(10/9) K-State Visits KU Sunday for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

GAME #28
(10/9) Kansas State (23-4, 12-3 Big 12) at Kansas (15-11, 8-7 Big 12)
Sunday, February 25, 2024 | 1 p.m. | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) | Lawrence, Kan.

TELEVISION
ESPN2
Play-by-Play: Brenda Vanlengen
Analyst: Nikki Fargas

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagship: Sunny 102.5 & 1350 KMAN
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Randy Peterson

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

SERIES HISTORY vs. Kansas
80-50
• The two teams have played at least twice every season since 1968-69.
• K-State leads the series with Kansas, 80-50.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 20-9 against Kansas, including a 17-4 record while coaching at K-State.
• Over the last 49 meetings, K-State is 39-10 against the Jayhawks.

MANHATTAN, Kansas - One of the longest continuous rivalries in all of women's college basketball is set for the 131st all-time meeting, as (10/9) K-State (23-4, 12-3 Big 12) visits Kansas (15-11, 8-7) in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Sunday at 1 p.m.

• With a win on Sunday, K-State will secure its 13th Big 12 win of the season. A 13th league win would be the most since the 2007-08 season (13).
• Sunday's game can be seen on ESPN2, as Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Nikki Fargas (analyst) will have the call.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Mittie Named a Naismith CoY Candidate
• K-State head coach Jeff Mittie has been named to the 2024 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List presented by AXIA Time.
2. Cats Among Top Defenses in Nation
• K-State leads the Big 12 in scoring defense (56.3 ppg). The Wildcats lead the league and are 9th in the nation in FG percentage defense (.350) and 7th in the nation for 3-point FG percentage defense (.253). K-State has held 19 opponents to 60 points or less this season (19-0).
3. Wildcats Deal in Rejection
• K-State leads the Big 12 and ranks 7th in the nation for blocked shots per game (5.7). The Wildcats have tallied 155 blocks this season and need 16 blocks to set the single-season school record for blocks in a season.
4. Lee Reaches 30-10
• With 34 points and 12 rebounds against West Virginia on Wednesday, Ayoka Lee tallied her 11th career double-double of 30 and 10 - most in school history.
5. Glenn Nearing Rare 3 & D Club
• With one made 3-point field goal, junior guard Jaelyn Glenn would become the fourth player in school history with 150 or more 3-point field goals made and 175 or more career steals. (Claire Coggins, Kendra Wecker & Kindred Wesemann.)

Number to Know
505
• K-State has dished out 505 assists (18.7 apg) this season, which ranks ninth in school history for a single season.
• This marks the third straight season K-State has handed out 500 or more assists. This is the second time the Wildcats have registered 500 or more assists in three or more straight seasons and the first time since carding five straight seasons of 500 or more assists from 2001-06.
• K-State's 18.7 assists per game would rank second in school history for a single season.

At a Glance: Kansas
• Kansas (15-11, 8-7 Big 12) enters Sunday's Dillons Sunflower Showdown following a road loss, 69-61, on Wednesday at (24/24) West Virginia.
• On the sideline, Kansas is led by ninth-year head coach Brandon Schneider. Schneider is 122-147 (.454) in his time in Lawrence. He guided the program to the 2022 NCAA Tournament and the 2023 Postseason WNIT title.
• The Jayhawks feature five players in double figures this season, led by freshman S'Mya Nichols and seniors Taiyanna Jackson, Zakiyah Franklin, Holly Kersgieter and Wyvette Mayberry.
• Nichols paces the Jayhawks with 14.3 points per game and is shooting .461 from the floor. She tallied 23 points and three steals at Baylor.
• Jackson paces Kansas in field goal percentage (.590), rebounding (10.0 rpg), blocked shots (3.1 bpg) and is second in scoring (12.5).
• Franklin is third on the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game. She scored 15 points at Baylor.
• Kersgeiter is fourth on the squad averaging 11.4 points per game. She leads the team in three-point field goals made with 51.
• Mayberry is averaging 10.1 points per game this season.

Last Time Out
at (10/9) K-State 73, (22/22) West Virginia 64 (ot) (Feb. 21, 2024; Manhattan, Kan.)
• K-State rallied from a six-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter and punished West Virginia in the fourth and overtime to collect its 17th straight home win. The Wildcats shot 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• The Wildcats have won five games (5-2) against ranked opponents this season, tied for the second-most wins against ranked foes in a season.
• K-State was led by All-American candidate Ayoka Lee with 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Serena Sundell added 11 points, three assists and two blocks.

K-State Top-20 in NCAA History for Wins
• K-State is in its 56th season of action and ranks among the top programs in NCAA history for all-time wins.
• K-State's all-time record stands at 1,040-660 (.612) and the Wildcats entered the 2023-24 season ranked 19th in NCAA Division I women's basketball history for program wins. The Wildcats were the 19th program in NCAA Division I history to reach 1,000 or more wins as a program and the third among the Big 12 (Texas, Baylor). K-State is averaging 18.5 wins per season.
• Kansas State is one of four teams in the nation to be guided by an active head coach with 600 or more career wins and the program has surpassed the 1,000-win mark (Stanford, UConn, NC State).
• The Wildcats have accumulated 27 20-win seasons and have secured 395 victories inside Bramlage Coliseum.
• K-State has 231 wins in the Big 12 Conference.
• Kansas State has registered 245 victories when they were ranked in the Associated Press top-25 poll and achieved 92 wins against teams ranked in the AP poll.

Wildcats in Nail-Biters
• Kansas State owns an all-time record in overtime games of 30-30 (.500), including a 26-25 (.510) record in single overtime games and a 3-6 (.333) record in double overtime games.
• K-State's last overtime game came on February 21, 2024 against West Virginia, a 73-64 win. K-State has five of its last seven single overtime games.
• Over the last 12 seasons, K-State is 47-31 (.603) in games decided by five points or less including a 5-2 mark this season.

Wildcats on the Road
• This season, K-State is 5-3 (.625) in road games. The Wildcats opened the season with a five-game road winning streak, which was K-State's longest since a five-game streak in the 2018-19 season.
• Among its five road wins this season, the Wildcats own two over AP top-25 opponents (at #2 Iowa; at #13 Baylor).
• With its win at Little Rock on Nov. 11, 2023, K-State snapped an 11-game road losing streak. This was tied for the longest road losing streak in program history.
• With its win at then second-ranked Iowa on Nov. 16, 2023, K-State secured its highest ranked road win in program history and ended a 14-game road losing streak against ranked opponents.
• K-State has a 291-324 (.473) record in road games during the program's 56-year history.
• In his career in road games, head coach Jeff Mittie is 167-204 (.450) including a 42-67 (.385) mark during his time at K-State.

Wildcats' Defense Forges Identity
• K-State has continued to be a force on the defensive end during head coach Jeff Mittie's 10 seasons on the bench.
• In the 2023-24 season, K-State is holding opponents to 56.3 points per game and a field goal percentage of .350.
• The Wildcats lead the Big 12 and rank 26th in the nation for scoring defense, leads the Big 12 and are ninth in the nation for field goal percentage defense and seventh in the nation for 3-point field goal percentage defense (.253). According to HerHoopStats, K-State is fourth in the nation and second in the Big 12 in opponent points per 100 possessions (77.7).
• Under Mittie, K-State is 125-14 (.899) when holding its foes to 60 points or less including a 45-2 (.957) record over the last three seasons and a 19-0 record this season. During K-State's 14-game winning streak this season, the Wildcats held 13 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
• In the season-opener, K-State held Presbyterian to 35 points. This marked the fewest points allowed by the Wildcats since holding UT Martin to 30 points on November 12, 2021.
• During the last 21 seasons, K-State is 135-3 (.978) when holding an opponent to 49 points or less including a 54-0 mark in the Mittie era. During Mittie's tenure K-State has held 18 opponents to 40 or fewer points.
• The Wildcats held Iowa on Nov. 16 to 58 points, 34 points below its 2023-24 season average and their fewest points since 2019.

K-State Attacking the Paint
• With the return of 2022 All-American center Ayoka Lee, the Wildcats continue to find buckets in the paint.
• K-State has scored 1,022 points (37.9 ppg) in the paint through 27 games which is 51.7 percent of K-State's overall point total this season.
• The Wildcats recorded a season-high of 58 against McNeese State on Dec. 6, 2023. This was the most points in the paint since scoring 58 against Oklahoma on Jan. 23, 2022.
• The Wildcats have scored 30 or more points in the paint in 21 games this season. K-State has outscored its opponents in 22 games.
• K-State has scored 900 or more points in the paint in nine of head coach Jeff Mittie's 10 seasons including four seasons of 1,000 or more points with a high of 1,064 points (31.3 ppg) during the 2016-17 season.

Lee Reaching Rare Stat Lines
• Ayoka Lee has registered unique stat lines throughout her career and this season is no different.
• At Little Rock on Nov. 11, Lee notched 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting and 10 rebounds. She is the only player in the nation this season to record a 30-point, 10-rebound game with a field goal percentage of 80.0 percent or better.
• Against North Florida on Dec. 16, Lee registered a season-high 36 points on 15-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line in just under 24 minutes of action. She also recorded four rebounds, a season-high three steals and a blocked shot.
• According to Stats Perform, Lee is the only NCAA Division I women's player since at least the 1999-00 season to score 36 or more points, while shooting 88.0 percent or better from the field in under 25 minutes of action.
• Against Oral Roberts on Dec. 18, Lee registered a season-high 36 points on 15-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the foul line in just under 24 minutes of action. She also recorded four rebounds, a season-high three steals and a blocked shot.
• According to Stats Perform, Lee is the only NCAA Division I women's player since at least the 1999-00 season to tally a 20-20 double-double with five blocks in less than 25 minutes. Also, no NCAA Division I men's basketball player since 1996-97 and no NBA player since 1983-84 has achieved this stat line in fewer than 25 minutes.
• According to HerHoopStats with her stat line against West Virginia on Feb. 21, Lee is the only NCAA Division I women's player this season to register a game with 30 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, 10 or more made field goals with a field goal percentage of 70.0 percent or higher and 10 or more free throws made.

Lee Against Top-25 Opponents
• Ayoka Lee continues to pile up big numbers against some of the best competition in the nation.
• This season, Lee is averaging 21.8 points on a .646 field goal percentage, 10.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
• At then second-ranked Iowa on Nov. 16, Lee tallied 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 12 rebounds.
• In 12 games against ranked opponents during the 2021-22 season, Lee averaged 21.3 points with a 55.6 percent effort from the field (105-of-189) and 77.6 percent from the foul line (45-of-58), 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.1 steals. She registered a double-double in six of the 12 games.
• In three straight games against ranked opponents, Lee scored 30 or more points and pulled in 10 or more rebounds. She tallied an NCAA record 61 points against 14th-ranked Oklahoma on Jan. 23.

(10/9) K-State Visits KU Sunday for Dillons Sunflower Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Jaelyn Glenn

Ayoka Lee

Serena Sundell

Kansas State University Athletics