AUSTIN, Texas (KStateSports.com) – (2/2) K-State endured a rough shooting performance but almost overcame it in the fourth quarter, but homestanding (12/14) Texas held on, 61-54, on Sunday afternoon at Moody Center.
K-State had two players reach double figures on Sunday and were led by sophomore forward Eliza Maupin with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting and tallied four rebounds. This was Maupin’s second time reaching double figures in the last four games.
Junior guard and All-American candidate Serena Sundell recorded approached a second straight double-double with 14 points, eight assists and three steals. This was Sundell’s ninth straight game in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– K-State (20-3, 9-2 Big 12) went almost 10 minutes without a field goal spanning the end of the first quarter and into the second. Sundell finally broke through with a midrange jumper with 5:15 remaining. K-State, who would trail by as much as 10, would pull to within seven, as Jaelyn Glenn connected on her first 3-pointer of the afternoon to bring the Wildcats to within seven, 24-17.
– Texas (21-3, 8-3) would take a 12-point advantage, 29-17 with 1:02 remaining following their third 3-pointer of the game. A Sundell layup before the end of the first half pulled the Wildcats to within 10, 29-19, at halftime.
– The 19 points were a season-low for K-State in the first half this season. The Wildcats shot 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from the field in the opening half.
– The Longhorns would outscore the Wildcats in the opening five minutes of the third quarter, 14-6, to build a 43-25 lead with 4:50 remaining.
– K-State would trail by as much as 19 points, 41-22, with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Wildcats would close to within 11, 45-34, with 37 seconds remaining and trail by just 12, 47-35, at the end of the third.
– Texas rebuilt its lead to 17, 54-37, with 5:37 remaining in the game as the Wildcats made one field goal in the first five minutes of the final stanza.
– K-State stormed to within seven, 54-47, with a furious 10-0 run. Maupin finished an old-fashioned 3-point play to open the rally. Zyanna Walker, who scored eight points on Sunday, notched an old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:26 which capped the run.
– The Longhorns stretched the lead back to 10, 59-49, but a layup from Gisela Sanchez with 20 seconds remaining and then a 3-pointer from Sanchez with 11 seconds left brought the Wildcats to within five, 59-54. Texas made a pair of late free throws for the final margin.
– K-State shot a season-low 35.8 percent (19-of-53) from the field, including 14.3 percent (3-of-21) from beyond the arc. Texas shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor.
QUICK FACTS
– Texas leads the series, 32-18. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 6-22 in his career against Texas.
– The Wildcats are 228-239 (.488) in Big 12 games.
– Head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 638-365 (.636) in 32 seasons as a head coach and is 184-130 (.586) during his 10-seasons at K-State.
– The Wildcats are 5-2 in road games this season.
– Kansas State is 4-2 this season against Associated Press top-25 opponents. K-State owns a record of 242-90 (.729) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 1-2 (.333) all-time when ranked second in the nation. The Wildcats are 8-11 (.421) against teams ranked 12th in the AP poll.
TEAM NOTES
– K-State’s starting five consisted of guards: Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Gabby Gregory and forward Gisela Sanchez. This was the fifth time this starting five has been used this season. This was the 101st collegiate career start and the 55th start at K-State for Gregory, the 92nd career start for Sundell, the 88th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 82nd career start for Brylee Glenn and the fifth career start for Sanchez.
– K-State pocketed 12 steals on Sunday. This was K-State’s 10th game this season with 10 or more steals.
– The Wildcats tallied a 30-26 advantage in points in the paint. This was K-State’s 17th game with 30 or more points in the paint.
PLAYER NOTES
– Maupin reached double figures for the second time this season and the eighth time in her career.
– Sundell notched her 61st career game with 10 or more points, including her 16th this season. Sundell owns 1,116 career points and is tied for 33rd on the K-State career scoring list with Carlisa Thomas (1983-87; 1,116).
– Sundell’s eight assists equaled her season-high of eight against Missouri on Dec. 9, against BYU and at Oklahoma. This marked her 57th career game and the 15th this season with five or more assists.
– Jaelyn Glenn made two 3-pointers on Sunday. This was her 45th career game with two or more connections from long range.
– Glenn pocketed two steals on Sunday. This was her 50th career game with two or more steals and her 13th this season.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement…
“Texas played really well defensively and really locked us up and never really got comfortable, maybe made some plays late. I was proud of our group for fighting back but we just never could get in a rhythm offensivly. It’s a credit to Vic’s team. It’s a credit to Texas. We didn’t handle it as well as we needed to handle it going forward. But hopefully we learned some things and hopefully we can make some adjustments.”
On playing without Lee…
“We’ve got to play every play but it’s difficult. She changes us certainly from a defensive standpoint, really changes that end of the floor and they just pounded us inside. I thought we did get good minutes from one of our freshmen, Imani Lester, gave us good minutes down there. But physically we struggled all day and we knew that we needed to keep them from paint touches and we got them to miss some. Look at the start of the third quarter. I think Jones scored six which came off offensive rebounds and we just couldn’t keep her off of there. So you know, we’re a little thin at that spot. And we’ve got to find different ways to compete.”
On the last five minutes of the fourth quarter…
“Probably a little of both. You know, the margin, I think, you know, we kept playing. We’ve got a lot of character in that locker room and they were frustrated with where we were at. But there’s a lot of character in that locker room. There’s a lot of toughness. There’s a lot of players that are overachievers. And I just think that there’s a lot of pride in that locker room. So we were gonna play for 40 minutes and we’ve talked all year about the score doesn’t matter when we’re up or down and the middle part of the game we kind of let that get away from us. But we at least we kept fighting.”
On the final seven games of Big 12 play…
“I think the league’s been having another really good year and you know with the scheduling the way it is different, unbalanced schedule, you know, it is a little bit of we haven’t even played Iowa State yet. So we’ve got a couple with Iowa State here down the stretch. We’ve got really good opponents. So the last seven will really set the table for us in terms of what kind of season we’re gonna have. I love this group. I have I’ve said this to numerous people that this is one of my favorite groups to coach. They have worked since June. They have worked no matter the circumstances. And yeah, and that doesn’t change what today’s result is. They’ll put in the work. I would be willing to bet that we’ve got half our roster getting extra shots up either tonight or tomorrow that they’ve been that way all year long. And so this results not going to change that.”
UP NEXT
K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday, February 10, as the Wildcats host Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. Saturday’s game is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS, visit kstatesports.com/tickets or stop by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at Bramlage.
