(9/12) K-State Rolls Past Central Arkansas

MANHATTAN, Kan. – (9/12) K-State used a stellar first quarter to roll to its sixth straight home win with an 86-39 victory over Central Arkansas at Bramlage Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The 39 points were a season-low by a K-State opponent this season.

K-State (7-1) featured five players in double figures led by the tandem of Serena Sundell and Taryn Sides. Sundell carded a game-high 17 points on a 6-of-7 effort from the field and dished out seven assists. Sides came off the bench to notch a career-high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from long range and dish out four assists.

Ayoka Lee tallied 12 points with six rebounds and two blocks. Lee lowered the number to break the school record for career points, as she trails Kendra Wecker's school record mark of 2,333 by 13 points.

Seniors Temira Poindexter and Jaelyn Glenn also added 10 points each, while Poindexter tallied three assists, three steals and two blocks and Glenn registered five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- K-State registered a season-high for a first quarter by building a 29-5 lead at the end of the first stanza. Seven different Wildcats scored in the opening 10 minutes.
- The Wildcats held Central Arkansas (4-2) to 22.2 percent (2-of-9) shooting in the first quarter. The five points allowed by K-State in the first quarter were the fewest by a K-State opponent in a first quarter this season and tied for the fewest in any quarter this season (5, Green Bay, Nov. 4).
- K-State's defense registered nine steals in the opening quarter, as Zyanna Walker carded five steals, while Jaelyn Glenn added three.
- Sundell took over the second quarter, carding 10 of K-State's 23 points in the frame to push the Wildcats into a 52-13 lead at halftime.
- This was the second time this season (12, Green Bay; Nov. 4) that K-State has held an opponent under 15 points in a half. The Wildcats forced 14 turnovers, including 10 by way of a steal, and held a 22-0 advantage in points off turnovers in the first half.
- K-State ended the third quarter on a 16-2 run to hold a 77-25 lead entering the fourth quarter.
- The Wildcats held the Sugar Bears to 28.0 percent (14-of-50) shooting, including a 2-of-19 (.105) effort from long range. Central Arkansas entered Sunday's contest as one of the top-five teams in the nation for 3-point field goal percentage at 40.7 percent.
- Kansas State shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field and knocked down a season-high 12 three-pointers (12-of-25; .480).

QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with Central Arkansas, 6-0. The Wildcats are 10-0 against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
- K-State is 402-156 (.720) in its 37-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats own a 235-30 (.887) record against non-conference opponents inside Bramlage.
- K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 651-371 (.637). During his time in Manhattan, Mittie has collected a mark of 196-136 (.590). Mittie is 406-113 (.782) in games played in his home venue, including a 132-48 (.733) mark in Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State owns a record of 255-96 (.726) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 17-7 (.708) all-time when ranked 9th in the nation.
- The Wildcats are 245-103 (.704) in games played in the month of December, including an active eight-game winning streak dating back to the start of December 2023. Under Mittie, K-State is 44-18 (.710) in games during the 12th month.

TEAM NOTES
- K-State's starting five consisted of guards: Zyanna Walker, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell; forward Temira Poindexter and center Ayoka Lee. This was the seventh time this lineup has started together this season. This was the 121st career start for Lee, the 111th career start for Sundell, the 107th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 95th career collegiate start and eighth at K-State for Poindexter and the eighth career start for Walker. With her 121st career start at K-State, Lee remains in eighth in program history for career starts.
- The Wildcats held a 52-13 lead at halftime on Sunday. Under Mittie, K-State is 157-19 (.892) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats have led at the half in seven games this season (7-0).
- K-State has scored 20-or more points in a quarter 18 times this season, including three quarters on Sunday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 139-62 (.692) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game.
- K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter in the first, second and third quarters. The Wildcats have 17 quarters this season of 50.0 percent or better shooting.
- Over the last four seasons, K-State is 49-3 (.942) when holding the advantage on the glass.
- K-State improved to 98-8 (.925) when handing out 20 or more assists in a game. The Wildcats have dished out 20 or more assists in six games this season (6-0).
- K-State recorded a combination of 21 blocks and steals (eight blocks, 13 steals) on Sunday. In the Jeff Mittie era, K-State is 25-1 when achieving a combination of 20 or more blocks and steals in a game.

PLAYER NOTES
- Lee needs 13 points to pass Kendra Wecker (2001-05; 2,333 points) for the school record for points in a career. Lee's career point total stands at 2,321. Lee tallied her 111th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career (121 games).
- Lee hauled in six rebounds on Sunday. Lee's career total for rebounds stands at 1,163, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds. Lee is seventh in Big 12 history for career rebounds. This was her 106th career game with five or more rebounds.
- Lee carded two blocks on Sunday. This improved her school record total to 322 career blocks. She needs nine blocks to move into fourth in Big 12 history. This was her 84th career game with two or more blocks.
- Sundell notched her 77th career game with 10 or more points. Sundell owns 1,360 career points and moved into 14th on the K-State career scoring list, passing Shanele Stires (1,344; 1992-95).
- Sundell's seven assists on Sunday improved her career total to 594 and passed Megan Mahoney (2001-05; 589) for second in school history. This was her 70th career game with five or more assists.
- Walker tallied a career-high five steals on Sunday. This was her third career game with four or more steals and her 14th career game with two or more steals.
- Sides reached double figures for points for the fourth time in the last five games and for the seventh time in her career.
- Sides connected on a career-high five 3-point field goals on Sunday. This marks her 14th career game with two or more connections from long range. She joins Poindexter for the K-State season-high.
- With her 10 points on Sunday, Glenn improved her career total to 931 points. She needs 69 points to become the 46th player in program history to score 1,000 or more career points at K-State. This was her 43rd career game with 10 or more points and her fourth this season.
- Jaelyn Glenn hauled in five rebounds on Sunday. This was her 48th career game with five or more rebounds and her fifth this season. Glenn boosted her career rebounding total to 507 with Sunday's effort. She needs seven rebounds to move into 30th on the K-State career rebounds list.
- Glenn dished out three assists on Sunday. Her career assists total stands at 237 and ranks 23rdin school history for career assists.
- Poindexter tallied her 85th career game with 10 or more points and her fifth this season. Her career collegiate point total stands at 1,648.
- Poindexter connected on three 3-pointers on Sunday. This was her third game with two or more connections from long range and the 57th of her career.
- Poindexter tallied three steals on Sunday, her 30th career game with two or more steals.
- Poindexter sent back two shots on Sunday. This was her 43rd career game and her third this season with two or more blocks.

FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the chemistry between Taryn Sides and Serena Sundell as roommates…
"I think they're just really good friends. They spend a lot of time together in the gym, which is a big benefit for point guards who are around each other a lot. Serena has been through over 100 games, and having her and Taryn be so close is definitely a benefit. They really understand how to play together, and you can see that connection when they're on the court. It certainly doesn't hurt, right?"

On how the two point guards played…
"I thought our group did a great job early in the game of making the right plays. You don't always shoot well, but we were making smart decisions. Central Arkansas was committed to packing the paint and preventing [Ayoka] Lee from getting touches inside. I thought we responded with the right level of aggressiveness, making the right passes to the right players. Overall, I was really pleased with how we started."

On implementing a press defense…
"We've been working on it in practice, and I came into the game wanting to test it out a little since we really haven't used it in a game yet. There's a difference between practicing it and having some film to review. I'm not sure how many times we used it today, but I thought it went well."

On how much the Vegas tournament improved the team…
"I don't think I'll have a clear answer until we're in a game where a team really punches back. We didn't respond well to that against Duke, but I thought we had a much better response in the DePaul game. DePaul did come back at us a couple of times, and we answered their runs with some of our own. That's something we need to do consistently. From a schematic standpoint, I thought our defensive wall was better early in this game. [Zyanna ]Walker and Jaelyn [Glenn] got us off to a great start, and our centers performed better on the ball screen. Those were areas we struggled with coming out of Vegas, but I thought we did much better tonight."

On the overall ball movement…
"I think our ball movement has been really good against teams that don't pressure us much, but we get too stagnant against teams that do. That's something we need to work on in practice. When you look at the games where we've had big margins, our ball movement has been excellent. However, doing it effectively against pressure teams is where we need to improve. We've got to be better at it in practice because right now, we're still too inconsistent."

FROM THE FLOOR
K-State Senior Guard Serena Sundell
On her relationship with sophomore guard Taryn Sides…
"I've said this since this summer. Taryn is a gym rat, so anytime she's going to the gym getting extra shots, it forces me to want to come with her. She's worked so hard, so to see her kind of have some success out there and knock down threes, I've said this once and I'll say it again, every time she shoots the ball, I feel like it's going in. You don't feel that about every player, but just to see her kind of take the things that Coach [Jeff] Mittie is telling her and implement that, you see it pay off on the court. And then we had a few plays together tonight that were fun, some flips to each other and just finding each other on the court, it's just fun. When you spend so much time with not only Taryn, but all these girls, to see them find success in any way, whether that's points or rebounds or steals."

On Ayoka Lee's pursuit of the K-State career scoring record…
"I'm aware. I'm excited for her. I will be watching the scoreboard next game to see the moment she gets it, because she deserves a big celebration for that. That's a huge accomplishment, and I'm excited for her."

K-State Sophomore Guard Taryn Sides
On playing at home after being away…
"It feels good to be back. I love playing at home, I'm sure every girl does. It's just a different feeling. The crowd tonight was great. They gave us a boost of energy, and it just felt good to be back."

On her performance over the past few weeks…
"I think I'm just getting more comfortable and more confident. Coach [Jeff] Mittie put an emphasis on me to just continue to move without the ball, so I can get open looks for my teammates as well as myself. I think my teammates are doing a great job of finding me when I am open for that split second, so I can just let it fly."

On her relationship with senior guard Serena Sundell…
"I think it does [help] a lot, because we'll go home and we'll watch the games together, or we'll watch highlight videos of the other team and scout them together. I think you build that chemistry naturally when you're together 24/7. Like she said, it's just a lot of fun to play with her and I told her last game, and in this game, but I love when you're just aggressive, because you're hard to stop when you're aggressive."

UP NEXT
K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., against Eastern Illinois. For tickets, visit kstatesports.com/tickets.

Tuesday's game will air on ESPN+ and will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and the flagship stations of K-State women's basketball in Manhattan, Sunny 102.5 and 1350 KMAN.

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.

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Team Stats

Serena Sundell

Taryn Sides

Ayoka Lee

Temira Poindexter

Players Mentioned

Jaelyn Glenn

Ayoka Lee

Temira Poindexter

Taryn Sides

Serena Sundell

Zyanna Walker

Players Mentioned

Jaelyn Glenn

Ayoka Lee

Temira Poindexter

Taryn Sides

Serena Sundell

Zyanna Walker

Kansas State University Athletics