K-State Ends Two-Game Road Trip at UCF on Wednesday

Wednesday, February 18

Orlando, Fla.

6 p.m.

Kansas State University

UCF

Feb 16, 2026 | Women's Basketball

ESPN+Listen Live Live Stats K-State notes (pdf)

GAME #28
K-State Wildcats (14-13, 7-7 Big 12) at UCF Knights (10-15, 2-12 Big 12)
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 6 p.m. (CT) | Addition Financial Arena (10,000) | Orlando, Fla.

TELEVISION
ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Scott Adams
Analyst: BJ Taylor
Sideline: Sydney Jones

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Randy Peterson

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com

SERIES HISTORY vs. UCF
3-0

• K-State leads the series with UCF, 3-0.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 3-0 in his career against UCF.

ORLANDO, Florida - K-State (14-13, 7-7 Big 12) finishes its second two-game road trip in the last last two weeks, as the Wildcats visit UCF (10-15, 2-12) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (CT).

• Wednesday's game will air on ESPN+, as Scott Adams (play-by-play), BJ Taylor (analyst) and Sydney Jones (sideline) will have the call.

Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Sides Nears Top-Ten From Distance
• Junior guard Taryn Sides needs two made 3-point field goals to move into sole possession of 10th on the K-State career 3-point field goals made list. She owns 175 makes in her career, the 11th-player in program history with 175 or more made 3-pointers.
2. Sides Dish
• Sides ranks tied for 17th in program history for career assists with 294. With six assists, she will become the 17th K-State player with 300 or more assists.
3. Garcia with the Dish
• Gina Garcia leads all Big 12 freshmen and is third in the nation for assists by a freshmen with 127 assists. Garcia is the seventh freshman in program history with 100 or more assists in their freshman season and the second in the Jeff Mittie era (Serena Sundell, 176; 2021-22).
4. Spicy at the Line
• Freshman guard Jordan Speiser has converted at a high rate at the foul line. Speiser is shooting 90.2 percent (55-of-61). She currently ranks first in program history for single-season and career free throw percentages (min. 2 free throw attempts/game).
5. High Efficiency Claessens
• Junior forward Nastja Claessens registered a 70.0 percent (7-of-10) effort from the field against Oklahoma State on Feb. 10. The team leader in field goal percentage at 53.7 percent, Claessens has six games this season with a field goal percentage of 60.0 percent or better, which includes a 3-point field goal made in all six games.

Number to Know
60 | 100

• Junior guard Taryn Sides is the fourth player in program history with 100 or more assists and 60 or more 3-point field goals made in a season.
• Sides has dished out a career-high 104 assists this season and has made 65 three-point field goals.
• The last Wildcat to tally 60 or more 3-point field goals and 100 or more assists in a season was Jaelyn Glenn in the 2024-25 season.
• Only one player in program history has achieved the feat in two seasons, as Kindred Wesemann reached these marks in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

At a Glance: UCF
• UCF (10-15, 2-12 Big 12) enters Wednesday's game following a 93-63 loss to Baylor on Sunday afternoon.
• On the sideline, the Knights are led by fourth-year head coach Sytia Messer. A 2000 graduate of Arkansas, Messer owns a career record of 48-65 (.425) in Orlando.
• On the floor, UCF is led by Leah Harmon and Khyala Ngodu.
• Harmon, a sophomore guard, is averaging 15.7 points and 2.4 assists per game.
• Ngodu, a junior center, is second on the team in scoring with 10.4 points on a .470 field goal percentage and a team-best 6.7 rebounds.

Last Time Out
at (rv/25) Iowa State 76, K-State 72 (Feb. 15, 2026; Ames, Iowa)
• K-State rallied to within one-point late in the fourth quarter but was unable to overtake Iowa State.
• The Wildcats shot 50.0 percent (15-of-30) from the field in the second half.
• K-State was led by junior Taryn Sides with 23 points while freshmen Jordan Speiser and Gina Garcia added 11 points each.

Wildcats on the Road
• K-State has a 304-334 (.476) record in road games during the program's 58-year history.
• In his career in road games, head coach Jeff Mittie is 180-214 (.457) including a 55-77 (.417) mark during his time at K-State.
• This season, K-State is 5-5 in road games including a win at 17th-ranked Texas Tech on Jan. 17. This is the fourth time in five seasons K-State has won five or more road games.
• In the 2024-25 season, K-State was 7-4 in road games including two wins against an Associated Press Top-25 foes (22, Utah, 1/8/25; 13, Kentucky, 3/23/25).
• The seven road wins last season were the most since the 2019-20 season (7-5).

Magic Number is 70 Points
• Since head coach Jeff Mittie's first season in 2014-15, K-State is 141-26 (.844) when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
• The Wildcats opened the 2025-26 season with 100 points, the second time in five seasons K-State has reached 100 or more points in the season opener.
• In its history, K-State has scored 100 or more points in a game 31 times (31-0) including eight times under Mittie.
• With its 95 points against Columbia on Nov. 27 in the Cancun Challenge, K-State registered its highest point total in a game played at a neutral site since at least the 1999-00 season. K-State's previous high was 93 against Georgia State on Dec. 29, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, and against Northern Arizona on Nov. 25, 2022, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• The combined score of 187 points were the most in a regulation game for Kansas State since at least 1999-00.
• Under Mittie, K-State has scored 90 or more points 28 times, including 21 times in the last five seasons.
• This season, the Wildcats are averaging 69.0 points per game and have surpassed the 70-point mark in 16 games (10-6).

Charity Stripe
• K-State equaled a 46-year old school record in its game against South Dakota on Nov. 13.
• The Wildcats tied the school record for free throws made in a game, equaling the mark set on Dec. 6, 1979, against Colorado (32). The 32 made free throws were the most in the Jeff Mittie era (2014-15-present).
• K-State's 45.1 percent of its single-game point total (71) from the free throw line against the Coyotes was the third highest in the nation this season. It was the highest percentage by a Big 12 team (min. 30 free throws made) since TCU tallied a 46.4 percent effort (32 made free throws) on Jan. 1, 2023, against Texas.
• K-State recorded a free throw percentage of .821 (32-of-39).
• It was the highest free throw percentage in an NCAA Division I women's game on a minimum of 39 free throw attempts in the nation since March 13, 2025, when Merrimack tallied an .821 effort against Siena.
• Against Ole Miss on Dec. 7, K-State shot 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the foul line including a perfect 12-of-12 in the second half.
• This was the highest free throw percentage on 20 or more attempts by K-State since Dec. 7, 2022, against Kansas City (.909; 20-22) and the ninth highest for the program on 20 or more attempts since the 2000-01 season.
• At Kansas on Jan. 25, the Wildcats registered its season-high for free throw percentage at 91.7 (11-of-12). This was the highest free throw percentage on 10 or more attempts since going a perfect 13-of-13 from the line against Texas on Jan. 13, 2024.
• For the season, K-State is shooting 71.6 percent (331-of-459) from the foul line.
• Three different Wildcats have registered a consecutive free throws made streak of 15 or more this season - Tess Heal (23 straight; 12/7/25-1/7/26), Jordan Speiser (20; 1/25/26-2/15/26)and Gina Garcia (19; 11/3/25-12/7/25).

Three is not a Crowd, It's a Benefit
• Since 2011-12, when three or more players reach double figures in scoring in the same game, K-State is 211-94 (.692) with a 11-7 mark in 2025-26.
• The Wildcats had a season-high five players reach double figures against Omaha on Nov. 3.
• K-State saw the freshmen trio of Brandie Harrod, Gina Garcia and Jordan Speiser each tally 12 points against Texas A&M on Nov. 16. This was the first time three K-State freshmen scored 12 or more points in the same game since Feb. 5, 2022, against Texas Tech (Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Jaelyn Glenn).

Wildcats Picking Pockets
• The Wildcats continue to swipe the basketball at a high rate.
• K-State pocketed 19 steals in the season-opener against Omaha. The 19 steals were the most for the Wildcats since Dec. 7, 2022, against Kansas City when K-State pilfered 20 steals.
• The Wildcats pocketed 15 steals against Cincinnati on Dec. 31. The 15 steals were the most by K-State in a Big 12 game since Feb. 15, 2025, against UCF.
• This season, K-State has tallied 254 steals (9.4 spg). Of the 433 opponent turnovers this season, 56.6 percent have come from a K-State steal. The Wildcats have registered 10 or more steals in a game 15 times this season (9-6).
• In league action, the Wildcats are averaging 10.4 steals per game which is second in the Big 12.
• In the 2024-25 season, K-State pocketed 307 steals (8.5 spg). Of the 542 opponent turnovers this season, 56.6 percent have come from a K-State steal. The 307 steals were the third-most since 2014-15.

Taryn It Up from Long Distance
• Taryn Sides has been a threat from long distance in her career.
• Sides owns a career 3-point field goal percentage of .410 (175-427), which is fourth in school history (min. 2 attempts/game). She was the 16th player in program history with 150 or more made 3-point field goals and is 11th in program history for career 3-point field goals made.
• She ranks 12th among active NCAA Division I players and third in the Big 12 for career 3-point field goal percentage.
• She has made two or more 3-pointers in a game 50 times, including 13 games with four or more.
• This season, Sides is shooting 41.9 percent from long distance (65-of-155) and has 19 games with two or more connections and four games with four or more.
• She ranks 33rd in the nation for 3-point field goal percentage. Her 65 connections ranks 53rd in the nation. She is the 10th player in program history to make 60 or more 3-pointers in their junior season.
• During the 2025 Cancun Challenge, Sides went off from long range as she was 15-of-25 (.600) in the three games. Against Columbia, Sides shot a career-best 8-of-12 from long range including 5-of-6 in the second half.
• Starting with her buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter against Columbia, Sides made eight consecutive 3-pointers by shooting 3-of-3 in the fourth quarter, 2-of-2 against North Carolina and started by making her first two attempts against South Dakota State.
• With her eight made 3-pointers against Columbia, Sides tied for the fourth most in a game in program history and was the eighth different player in school history to make eight or more three-pointers in a game. Her eight 3-point connections were the most since Temira Poindexter made eight at Kentucky in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• She was the second K-State player since 1999-00 to shoot 66.7 percent or better from long distance on 12 or more attempts, joining Laurie Koehn who shot 76.9 percent (10-of-13) against Iowa on Jan. 5, 2003.
• In the 2024-25 season, Sides shot a career-high 43.3 percent from 3-point range (84-of-194). She ranked 17th in the nation for 3-point percentage. She ranked eighth in the Big 12 and 47th in the nation for 3-point field goals made per game (2.40). Sides has tallied 78.0 percent of her points this season from beyond the arc.
• Among sophomores in the nation, Sides was second for 3-point percentage (min. 60 or more 3-point field goals made) and was fourth with 84 three-point field goals made.
• Sides ranks second in program history for 3-point field goals made in a sophomore season. She was the fourth player in program history and ranked second (+58) to improve her made 3-pointers by 50 or more from one season to the next in program history.

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