Cats Put Off-Season Work on Display
Oct 31, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Temira Poindexter envisioned nights like this when the athletic guard transferred to No. 13 Kansas State. Hitting from long range and even an acrobatic alley-oop layup, Poindexter didn't miss a shot while scoring 14 points in 13 minutes, as the Wildcats raced past Washburn in an 89-36 victory in an exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum.
Poindexter came to K-State after starring at Tulsa as an All-American and the seventh-leading scorer in Division I basketball last season. The 6-foot-2 guard quickly found a home in the Wildcats' starting lineup and already is making a sizable impact.
"It's been good," Poindexter said. "I feel like I've integrated into the team pretty well. They've all been so welcoming and supportive. We played good tonight. It was good practice, but we still have a lot of stuff we obviously need to work on. Overall, it was a good practice game for us.
"Honestly, it's everything I thought it would be so far."
Poindexter averaged 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks, joining USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Buekers as the only players in the nation with 700 points and 50 blocks in 2023-24.
She started on Wednesday alongside All-American Ayoka Lee, Preseason All-Big 12 selection Serena Sundell, Zyanna Walker and Jaelyn Glenn — all of whom appeared polished coming off a productive offseason.
Lee, the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds in 12 minutes, scoring eight points in a flurry early in the third quarter before she sat the rest of the game. Walker finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes. Kennedy Taylor came off the bench for 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Sundell had nine points, as did Taryn Sides, who came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers.
"There will be some things that we really like," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "At times we played really unselfish. We saw Poindexter do some good things out there. I thought Jaelyn was really active defensively, Serena had a pretty good pace to her. Defense got better as the game went on. I go into every exhibition game and every scrimmage and pretty much the minutes are already decided. It's way more important for me to get answers about our rotation and to see different lineups. There were some good things."
Last season, Walker, a Wichita native, came off the bench to average 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists. She came to K-State after her freshman season at Louisville. She was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 15 overall player in the Class of 2022, earning 2022 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year honors at Wichita Heights High School.
A redshirt sophomore, Walker looks comfortable surrounded by her senior teammates.
"I've been working so hard," Walker said. "It's been a long journey. I'm glad all the work and time and blood, sweat and tears are paying off. We work really well together. We have returners and Temira coming in. She just fits really well with us. She's an overall bucket. We've really learned what each other likes and how to play with each other really well."
Mittie called Walker "the hardest worker since spring."
"She's in the gym all the time," he said. "I've caught Zy doing a lot of right things. I like what she gives us defensively. She has the ability to really be active there and offensively her game continues to grow."
There were no tricks, only treats for those K-State fans able to make the trip amid substantial rainstorms to see the Wildcats' first public appearance at Bramlage.
K-State officially opens its season against Green Bay here on Monday at 11 a.m.
K-State outshot Washburn 48.5% to 23.2%, outrebounded the Ichabods 53 to 31, and forced 31 turnovers. K-State turned a 40-19 halftime lead into a 53-point victory to improve to 6-0 against Washburn.
K-State, which earlier this month was picked first in the Big 12 preseason poll, returns eight of its top nine scorers from a squad that went 26-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Lee was named Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and Sundell joined her on the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
Lee, who already owns a pair of K-State all-time records with 1,118 rebounds and 310 blocks, needs just 140 points to reach 2,334 career points and become the program's all-time leading scorer.
Sundell is the only player in program history with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 50 blocks.
It figures to be milestones abound this season for K-State players, as Sundell needs 41 assists to rank second all-time in program history, Jaelyn Glenn needs 145 points to reach 1,000 in her career, and Brylee Glenn needs 238 to reach the same mile marker.
Mittie needs 10 wins to become the third K-State head coach to reach 200 wins with the Wildcats.
"I'm so excited to see where we end up. I think it could be a really long season for us, and that'll be really exciting," Walker said, indicating a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. "I just can't wait to play in front of these great fans at the Bram this season."
Ten different players saw the court and six players scored as K-State built a 21-9 lead after one quarter. By the end of the game, 10 players had scored at least three points apiece and all had played at least 12 minutes.
Poindexter scored six points in the first frame and had 11 after two quarters.
K-State reached its first 20-point lead when Sundell swept inside the lane for a layup for a 31-11 advantage with 6:43 left in the second quarter. Poindexter scored her 11th point on an inbounds alley-oop pass from Sundell.
"I was really pleased with Poindexter's unselfishness in stretches," Mittie said. "She didn't force things or do crazy things. She played within herself. I think you'll see her make more plays as the season goes."
Lee scored her first basket on an inside move with 5:57 left in the second quarter for a 35-11 lead. She had three points in the first half, then went on a mini-tear in the third quarter, and looked downright unstoppable. Washburn called timeout after her fourth basket in less than three minutes made it 51-21.
Mittie utilized various rotations throughout the game as the Wildcats' lead continued to grow.
"I told Yokie after she got the couple minutes in the third, 'I'd like for your night to be done, are you good with that?'" Mittie said. "She said she was good with it. She said, 'That's fine.' I think she was kind of excited to play, quite honestly, but she's smart enough to know the better of the team is to get (backups) more experience and we were fortunate to do that."
Temira Poindexter envisioned nights like this when the athletic guard transferred to No. 13 Kansas State. Hitting from long range and even an acrobatic alley-oop layup, Poindexter didn't miss a shot while scoring 14 points in 13 minutes, as the Wildcats raced past Washburn in an 89-36 victory in an exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum.
Poindexter came to K-State after starring at Tulsa as an All-American and the seventh-leading scorer in Division I basketball last season. The 6-foot-2 guard quickly found a home in the Wildcats' starting lineup and already is making a sizable impact.
"It's been good," Poindexter said. "I feel like I've integrated into the team pretty well. They've all been so welcoming and supportive. We played good tonight. It was good practice, but we still have a lot of stuff we obviously need to work on. Overall, it was a good practice game for us.
"Honestly, it's everything I thought it would be so far."
Poindexter averaged 21.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks, joining USC's JuJu Watkins and UConn's Paige Buekers as the only players in the nation with 700 points and 50 blocks in 2023-24.
She started on Wednesday alongside All-American Ayoka Lee, Preseason All-Big 12 selection Serena Sundell, Zyanna Walker and Jaelyn Glenn — all of whom appeared polished coming off a productive offseason.
Lee, the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds in 12 minutes, scoring eight points in a flurry early in the third quarter before she sat the rest of the game. Walker finished with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes. Kennedy Taylor came off the bench for 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Sundell had nine points, as did Taryn Sides, who came off the bench to hit three 3-pointers.
"There will be some things that we really like," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. "At times we played really unselfish. We saw Poindexter do some good things out there. I thought Jaelyn was really active defensively, Serena had a pretty good pace to her. Defense got better as the game went on. I go into every exhibition game and every scrimmage and pretty much the minutes are already decided. It's way more important for me to get answers about our rotation and to see different lineups. There were some good things."
Last season, Walker, a Wichita native, came off the bench to average 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists. She came to K-State after her freshman season at Louisville. She was rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 15 overall player in the Class of 2022, earning 2022 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year honors at Wichita Heights High School.
A redshirt sophomore, Walker looks comfortable surrounded by her senior teammates.
"I've been working so hard," Walker said. "It's been a long journey. I'm glad all the work and time and blood, sweat and tears are paying off. We work really well together. We have returners and Temira coming in. She just fits really well with us. She's an overall bucket. We've really learned what each other likes and how to play with each other really well."
Mittie called Walker "the hardest worker since spring."
"She's in the gym all the time," he said. "I've caught Zy doing a lot of right things. I like what she gives us defensively. She has the ability to really be active there and offensively her game continues to grow."
There were no tricks, only treats for those K-State fans able to make the trip amid substantial rainstorms to see the Wildcats' first public appearance at Bramlage.
K-State officially opens its season against Green Bay here on Monday at 11 a.m.
K-State outshot Washburn 48.5% to 23.2%, outrebounded the Ichabods 53 to 31, and forced 31 turnovers. K-State turned a 40-19 halftime lead into a 53-point victory to improve to 6-0 against Washburn.
K-State, which earlier this month was picked first in the Big 12 preseason poll, returns eight of its top nine scorers from a squad that went 26-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Lee was named Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and Sundell joined her on the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
Lee, who already owns a pair of K-State all-time records with 1,118 rebounds and 310 blocks, needs just 140 points to reach 2,334 career points and become the program's all-time leading scorer.
Sundell is the only player in program history with 1,000 points, 500 assists and 50 blocks.
It figures to be milestones abound this season for K-State players, as Sundell needs 41 assists to rank second all-time in program history, Jaelyn Glenn needs 145 points to reach 1,000 in her career, and Brylee Glenn needs 238 to reach the same mile marker.
Mittie needs 10 wins to become the third K-State head coach to reach 200 wins with the Wildcats.
"I'm so excited to see where we end up. I think it could be a really long season for us, and that'll be really exciting," Walker said, indicating a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. "I just can't wait to play in front of these great fans at the Bram this season."
Ten different players saw the court and six players scored as K-State built a 21-9 lead after one quarter. By the end of the game, 10 players had scored at least three points apiece and all had played at least 12 minutes.
Poindexter scored six points in the first frame and had 11 after two quarters.
K-State reached its first 20-point lead when Sundell swept inside the lane for a layup for a 31-11 advantage with 6:43 left in the second quarter. Poindexter scored her 11th point on an inbounds alley-oop pass from Sundell.
"I was really pleased with Poindexter's unselfishness in stretches," Mittie said. "She didn't force things or do crazy things. She played within herself. I think you'll see her make more plays as the season goes."
Lee scored her first basket on an inside move with 5:57 left in the second quarter for a 35-11 lead. She had three points in the first half, then went on a mini-tear in the third quarter, and looked downright unstoppable. Washburn called timeout after her fourth basket in less than three minutes made it 51-21.
Mittie utilized various rotations throughout the game as the Wildcats' lead continued to grow.
"I told Yokie after she got the couple minutes in the third, 'I'd like for your night to be done, are you good with that?'" Mittie said. "She said she was good with it. She said, 'That's fine.' I think she was kind of excited to play, quite honestly, but she's smart enough to know the better of the team is to get (backups) more experience and we were fortunate to do that."
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