A Team Full of Competitors
Feb 19, 2024 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Everything had to go perfect. Zyanna Walker had to get the basketball. She had to pass it to Serena Sundell. Sundell had to find Jaelyn Glenn screaming down the court, beating the UCF defense. And Glenn had to make the layup and beat the clock to secure the victory. Everything had to be perfect. And they executed it all in perfect sequence as No. 7 Kansas State gutted out a 60-58 win over the Knights on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Some will argue this was K-State's latest escape. Others will contend this was the latest demonstration of the Wildcats' tough-mindedness down the stretch and an illustration of their mental fortitude and endurance to make the big plays late — even without their All-American candidate Ayoka Lee.
K-State, 22-4 overall and 11-3 in the Big 12 Conference, is now 5-2 in the nation's toughest league without the services of their senior center. Lee averages 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
"It says we have really good competitors," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie says. "This is a competitive group. We're getting more people experience at making tough plays in tough situations. Going 5-2 without Lee is really good."
Lee missed six straight games while rehabbing a left ankle fracture that required surgery. She returned and delivered 20 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes in a 96-93 overtime loss at Iowa State this past Wednesday.
However, K-State announced prior to Saturday's tipoff against UCF that Lee would miss the game and was day-to-day with an injured right ankle suffered against the Cyclones.
That meant that the Wildcats, who determined at 10:30 a.m. prior to the 4:00 p.m. tipoff that Lee wouldn't play, had to step things into another gear again while reverting to the mentality that they carried during the previous games of her absence.
Sometimes that's difficult to do on short notice.
"Obviously, it's tough not having Yokie out there," says K-State senior guard Gabby Gregory, who had a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds against the Knights. "There's no replacing a player like her. To not have her is really tough and to get her back for a game and lose her again, it sucks, but we just have to keep going and just keep winning."
They're doing so in nail-biting fashion.
The last seven K-State games have been decided by seven or fewer points. The Wildcats have won four of them. Their wins over the stretch include victories at No. 13 Baylor (58-55), against BYU (67-65), against Oklahoma State (69-68) and UCF. Their three losses over the stretch were at Oklahoma (66-63) and at No. 12 Texas (61-54) before the double-overtime thriller in Ames, Iowa.
"There's a variety of reasons why you win close games," Mittie says. "Your team has a collective will to make the play and you've got to execute in that stretch. We're getting better at that."
And K-State has seen a variety of players come alive in key moments while taking their game to another level. Consider seven different players have scored in double figures at least once over the past seven games. That includes All-American candidate Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Zyanna Walker, Gabby Gregory, Eliza Maupin, Gisela Sanchez, and Jaelyn Glenn.
"I just knew we were down a player, and that's an opportunity for me to step up and for our team to step up and take it to the next level," says Maupin, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds against UCF. "That's what I did tonight."
K-State was deemed the 13th best team overall in the first reveal of the NCAA Women's Basketball Committee's Top 16 seed selections on Thursday on ESPN. Of those top-16 teams, the Wildcats' average margin of defeat (5.0) ranks second best, and they join South Carolina, Ohio State, Iowa and Texas as the only top-16 teams without a double-digit loss this season.
When it comes to winning, not many major-college teams in the nation have been better than K-State. In fact, only South Carolina (24-0), Texas (24-3), Stanford (23-3) and Iowa (23-3) have more victories than the Wildcats this season — a remarkable given the absence of Lee.
Asked what she wanted the nation to know about K-State women's basketball, Gregory replied, "Seeing that we were (near) the top (of the Top 16 Reveal) and hosting, that's really what we're hoping for. We want to host. We have one of the biggest homecourt advantages in the country. The K-State fans just continue to show up. Every time we play at home we feel it.
"The nation? I don't really care what they think, honestly, but we just have to continue fighting and growing and winning basketball games, and they'll notice eventually the type of basketball team we have."
Everything had to go perfect. Zyanna Walker had to get the basketball. She had to pass it to Serena Sundell. Sundell had to find Jaelyn Glenn screaming down the court, beating the UCF defense. And Glenn had to make the layup and beat the clock to secure the victory. Everything had to be perfect. And they executed it all in perfect sequence as No. 7 Kansas State gutted out a 60-58 win over the Knights on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
Some will argue this was K-State's latest escape. Others will contend this was the latest demonstration of the Wildcats' tough-mindedness down the stretch and an illustration of their mental fortitude and endurance to make the big plays late — even without their All-American candidate Ayoka Lee.
K-State, 22-4 overall and 11-3 in the Big 12 Conference, is now 5-2 in the nation's toughest league without the services of their senior center. Lee averages 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.
"It says we have really good competitors," K-State head coach Jeff Mittie says. "This is a competitive group. We're getting more people experience at making tough plays in tough situations. Going 5-2 without Lee is really good."
Lee missed six straight games while rehabbing a left ankle fracture that required surgery. She returned and delivered 20 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes in a 96-93 overtime loss at Iowa State this past Wednesday.
However, K-State announced prior to Saturday's tipoff against UCF that Lee would miss the game and was day-to-day with an injured right ankle suffered against the Cyclones.
That meant that the Wildcats, who determined at 10:30 a.m. prior to the 4:00 p.m. tipoff that Lee wouldn't play, had to step things into another gear again while reverting to the mentality that they carried during the previous games of her absence.
Sometimes that's difficult to do on short notice.
"Obviously, it's tough not having Yokie out there," says K-State senior guard Gabby Gregory, who had a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds against the Knights. "There's no replacing a player like her. To not have her is really tough and to get her back for a game and lose her again, it sucks, but we just have to keep going and just keep winning."
They're doing so in nail-biting fashion.
The last seven K-State games have been decided by seven or fewer points. The Wildcats have won four of them. Their wins over the stretch include victories at No. 13 Baylor (58-55), against BYU (67-65), against Oklahoma State (69-68) and UCF. Their three losses over the stretch were at Oklahoma (66-63) and at No. 12 Texas (61-54) before the double-overtime thriller in Ames, Iowa.
"There's a variety of reasons why you win close games," Mittie says. "Your team has a collective will to make the play and you've got to execute in that stretch. We're getting better at that."
And K-State has seen a variety of players come alive in key moments while taking their game to another level. Consider seven different players have scored in double figures at least once over the past seven games. That includes All-American candidate Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Zyanna Walker, Gabby Gregory, Eliza Maupin, Gisela Sanchez, and Jaelyn Glenn.
"I just knew we were down a player, and that's an opportunity for me to step up and for our team to step up and take it to the next level," says Maupin, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds against UCF. "That's what I did tonight."
K-State was deemed the 13th best team overall in the first reveal of the NCAA Women's Basketball Committee's Top 16 seed selections on Thursday on ESPN. Of those top-16 teams, the Wildcats' average margin of defeat (5.0) ranks second best, and they join South Carolina, Ohio State, Iowa and Texas as the only top-16 teams without a double-digit loss this season.
When it comes to winning, not many major-college teams in the nation have been better than K-State. In fact, only South Carolina (24-0), Texas (24-3), Stanford (23-3) and Iowa (23-3) have more victories than the Wildcats this season — a remarkable given the absence of Lee.
Asked what she wanted the nation to know about K-State women's basketball, Gregory replied, "Seeing that we were (near) the top (of the Top 16 Reveal) and hosting, that's really what we're hoping for. We want to host. We have one of the biggest homecourt advantages in the country. The K-State fans just continue to show up. Every time we play at home we feel it.
"The nation? I don't really care what they think, honestly, but we just have to continue fighting and growing and winning basketball games, and they'll notice eventually the type of basketball team we have."
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballK-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
