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No. 10 Kansas State (5-0) seemed to be unable to miss on Wednesday as the Wildcats beat the Milwaukee Panthers by 65, 111-46. K-State shot 60 percent from the field, combined with knocking down eight from beyond the arc. The Panther offense was not as lucky, the Panthers shot just above 30 percent and turned the ball over 18 times.
The Wildcat’s 111 points are the second most scored by a Kansas State Women’s Team all-time. The monster day came from every Wildcat with each player who touched the floor finding the bottom of the net. The Wildcats had six players in double figures and were led by All-American Ayoka Lee with 25. This offensive performance is night and day compared to the last time the Wildcats touched the floor on Monday when they only shot on the upside of 40 percent.
Wildcat Warm-Up
Opponent Matchup
The Milwaukee Panthers came into the matchup against the Wildcats with a 2-3 record. The Panthers have had a rough season, dropping their previous game against Wisconsin. Milwaukee is led by Kacee Baumhower, a senior guard for the Panthers who averaged 20.6 points a game.
Tip-Off to Buzzer
Quarter Breakdowns
First Quarter-
Unlike the K-State’s previous game, the Wildcats started hot with a massive 18-4 at the first media timeout. The Wildcat’s offense and defense shined bright, shooting 10-18 and turning the Panthers over four times. Lee led the Cats early and finished with nine points and five boards. Lee was helped by Taryn Sides knocking down both threes that she tossed. The Wildcats put up big numbers in quarter one to lead 27-11.
Second Quarter-
The second quarter was more of the same for the Wildcats, hot shooting and solid defense. Milwaukee started the second on a little run but slowly fizzled out. Kansas State’s defense was just too much, forcing six more turnovers. The Cats shot 61 percent and were spread out all over the stat sheet with nine different players scoring. The all-hands on deck helped the Cats close out the first half on a massive 19-1 run to lead 58-18 at halftime.
Third Quarter-
The thumping of the first half carried over to the second half. The Wildcats scored a whopping 33 in the quarter and still stumped the Panther offense to just 15. With nine players touching the floor, eight of which scored for the Wildcats. Lee’s eight points in the third led K-State to a giant lead, 87-33.
Fourth Quarter-
The race to 100 started early in the fourth as K-State broke the triple-digit mark with just above five minutes remaining in the game. The Wildcats dominated in all facets of the game and the fourth quarter showed that even more, scoring 24 with the majority of the minutes coming off the bench. The Wildcats finished their massive night scoring 111 and held the Panthers to just 46.
Courtside Conclusions
An all-around dominant game from K-State is exactly what happened on Wednesday night—winning the battle in every statistical category. A completely different-looking team compared to the Wildcats that played on Monday night. Head Coach Jeff Mittie shared his thoughts looking back on the two games.
"We weren't playing that way, certainly Monday night, we've had glimpses of it," Mittie said. "But tonight we put it together. Now we had some advantages, but at the same time, you can either take advantage of those advantages or play down a notch. And tonight we played up."
K-State fired nearly perfectly on every cylinder, won the rebound battle 51-18, 20 fast break points, 56 points in the paint, and 27 assists to cap off the night.
The Wildcats are putting up some impressive numbers through K-State’s first five games. Six players are averaging double figures in scoring, outrebounding opponents by over 100, more assists by 80, and outscoring opponents 444-258.
K-State Leaders
Kansas State filled up the stat sheet against the Panthers. Lee had a team-high 25 points, followed by Jaelyn Glenn with 17, Serena Sundell with 16, Zyanna Walker had 13, Sides had 11, and Gisela Sanchez finished the double-digit scorers with 10. K-State was led by Walker on the boards and assists with nine each.
Future Focus
A Look Ahead at the K-State Schedule
The Lady Cats will now travel to Nevada for the Ball Dawgs Classic. This trip will be the first game away from the Octagon of Doom for the Wildcats. K-State will play Monday against a ranked foe in Duke, who is currently ranked 14 in the country. Depending on the outcomes of game one the Wildcats will either play Oklahoma or DePaul. The Wildcats won’t be back in Manhattan until December 1 and will play Central Arkansas. That game and every other home game this season will be aired live on Wildcat 91.9.
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