly came and went in a blur, and boy, did the teams battle until K-State finally came away with a 69-58 win over Kansas, lifting the Wildcats to a 18-1 overall record, a 7-0 mark in the Big 12 Conference, and running their winning streak to 12 straight games.
K-State led 57-54 with 4 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Then K-State junior guard Jaelyn Glenn hit a driving lay-up in the lane, and then redshirt freshman guard Zyanna Walker knocked down a crucial 3-pointer, as the Wildcats scored 12 of the game's final 16 points to hand the Jayhawks, 9-9 and 2-5, their second road loss in the last week.
"I love the fact," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said, "that Zy has continued to make big play in those moments for us. It's really fun to watch."
The Wildcats, all of them, are fun to watch, as well.
This K-State team is the deepest in Mittie's 10 seasons with the Wildcats. In the absence of Lee, who averages 19.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, Mittie expertly spread minutes around — seven different players played at least 16 minutes — while going with a first-time starting lineup of Gabby Gregory, Gisela Sanchez, Brylee Glenn, Jaelyn Glenn and Sundell.
Sundell and Walker scored 15 points apiece, Brylee Glenn had 13, Jaelyn Glenn had nine points, and Eliza Maupin scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.
Lee, who is expected to miss about four weeks with her injury, missed all of last season while recovering from knee surgery.
"We had a few days of practice and knew it was going to be different, but we also know we have a good team and we played without (Lee) last year," said Sundell, who shot 6-for-9 from the floor, including 2-of-3 on 3-point attempts to go along with seven assists. "We're just very trusting in our bench and with people who step up. It's just a different game now but we're still confident."
K-State showed its maturity and confidence in not backing down when Kansas charged back and cut its deficit to three points twice in the final 7 minutes. Each time Kansas began creeping close, the Wildcats, and their fans, responded.
"Especially when we got into little sequences of the game when we weren't doing so well, the crowd was always there and full of energy, which gave us energy, and ultimately allowed us to go on runs," said Brylee Glenn, who played a career high-tying 37 minutes. "It was really fun to play in front of that many fans."
K-State has now won 17 of the last 21 games against Kansas.
"This game is always special," Mittie said. "It means a lot to our fans and means a lot to us. It's great to have a rival like this. But this was a special one. A lot of circumstances around it. Our team continues to answer the bell when it needs to. Now we have to keep that and keep it in practice. That's always the concern for me, not in the sense that I worry that they won't show up because I've referenced how they show up every day, but in the sense that every team gets into where they've got to be edgy, have an awareness and a concentration level to push through things.
"That'll be the challenge."
They should receive an assist from their fans, and arguably the best student section in the Big 12, the rest of the way.
"The crowd was great," Mittie said. "So many times, crowds are when you make big plays, but this crowd was different. They cheered when we needed to make a big play. That was a special moment of being in the game because that's a knowledgeable crowd. I heard them the one time when KU had made two or three baskets to get it down to 3, and the crowd stood up. I thought, 'That's the energy we need.'
"Then Zy hit the big 3 toward the end and that propelled us forward."
There will come a time this season when K-State needs its fans more than ever. Today, K-State is atop the Big 12 standings, but even the most talented teams enjoy an energy-building boost from their crowd. As the indomitable, entertaining, hard-nosed Wildcats continue to grow, the crowds should, too.
As we witnessed on Saturday, K-State, and its fans, form the perfect marriage.
Kansas State players warmed up prior to facing Kansas in the 130th edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. They had no idea what was in store. Their 2022 All-American center Ayoka Lee, the heart of the Wildcats, was out with a fractured ankle. The Jayhawks had won two of their last three games, including a 21-point victory over Baylor. Then there's the juice that comes with the in-state rivalry of two teams separated by a stretch of Interstate-70. No. there was no way of telling how this was going to end.
Then, one by one, K-State students, some bundled in heavy winter coats, and others wearing lavender jerseys, but all thawing from the wait in 4-degree weather, began their descent into the student section at Bramlage Coliseum. One by one, they marched, or trotted, or jogged down the steps, the rows quickly filling as 53, 52 then 51 minutes remained until tipoff. The only question was when the parade of students would stop.
They didn't stop.
Players of No. 7 K-State took notice. Yes, junior guard Serena Sundell stole a glance during warmups. She had not seen anything quite like it for a K-State women's basketball game. Her teammates took note as well. Adrenaline, yes, adrenaline was flowing. It flowed from the top of Bramlage, as the K-State pep band belted Wildcat Victory, and it flowed as the thawed-out students performed the Wabash Cannonball, and it flowed during pre-game introductions, as each starting player received brilliant, deafening cheers. Yes, it was the first women's basketball game for some K-State students, for sure, but it very well might not be their last, what with the electric energy crackling within the Wildcats with each step on the court, with their playmaking ability that makes them among the top-10 teams in America, and with their innate desire to please those fans who traveled and braved the cold to catch a glimpse of them on the hardwood in Manhattan.
A total crowd of 9,602 rocked Bramlage.
"It was amazing. K-State is amazing," Sundell said. "We want to keep getting wins for them."
The crowd's energy wasn't lost on Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider, who paid the Wildcats the biggest compliment that an opposing team, and its crowd, can receive.
"First, I want to compliment the K-State student section," Schneider said. "I've been a head coach for 26 years, and I thought that was the best road student section of a game that I've ever been a part of so credit to their students and all involved."
The game seemingly came and went in a blur, and boy, did the teams battle until K-State finally came away with a 69-58 win over Kansas, lifting the Wildcats to a 18-1 overall record, a 7-0 mark in the Big 12 Conference, and running their winning streak to 12 straight games.
K-State led 57-54 with 4 minutes, 16 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Then K-State junior guard Jaelyn Glenn hit a driving lay-up in the lane, and then redshirt freshman guard Zyanna Walker knocked down a crucial 3-pointer, as the Wildcats scored 12 of the game's final 16 points to hand the Jayhawks, 9-9 and 2-5, their second road loss in the last week.
"I love the fact," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said, "that Zy has continued to make big play in those moments for us. It's really fun to watch."
The Wildcats, all of them, are fun to watch, as well.
This K-State team is the deepest in Mittie's 10 seasons with the Wildcats. In the absence of Lee, who averages 19.8 points and 8.2 rebounds, Mittie expertly spread minutes around — seven different players played at least 16 minutes — while going with a first-time starting lineup of Gabby Gregory, Gisela Sanchez, Brylee Glenn, Jaelyn Glenn and Sundell.
Sundell and Walker scored 15 points apiece, Brylee Glenn had 13, Jaelyn Glenn had nine points, and Eliza Maupin scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.
Lee, who is expected to miss about four weeks with her injury, missed all of last season while recovering from knee surgery.
"We had a few days of practice and knew it was going to be different, but we also know we have a good team and we played without (Lee) last year," said Sundell, who shot 6-for-9 from the floor, including 2-of-3 on 3-point attempts to go along with seven assists. "We're just very trusting in our bench and with people who step up. It's just a different game now but we're still confident."
K-State showed its maturity and confidence in not backing down when Kansas charged back and cut its deficit to three points twice in the final 7 minutes. Each time Kansas began creeping close, the Wildcats, and their fans, responded.
"Especially when we got into little sequences of the game when we weren't doing so well, the crowd was always there and full of energy, which gave us energy, and ultimately allowed us to go on runs," said Brylee Glenn, who played a career high-tying 37 minutes. "It was really fun to play in front of that many fans."
K-State has now won 17 of the last 21 games against Kansas.
"This game is always special," Mittie said. "It means a lot to our fans and means a lot to us. It's great to have a rival like this. But this was a special one. A lot of circumstances around it. Our team continues to answer the bell when it needs to. Now we have to keep that and keep it in practice. That's always the concern for me, not in the sense that I worry that they won't show up because I've referenced how they show up every day, but in the sense that every team gets into where they've got to be edgy, have an awareness and a concentration level to push through things.
"That'll be the challenge."
They should receive an assist from their fans, and arguably the best student section in the Big 12, the rest of the way.
"The crowd was great," Mittie said. "So many times, crowds are when you make big plays, but this crowd was different. They cheered when we needed to make a big play. That was a special moment of being in the game because that's a knowledgeable crowd. I heard them the one time when KU had made two or three baskets to get it down to 3, and the crowd stood up. I thought, 'That's the energy we need.'
"Then Zy hit the big 3 toward the end and that propelled us forward."
There will come a time this season when K-State needs its fans more than ever. Today, K-State is atop the Big 12 standings, but even the most talented teams enjoy an energy-building boost from their crowd. As the indomitable, entertaining, hard-nosed Wildcats continue to grow, the crowds should, too.
As we witnessed on Saturday, K-State, and its fans, form the perfect marriage.
Players Mentioned
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