
No. 10 Kansas State (19-1, 7-0) defends their home court against a quick Arizona State team to improve the winning streak to 14. A guard-focused contest found K-State with four different Wildcats in double figures. An efficient day from beyond the arc left the Wildcats in the driver’s seat in the second half to improve to 7-0 in conference play.
K-State had to battle throughout the first half as the Sun Devils came out quick and aggressive. It was the fourth game until late in the second quarter when K-State took the lead and never gave it up. A productive offensive effort led by transfer star Temira Poindexter.
Wildcat Warm-Up
Opponent Matchup
Arizona State (8-11, 2-5) came to Manhattan on a cold run. Dropping now four in a row, two of which were home games. The Sun Devils are led by an all-around sophomore guard Jalyn Brown. Brown is averaging an efficient 17 points per game. The 6’1 guard also averages four boards and two assists.
Tip-Off to Buzzer
Quarter Breakdowns
First Quarter-
Both squads went back and forth in the first. The Wildcats were led by Poindexter with six. K-State seemed to have no answer defensively against Brown as she went for 10. The back-and-forth contest in the first ended with K-State leading 18-16.
Second Quarter-
The Sun Devils opened on a 10-0 run in the second quarter, which was answered by a Wildcat run. K-State would go on a 15-4 run to end the half, Poindexter had eight of the 15. The Wildcats led the quick Sun Devil team at half 36-30.
Third Quarter-
K-State continued on a hot streak out of the second half. Jaelyn Glenn led the Cats with eight and knocked down two of K-State's six three-pointers in the quarter. K-State won the quarter 29-18, thanks to 11 team assists, to lead 65-48.
Fourth Quarter-
K-State extended their lead out to 17 before the Sun Devils roared back to be down seven with just three minutes left of play. Serena Sundell scored six of the final eight for K-State to lead the Cats to the 81-69 victory.
Courtside Conclusions
K-State had to work without their All-American Ayoka Lee as she exited the game in the second quarter and did not return. Taryn Sides, who scored 11 off of the bench for K-State, explained the mentality without Lee.
“I think it's just next man up mentality,” Sides said. “I think Eliza [Maupin] came in and played well for us. We don't know a whole lot about Yokie. Hopefully, she's okay, but just next man up, you got to fill that role when someone's out or in foul trouble.”
K-State was missing Lee on the defensive end, allowing 38 points in the paint.
However, the Wildcat offense seemed to not slow down. Finding productivity from good ball movement, spacing, and quick guard play. Head coach Jeff Mittie explained the quick play.
“Proud of our group, we made some plays,” Mittie said. “Made some huge threes, hit a great stretch there, where we stretched it out and needed every bit.”
K-State was effective from beyond the arc, and it will be needed in the absence of Lee moving forward. The first look at the injury is not good for Lee, Mittie said it looked like a two-plus week absence.
K-State Leaders
K-State was led by Poindexter in the contest on Sunday. Poindexter filled the stat sheet with 19 points, thanks to five shots from deep, five boards, and four assists. Sundell followed with 15 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Sides had a great game from the bench with 11 and a team-high six assists. K-State’s final double-digit scorer, Glenn, knocked down all 10 points in the second half.
Future Focus
A Look Ahead at the K-State Schedule
K-State gets a much-needed week off before traveling to Boulder to face Colorado on Saturday. Lee’s absence will surely be the focus of practice, finding new solid rotations and shifting defensive focus. Colorado starts a tough stretch for this Wildcat squad including the Sunflower Showdown and an AP Top 10 matchup against a red-hot TCU team. The rematch of last year’s NCAA tournament game against Colorado will be aired live here on Wildcat 91.9 on Saturday with a pregame show starting 10 minutes before the 2 p.m. tipoff.
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