Many Paths to Victory
Jan 13, 2025 | Women's Basketball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
No. 12 Kansas State has the second most wins (17) and the fifth-longest winning streak (12 games) behind the second largest winning margin (33.5 points) in Division I. It has won a neutral-site games against DePaul (92-66) and Middle Tennessee (74-48), and games at Texas A&M (89-50), at Houston (74-55) at No. 22 Utah (71-47) and at BYU (92-65). It is 11-0 at home, outscoring opponents by 966-519, or by an average of 87.8 to 47.1 points per game.
There's simply no stopping one of the top teams in America.
"That was a rough one, I'll just be honest," BYU head coach Amber Whiting said on Saturday after the Cougars suffered their worst loss all season. "They do what they do, and they do it well across the board. They're great shooters. If you shut down one thing, something else pops up."
Indeed.
K-State is 17-1 overall, including 5-0 in the Big 12. And it attacks opponents a variety of ways.
Temira Poindexter scored 23 points and Serena Sundell added a double-double in a 76-59 win over Cincinnati.
Poindexter, Ayoka Lee and Jaelyn Glenn each scored 15 points in a 74-55 win at Houston.
Lee scored 19 points and Sundell had a double-double in a 77-57 win over Texas Tech.
Sundell scored 15 points and Lee added 14 in a 71-47 win at No. 22 Utah.
Poindexter scored a season-high 24 points and Sundell had a double-double in a 92-65 win at BYU.
"It's a grind every single night out," Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said, "and when you're playing the No. 12 ranked team in the country with that much experience you have to be on your game."
K-State returns home to play back-to-back home games against the Arizona teams — Arizona at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and Arizona State at 1:00 p.m. Sunday — in what should be a rocking Bramlage Coliseum, but the Wildcats believe they still have plenty to prove to themselves.
"We still have a lot to work on," Poindexter said after scoring her season high against the Cougars. "It's good to look at the good things, but I know when we get back, we still have a lot of work to do, and we're going to have a reset."
One of the most balanced teams in Division I, Lee averages 17.2 points, Sundell averages 12.7, Poindexter averages 12.0, Glenn averages 10.0, and Taryn Sides, one of the deadliest 3-point shooters in the country, averages 9.5 points.
It's worth noting exactly where K-State stands amongst the 353 Division I teams: K-State ranks No. 1 in field goal percentage (50.8%), field goal percentage defense (31.6%) and assists per game (22.9). K-State ranks No. 2 in scoring defense (50.5) and scoring margin (33.5). K-State third in assist/turnover ratio (1.82). K-State ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (31.7). K-State ranks fifth in 3-point percentage defense (23.4%) and blocks per game (6.4).
"Everybody always talks about how you're always going to get everybody's best shot," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie, who now ranks second all-time in victories at K-State (207). "Our job to make sure they get our best shot. That's my focus every game."
Sundell calls this the tightest K-State team she's been a part of. Poindexter echoes those sentiments.
"It's about our connectiveness on the court and off the court," Poindexter said. "We just like to play together and have fun."
And dominate.
It's worth repeating how quickly K-State can rip the heart out of an opponent.
K-State outscored Houston in the fourth quarter 23-4 and won by 19 points.
K-State outscored Texas Tech in the third quarter 28-9 and won by 20.
K-State outscored Utah in the third quarter 26-13 and won by 24.
K-State outscored BYU in the third quarter 23-8 and won by 27.
It goes back to something that Mittie preaches to his squad: "Make the right play."
"All 10 on our roster can really play," he said. "There were things I wasn't happy about in this game, but when we're at our best we have all 10. Certainly, we've had good balance over the course of the season. It's been a big strength of ours. One of the things we're all striving for is when you have that kind of balance, it's about making the right play. Nobody has to force shots. If we're making the right play, we have enough balance that it might be Temira's night tonight and somebody else's night the following night.
"It's about making the right play."
While Poindexter scored a season-high 24 points and sank 5-of-10 3-point attempts, Lee added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Sundell had 12 points and a school record-tying 13 assists against the Cougars.
But what Mittie looks back on is how K-State led by just 23-20 after the first quarter. The Wildcats responded and outscored the Cougars 50-20 over the next two periods. But it's the fact that BYU outscored K-State 25-19 in the fourth quarter that most drew the ire of the head coach.
"There were a lot of good things about this game," Mittie said. "We shot the ball well. Serena made a lot of really, really good reads and had a good vision for where the ball needed to go. For a blowout, for me, it doesn't feel like that because there were so many lapses. We struggled in transition D early in the game and struggled in them being the aggressor from the start. Those are things I felt like were more about us than them, and those are things that we have to get cleaned up and corrected.
"Good win. Five-day road trip with two wins on the road. And we won it going away. But certainly, when BYU shoots 70% in the fourth quarter, that's going to leave a sour taste in my mouth."
The two-game-in-five-day road trip complete, K-State will rejuvenate itself for two-straight key home games.
"With the 15-16 inches of snow we had, it wasn't a bad time to leave Manhattan," Mittie said, chuckling. "We'll be glad to be back home and glad to sleep in our own beds. Proud of our group. It's not easy to do. Utah and BYU are two quality teams. They have a lot of really good players.
"We're excited to get out here with a couple Ws and get back home."
No. 12 Kansas State has the second most wins (17) and the fifth-longest winning streak (12 games) behind the second largest winning margin (33.5 points) in Division I. It has won a neutral-site games against DePaul (92-66) and Middle Tennessee (74-48), and games at Texas A&M (89-50), at Houston (74-55) at No. 22 Utah (71-47) and at BYU (92-65). It is 11-0 at home, outscoring opponents by 966-519, or by an average of 87.8 to 47.1 points per game.
There's simply no stopping one of the top teams in America.
"That was a rough one, I'll just be honest," BYU head coach Amber Whiting said on Saturday after the Cougars suffered their worst loss all season. "They do what they do, and they do it well across the board. They're great shooters. If you shut down one thing, something else pops up."
Indeed.
K-State is 17-1 overall, including 5-0 in the Big 12. And it attacks opponents a variety of ways.
Temira Poindexter scored 23 points and Serena Sundell added a double-double in a 76-59 win over Cincinnati.
Poindexter, Ayoka Lee and Jaelyn Glenn each scored 15 points in a 74-55 win at Houston.
Lee scored 19 points and Sundell had a double-double in a 77-57 win over Texas Tech.
Sundell scored 15 points and Lee added 14 in a 71-47 win at No. 22 Utah.
Poindexter scored a season-high 24 points and Sundell had a double-double in a 92-65 win at BYU.
"It's a grind every single night out," Utah head coach Gavin Petersen said, "and when you're playing the No. 12 ranked team in the country with that much experience you have to be on your game."
K-State returns home to play back-to-back home games against the Arizona teams — Arizona at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, and Arizona State at 1:00 p.m. Sunday — in what should be a rocking Bramlage Coliseum, but the Wildcats believe they still have plenty to prove to themselves.
"We still have a lot to work on," Poindexter said after scoring her season high against the Cougars. "It's good to look at the good things, but I know when we get back, we still have a lot of work to do, and we're going to have a reset."
One of the most balanced teams in Division I, Lee averages 17.2 points, Sundell averages 12.7, Poindexter averages 12.0, Glenn averages 10.0, and Taryn Sides, one of the deadliest 3-point shooters in the country, averages 9.5 points.
It's worth noting exactly where K-State stands amongst the 353 Division I teams: K-State ranks No. 1 in field goal percentage (50.8%), field goal percentage defense (31.6%) and assists per game (22.9). K-State ranks No. 2 in scoring defense (50.5) and scoring margin (33.5). K-State third in assist/turnover ratio (1.82). K-State ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (31.7). K-State ranks fifth in 3-point percentage defense (23.4%) and blocks per game (6.4).
"Everybody always talks about how you're always going to get everybody's best shot," said K-State head coach Jeff Mittie, who now ranks second all-time in victories at K-State (207). "Our job to make sure they get our best shot. That's my focus every game."
Sundell calls this the tightest K-State team she's been a part of. Poindexter echoes those sentiments.
"It's about our connectiveness on the court and off the court," Poindexter said. "We just like to play together and have fun."
And dominate.
It's worth repeating how quickly K-State can rip the heart out of an opponent.
K-State outscored Houston in the fourth quarter 23-4 and won by 19 points.
K-State outscored Texas Tech in the third quarter 28-9 and won by 20.
K-State outscored Utah in the third quarter 26-13 and won by 24.
K-State outscored BYU in the third quarter 23-8 and won by 27.
It goes back to something that Mittie preaches to his squad: "Make the right play."
"All 10 on our roster can really play," he said. "There were things I wasn't happy about in this game, but when we're at our best we have all 10. Certainly, we've had good balance over the course of the season. It's been a big strength of ours. One of the things we're all striving for is when you have that kind of balance, it's about making the right play. Nobody has to force shots. If we're making the right play, we have enough balance that it might be Temira's night tonight and somebody else's night the following night.
"It's about making the right play."
While Poindexter scored a season-high 24 points and sank 5-of-10 3-point attempts, Lee added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Sundell had 12 points and a school record-tying 13 assists against the Cougars.
But what Mittie looks back on is how K-State led by just 23-20 after the first quarter. The Wildcats responded and outscored the Cougars 50-20 over the next two periods. But it's the fact that BYU outscored K-State 25-19 in the fourth quarter that most drew the ire of the head coach.
"There were a lot of good things about this game," Mittie said. "We shot the ball well. Serena made a lot of really, really good reads and had a good vision for where the ball needed to go. For a blowout, for me, it doesn't feel like that because there were so many lapses. We struggled in transition D early in the game and struggled in them being the aggressor from the start. Those are things I felt like were more about us than them, and those are things that we have to get cleaned up and corrected.
"Good win. Five-day road trip with two wins on the road. And we won it going away. But certainly, when BYU shoots 70% in the fourth quarter, that's going to leave a sour taste in my mouth."
The two-game-in-five-day road trip complete, K-State will rejuvenate itself for two-straight key home games.
"With the 15-16 inches of snow we had, it wasn't a bad time to leave Manhattan," Mittie said, chuckling. "We'll be glad to be back home and glad to sleep in our own beds. Proud of our group. It's not easy to do. Utah and BYU are two quality teams. They have a lot of really good players.
"We're excited to get out here with a couple Ws and get back home."
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