Gutting Out a Big Road Win
Jan 23, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
With one final blocked shot by Jaelyn Glenn on a game-ending 3-point attempt by Dre'Una Edwards, No. 4 Kansas State outlasted No. 13 Baylor, 58-55, on Monday, lifting the Wildcats their best start in school history while leaving Waco, Texas, victorious for the first time since February 8, 2003.
K-State, 19-1 and 8-0, secured its 13th straight win by holding Baylor, 15-2 and 4-2, an offense that averages 81 points per game to just 16 second-half points behind a deft zone defense that the Wildcats utilized after halftime.
"For us defensively, that was the tale of two halves," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I was really disappointed in our defense the first half, and I couldn't have been more pleased in the second half with what we did. So, we're really happy for our group to just battle through it."
Meanwhile, one by one, K-State players rose up to hit critical shots at Foster Pavilion.
Serena Sundell, Gabby Gregory and Eliza Maupin each scored 16 points for the Wildcats, who handed the Bears their first home loss this season. It wasn't until Maupin hit her first-career 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game that the Wildcats took a 50-49 lead after trailing by as many as 13 points late in the second quarter.
"Eliza Maupin was absolutely huge for us tonight," Mittie said. "She made huge plays all the way around and happy for that kid. She's put in the work the last couple of weeks and really improved, and she was really starting to pick up on some things that we need her to do."
K-State held Baylor without any points over the last 4:34. After Maupin's 3-pointer and a layup, Gregory hit a layup, and then Sundell hit a layup for a 56-55 lead with 3:27 remaining.
The Wildcats did not trail again to improve to 8-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since the formation of the league in 1996-97.
Sundell shot 5-for-9 from the floor and added five rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block. Maupin had a season high in points (16) and rebounds (nine).
K-State improved to 4-1 against AP Top 25 foes and is one of just six teams in the nation to post at least four wins against ranked opponents this season.
Baylor was the latest opponent to feel the Wildcats' wrath on defense. K-State entered the game sixth in the nation in scoring defense (51.9 points) and second nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.322) and first nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.216). K-State has now held 18 opponents to under 60 points in a game this season.
K-State came off a 69-58 win over Kansas on Saturday in Manhattan. The Wildcats were scheduled to play at TCU on January 17 — a game that TCU forfeited due to a lack of healthy players.
"This is our third game in six days and our second trip to Texas," Mittie said. "We've played one game, but we still had travel (to TCU). This was going to be a tough stretch for us, and both teams were playing on 48 hours (rest), which is a part of tournament basketball.
"We had a lot of players, and they had a lot of players exert a lot of energy. Both teams were fatigued in stretches of this game. I was really proud of our group for gutting one out because we didn't play well in the first half."
Baylor had a chance to tie the score with 10.8 seconds left. Sundell committed a quick foul as the Wildcats had three fouls to give. On the ensuing inbound play for the Bears, Jada Walker took possession and heaved the ball at the basket anticipating a K-State foul that never came. A scramble for the ball led to one last possession for the Bears with 2.7 seconds left.
Glenn blocked Edwards' 3-pointer to seal the victory.
"I've been really pleased with this group for how it has played for the most part, every possession and their DNA has been a lot of hard work all the way back to June," Mittie said. "So, it doesn't surprise me that we hung in there, but we got tested tonight. We were frustrated. Baylor did a great job in the first half. They frustrated us, and I did feel fortunate to be only down nine at half. And I just thought we got more confident as the game went on.
"I thought we got stronger as the game went on."
With one final blocked shot by Jaelyn Glenn on a game-ending 3-point attempt by Dre'Una Edwards, No. 4 Kansas State outlasted No. 13 Baylor, 58-55, on Monday, lifting the Wildcats their best start in school history while leaving Waco, Texas, victorious for the first time since February 8, 2003.
K-State, 19-1 and 8-0, secured its 13th straight win by holding Baylor, 15-2 and 4-2, an offense that averages 81 points per game to just 16 second-half points behind a deft zone defense that the Wildcats utilized after halftime.
"For us defensively, that was the tale of two halves," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "I was really disappointed in our defense the first half, and I couldn't have been more pleased in the second half with what we did. So, we're really happy for our group to just battle through it."
Meanwhile, one by one, K-State players rose up to hit critical shots at Foster Pavilion.
Serena Sundell, Gabby Gregory and Eliza Maupin each scored 16 points for the Wildcats, who handed the Bears their first home loss this season. It wasn't until Maupin hit her first-career 3-pointer with 7 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game that the Wildcats took a 50-49 lead after trailing by as many as 13 points late in the second quarter.
"Eliza Maupin was absolutely huge for us tonight," Mittie said. "She made huge plays all the way around and happy for that kid. She's put in the work the last couple of weeks and really improved, and she was really starting to pick up on some things that we need her to do."
K-State held Baylor without any points over the last 4:34. After Maupin's 3-pointer and a layup, Gregory hit a layup, and then Sundell hit a layup for a 56-55 lead with 3:27 remaining.
The Wildcats did not trail again to improve to 8-0 in the Big 12 for the first time since the formation of the league in 1996-97.
Sundell shot 5-for-9 from the floor and added five rebounds, three assists, four steals and one block. Maupin had a season high in points (16) and rebounds (nine).
K-State improved to 4-1 against AP Top 25 foes and is one of just six teams in the nation to post at least four wins against ranked opponents this season.
Baylor was the latest opponent to feel the Wildcats' wrath on defense. K-State entered the game sixth in the nation in scoring defense (51.9 points) and second nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.322) and first nationally in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.216). K-State has now held 18 opponents to under 60 points in a game this season.
K-State came off a 69-58 win over Kansas on Saturday in Manhattan. The Wildcats were scheduled to play at TCU on January 17 — a game that TCU forfeited due to a lack of healthy players.
"This is our third game in six days and our second trip to Texas," Mittie said. "We've played one game, but we still had travel (to TCU). This was going to be a tough stretch for us, and both teams were playing on 48 hours (rest), which is a part of tournament basketball.
"We had a lot of players, and they had a lot of players exert a lot of energy. Both teams were fatigued in stretches of this game. I was really proud of our group for gutting one out because we didn't play well in the first half."
Baylor had a chance to tie the score with 10.8 seconds left. Sundell committed a quick foul as the Wildcats had three fouls to give. On the ensuing inbound play for the Bears, Jada Walker took possession and heaved the ball at the basket anticipating a K-State foul that never came. A scramble for the ball led to one last possession for the Bears with 2.7 seconds left.
Glenn blocked Edwards' 3-pointer to seal the victory.
"I've been really pleased with this group for how it has played for the most part, every possession and their DNA has been a lot of hard work all the way back to June," Mittie said. "So, it doesn't surprise me that we hung in there, but we got tested tonight. We were frustrated. Baylor did a great job in the first half. They frustrated us, and I did feel fortunate to be only down nine at half. And I just thought we got more confident as the game went on.
"I thought we got stronger as the game went on."
Players Mentioned
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