10/06/22 Cats 'n Carts, Episode 3
The third episode of Cats 'n Carts just features Sarah Shematsi, chauffered by Brylee Glenn around the Shamrock Zone and BSFS.
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9/29/22 Taryn Sides Has 1,000 Volleyball Assists
Robin, the mother of K-State commit Taryn Sides, proudly tweeted a banner Taryn was presented on the occasion of her 1,000th volleyball assist. I say, sign her up to be a Volleycat, too! (Twitter link)
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9/29/22 Cats 'n Carts, Episode 2
The second episode of Cats 'n Carts features Gisela Sanchez and Ayoka Lee. Gisela is a sophomore from Barcelona, who was at the U. of Arizona last year. Yokie drove the cart around the east side construction area. Here's the Twitter video.
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9/27/22 Big 12 Schedule Announced
K-State WBB has released the Big 12 schedule for 2022-23. It begins at Texas on New Year's Eve.
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9/19/22 Cats 'n Carts Series Premieres
Cats 'n Carts premiered on Twitter at 10:04 A.M. today. It would have been interesting to see how this was recorded, because there were group shots and close-ups from different angles. The idea is for us to meet newcomers, but their names aren't mentioned. Those onboard on the cart (in the East Stadium parking lot) are Emilee Ebert driving, Serena Sundell, Heavenly Greer, Brylee Glenn, Taylor Lauterbach, and (I hope I have the new Cats right) Gabby Gregory, Mikayla Parks and Sarah Shematsi. They change seats, sing, dance and display previously-unknown talents. Wabash Cannonball is Serena's favorite song ever. The parking lot speed limit was possibly observed. Here's the link to the Twitter video.
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9/11/22 K-State WBB Recruiting Prospects Update from @catfan28
Brad, @catfan28, is a master of spreadsheets, and is a wealth of information on K-State Women's Basketball. He has just tweeted his latest recruiting update. Thanks to him for his tireless work!
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8/23/22 K-State WBB Announces the Non-Conference Schedule for 2022-23
It looks like an interesting schedule, which includes playing in a Major League Baseball stadium. The announcement from K-State WBB has lots of details.
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8/23/22 Yokie Is Facing Knee Surgery, and Cannot Play This Season
Life can be very unfair. Our superstar, Ayoka Lee, who holds the NCAA WBB record for her 61 points scored in a game, will have an operation on her knee, and recovery will keep her from competition in 2022-23. (link) The K-State Family absolutely loves Yokie. She is the ultimate student-athlete. It hardly needs to be mentioned that she's an Academic All-American. She's the 2022 Big 12 Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a Second Team All-American, National Player of the Week three times, on and on. Also, Yokie was well-positioned to break the record for most points scored by a K-State WBB player. Finally, Yokie is a nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year. The announcement of that honor will come in January.
One thing is certain. Yokie will approach her recovery with the same determination she has shown us throughout her time at K-State. She plans to play again next season. Best wishes, Yokie!
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8/23/22 Pictionary with Yokie and the Cats
The challenge is to guess the opponent, based on what's on the white board. (link)
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8/23/22 K-State Women's Basketball Ticket Options
Be there, or be counted absent! (link)
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8/22/22 The K-State Women's Basketball 2022-23 Roster Is Out!
Here's the link!
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8/20/22 Kayla Goth and Dean Wade Got Married Today
The venue was the Liquid Art Winery, outside Manhattan. Best wishes to an amazing couple! (theknot.com) K-State WBB tweeted this photo of former players with the bride. I don't know all of their married names, but you'll see Ashley Ray, Kaylee Page, Jessica Sheble, Karyla Middlebrook, Kindred Wesemann, Anastasia Tsybaeva, Peyton Williams and Yokie in the picture. Here's Valarie Martin's Twitter photo of the aforementioned players + the lucky groom, Mr. Dean Wade. Here's a link to another great photo of the couple.
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8/17/22 Check Out catfan28's Future Roster Charts!
Brad Doebele, @catfan28, is always coming up with interesting recruiting information, and charts with interesting facts. He has just posted future rosters (through 2025-26) on Twitter. You should follow him! (Twitter chart)
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7/27/22 Ayoka Lee: Nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year
This is tremendous - and not surprise - considering Yokie's continuous honors over her K-State career. Then there's the NCAA all-time record of 61 points, endless academic recognitions, Kansas City Sports Commission Sportswoman of the Year, AP 2nd Team All-American... on and on.
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7/27/22 Gabby Gregory Transfers from Oklahoma
Gabby, a lifelong OU fan, says K-State is the "perfect fit." Here's D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra.
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7/25/22 Taryn Sides Tweets Thanks to the Missouri Phenom Organization
K-State commit @taryn_sides has been with the Phenom for a while, and has apparently finished a season, or her time with them. DO NOT MISS these highlights! She is an exceptional guard. Her shots and assists are both extremely impressive! She has committed to the Cats for 2023.
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7/22/22 Coach Mittie Agrees to a Contract Extension Through 2025-26
I'm very pleased to announce Jeff Mittie's two-year extension!
"Under Coach Mittie's leadership, we have achieved sustained success with six postseason berths while seeing the excitement level and support for K-State women's basketball continue to grow," Taylor said. "He has done a tremendous job as head coach while being a great mentor for our student-athletes, and we look forward to continued success with him leading our women's basketball program."
His K-State record is 145-110. Kansas State returns seven letter winners including all five starters from last season. The Wildcats will be led by All-American center Ayoka Lee and the sophomore trio of Brylee Glenn, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell.
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7/16/22 Finley Ohnstad Has an Offer from KSUWBB
Finley has an offer to be a Cat. She's from Minnesota, and plays for Lakeville South HS and Minnesota Fury. She's a Class of 2024 prospect. (link) Ohio State is after her, too... probably along with many others. Here are highlights of her sophomore season, from hudl.
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7/10/22 Taryn Sides: 17 points, 7 rebounds in the 17 EYBL Championship Today
This from @Catfan28: "KSU commit @taryn_sides went for 17 points and 7 rebounds this afternoon, including hitting the game-winning free throws, with 10 seconds left in the 17 EYBL Nike Nationals." Here's a link to the 17 EYBL Championship bracket. Taryn plays for the Missouri Phenom.
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7/08/22 Highlights of Kansas 3A Co-Player of the Year Taryn Sides
Thanks to @Courtside Films for these highlights of K-State's 2023 commit Taryn Sides in the EYBL Session 2. She had an amazing 2022-23 season for Phillipsburg. There's a good amount of coverage of her school season in my Media Coverage of the Cats section. (Look for links with an R in the left column.)
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7/08/22 K-State Sending a Delegation to the 2022 Red Bull USA Qualifier
K-State WBB announced today that Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn, Brylee Glenn and new Wildcat Gabby Gregory will be playing 3-on-3 in North Carolina this weekend. This will be three-on-three competition, with 10-minute games. The link here has all the details.
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7/02/22 Vote for Ayoka Lee for College Female Athlete of the Year
Voting in WHB's Honorary ESPYs is open. Yokie is on the ballot for College Female Athlete of the Year, and Clutch Performance (for her 61 points). (link) While you're there, vote for Skylar Thompson for Male College of the Year!
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6/23/22 Title IX Changed Things for Women Everywhere, Including K-State
Here's a real nice K-State Sports Extra on women's athletics, before and after Title IX, by D. Scott Fritchen, of course.
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6/23/22 Yokie Tops the List!
SID Randy Peterson tweeted today, "With the conclusion of the 2021-22 basketball season (NBA, WNBA & NCAA M & W All Divisions), no player scored more points in a single game than #KStateWBB's Ayoka Lee, with her 61 pts."
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6/16/22 Staci Gregorio: Recruiting Operations Co-Coordinator
Here's a real nice announcement. Staci Gregorio has been promoted to co-Coordinator of Recruiting, along with her responsibilities for skill development. She has been director of video and athlete development.
There's all kinds of good information on Staci's involvement in basketball in the release. You should have a look!
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6/02/22 You're invited!
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5/23/22 Emilee Ebert Has Basketball in Her Blood
Emilee Ebert is a tremendous representative for Kansas State University and K-State WBB! She does everything the right way, and it's no surprise that she's a regular starter. She sure is making Frankfort (and Cat fans) proud!
She was brought up to play basketball, under the early guidance of Coach Brian Ebert. It's wonderful that Emilee's on the Catbacker tour this month. I hope we'll get to hear from her in MHK in June. Be sure to read D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra!
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5/20/22 Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll - Spring 2022
Congrats to all these classroom champions, and certainly to Serena Sundell, Cymone Goodrich and Taylor Lauterbach, who recorded 4.000s in spring 2022!
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5/15/22 Congratulations to Laura Macke and Savannah Simmons, 2022 Grads!
Coach Nick tweeted congratulations to Laura and Savannah. I very much appreciated their dedication to the program, and always felt confident when they were on the court. They will certainly be missed!
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5/13/22 Wildcat Quartet Excited for Unique Game
As announced in the post just below, Taylor Lauterbach, Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn and Serena Sundell are in Massachusetts for the 2022 Red Bull USA Basketball 3X Nationals, where they will play 10-minute, three-on-three games. This is the topic of D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra today, with all the details on how this works. D. Scott reminds us that the Cats will be finding time to find Yokie's jersey in the Naismith Hall of Fame, as she holds the WBB record with 61 points.
I finally found a results page! Here's a series recap from K-State WBB, which includes this photo gallery.
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5/04/22 Taylor, Jaelyn, Brylee and Serena to the 2022 Red Bull USA Basketball 3X Nationals
Taylor Lauterbach, Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn and Serena Sundell will start this adventure at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, and could end up in Antwerp, Belgium next month. (kstatesports.com) (Manhattan Mercury)
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5/3/22 K-State women hope transfers help outside shooting
KSU WBB finished with the lowest 3-point percentage in the Big 12. Coach Mittie added Gabby Gregory from OU, and Gisella Sanchez from Spain to correct our shooting numbers. Here's the story from the Manhattan Mercury.
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5/01/22 It looks as if Everybody's after Arianna Roberson '24
KSU, TCU, TTU, OU (Twitter link)
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4/27/22 Yokie Gets Another One: KCSC Sportswoman of the Year
The Kansas City Sports Commission has selected Ayoka Lee for their Sportswoman of the Year Award. Sports Information reminds us that in 2021-22, Yokie recorded career-highs in points (727), points per game (22.0), field goals made and attempted (296-526), free throws made and attempted (135-175), rebounds (339), blocks (95), steals (39), assists (23) and double-doubles (20). And... having dropped 61 points on OU in January is an all-time NCAA WBB record, which is nice. (link)
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4/19/22 Gisela Sanchez Has Signed for 2022-23
Gisela is a forward, and will be able to play three seasons as a Cat. She played 2021-22 for Arizona, seeing action in 20 games. Prior to that, she was on a club team, and represented Spain in international competion. (link)
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4/20/22 Malene Pedersen Is Transferring
Because of an unknown injury, Malene wasn't able to play for K-State WBB this season, but I'm happy that she has a new opportunity with Wyoming. (link)
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4/14/22 Yokie Threw Out the First Pitch Today
Star center Ayoka Lee (a.k.a. known as the Big 12 WBB Scholar-Athlete of the Year) threw the first pitch right over the center of home plate this evening, before K-State Baseball vs. Texas. (Twitter link)
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4/09/22 Learn About Yokie's NIL Affiliations
Ayoka Lee has recently joined forces with H&R Block®, to help with their new program, A Fair Shot, which has the goal of supporting female athletes. (tweet) (link to players' stories) Before we go... here's a Twitter video announcing her association with Next Page Sports)
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4/04/22 K-State Completes 54th Season in 2021-22
Here's a shout out to Randy Peterson, the sports information guru for WBB, who no doubt compiled this exhaustive collection of fun facts about K-State Women's Basketball's 21-22 season. This is a look at both team and individual accomplishments, in all sorts of categories. Along with Coach Mittie, there's a special focus on Ayoka Lee, Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn, Brylee Glenn and Emilee Ebert. Be sure to have a look!
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4/03/22 It's Rebekah Dallinger's 21stBirthday!
Here's a fun video edit of Rebekah being the life of the party on the sidelines. And... here's Rebekah visiting with Yokie in October, for her Crafted video.
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3/30/22 Britt Prince's Postseason Recognitions
Britt Prince, a sophomore at Elkhorn North High School in Nebraska, had quite a season, collecting several First-Team All-State honors. As I understand it, she's not a K-State commit at this time, but has been offered. She recently joined other Nebraska star players for a photoshoot and ice cream. (story) Look at this highlights video. It's like she's impossible to defend! (YouTube)
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3/30/22 Kansas High School Girls All-Time Scoring Chart
@catfan28, Brad Doebele, has been doing tremendous work this spring to compile an all-time scoring chart for Kansas girls. Here's his latest tweet, and here's the latest version of his spreadsheet. Two of the top three on the chart, Jackie Stiles and Emily Ryan, are players we at K-State thought were headed our way. A fun feature of the chart is that players who came to K-State as players or coaches are listed with purple backgrounds. As Coach Snyder would say, Brad has kept rowing the boat, and the list is steadily getting more complete.
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3/24/22 Ayoka Lee Has Been Named to the WBCA All-Region 3 Team
I'm sure this is no surprise to any of us, but it's still nice and well-deserved. Yokie's one of 52 finalists for their All-America honors. Here's the announcement from K-State WBB. Here's the WBCA's Awards Web Site.
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3/24/22 Rachel Ranke Says Goodbye
I'm sad that Rachel Ranke has entered the transfer portal. She has struggled with an ACL injury, and a back injury, I believe. She could have made major contributions this past season, if her health allowed it.
Rachel leaves K-State with 1,037 points and 230 3s (6th in program history). You always felt confident with Rachel on the court. I wish her the best!
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3/21/22 Extremely Proud
Here's Twitter video of the conclusion of Coach Mittie's comments to the Cats this evening, after the N. C. State game. He encourgaged the team to consider the entire season, and to go into the next season with the point of view that every game counts. Among other things, that's how you get to host tournament games.
I loved going to games this season. We had players being recognized for excellence throughout the season, including 13 Big 12 Freshman- or Player-of-the-Week recognitions. Ayoka Lee had three National Player of the Week recognitions in the same week, and is a Second Team AP All-American. Serena Sundell had an Honorable Mention All-Big 12 season, and made the Big 12 All-Freshman team. Of course we'll never forget Yokie's NCAA record of 61 points vs. Oklahoma.
Let's not fail to mention Ayoka Lee's points total after three seasons. She just completed a 727-point season. Her career total is 1,661 points. Look at the chart below. If you add 727 points to 1,661, Yokie would finish next season at 2,388 points, and she would finish her career as K-State's #1 scorer. Please see the chart, just above...
I'll be back to this season summary soon, but wanted to get it started this evening.
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3/21/22 Defense Carries K-State in First Round, Looks for More of the Same on Monday
Above you see the title of D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra for today. Our Cats will face #3 N. C. State this afternoon, in round two of the NCAA tournament, on ESPN, and hope to improve on the 21-point loss on Nov. 19.
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3/20/22 Slo-mo Sunday
Here's a one-minute Twitter video of highlights from the win over Washington State yesterday, slowed to about half speed. It's fun.
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3/18/22 Serena Sundell and Ayoka Lee: Press Conference Prior to the NCAA Tournament
Here's a transcript of the press conference, prior to playing Washington State.
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3/19/22 Wabash in the Water
The WBB Cats didn't travel alone to Raleigh, N.C. for the NCAA Tournament. Cheerleaders, Willie and part of the Pride of Wildcat Land were in the jet, too. The band tuned up by poolside the day before the Washington State game. (Well... some of them, including Willie, made their way into the pool.) (Twitter video)
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3/19/22 Serena Sundell Highlight Videos
K-State WBB posted these short videos of our star point guard to Instagram. Serena finished her first regular season 1) with five recognitions as Big 12 Freshman of the Week, 2) as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, and 3) on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. In early March, Serena entered the week leading all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers (41), 3-point percentage (.350), free-throw percentage (.825), assists (155), assists per game (5.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12), blocks (21) and minutes per game (31.6). Here are the videos: #1 and #2
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3/17/22 Former Wildcats Kamie Ethridge and Laurie Koehn Speak on Playing KSU
Tim Everson in the Manhattan Mercury has posted a transcript of his interview with Coaches Kamie Ethridge and Laurie Koehn. Kamie was with our program for 18 years, and Laurie was a superstar here from 2001 - 2005. She's currently #5 on K-State's all-time points chart, with 1,733 points. Laurie is in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, and was inducted into K-State's Hall of Fame last fall. Her total of 392 three-pointers was set with her last shot taken for K-State, and stood as the NCAA record for about 15 years. I cannot understand why her jersey isn't retired. Anyway, I really wanted K-State to win the game, but at the same time, the last person I'd want to win against is Laurie Koehn. She and Kamie have done great work with their current program. OK... to finish this post, here's a funny and sarcastic video of Kendra Wecker interviewing Laurie Koehn on Kendra Wecker Day.
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3/17/22 Ayoka Lee: U.S. Basketball Writers Association 2nd Team All-American
Here's WBB's announcement of Yokie's latest honor. They're rolling in fast!
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3/16/22 Ayoka Lee: Associated Press 2nd Team All-American
Here's the exciting news from K-State WBB. Yokie is second in the Big 12, and seventh in the nation in scoring average (22.4 ppg). She is second in the Big 12 and fifth in the nation in total points (695), and leads the nation in field goals made (286). She's the only player in the nation to average 20 or more points, 10 or more rebounds and 3 or more blocks. In Big 12 competition, she led the league in field goal percentage (.555), 30-point games (4), games with 10 or more rebounds (11) and double-doubles (11). Read the linked story for many more excellent achievementsl We can be sure there are more awards to come this season.
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3/14/22 K-State Cats to the NCAA Tournament
The Cats arrived at the NCAA selection show in the Shamrock Zone on Sunday night, attired in matching white-over-black outfits, including BALL IN long-sleeved shirts. I left K-State Baseball early, to get a seat for the ESPN selection show. It was a good feeling to stroll into the room, knowing K-State was going to be in the 68-team bracket, with a NET Ranking of 37. There will be lots of coverage of the big event. Here's a start. (By the way... I have basic NCAA Tournament links highlighted yellow in the left-side navigation column, on this page.)
• K-State Selected to 2022 NCAA Tournament (WBB's announcement)
• K-State Sports Extra: Cats Back in the Bracket
• TikTok on Twitter: The 'Cats Are Dancing (Don't miss this one! Emilee Ebert was on fire!)
• TikTok on Instagram: The 'Cats Are Dancing (Lil Nax X • That's What I Want)
• Big Dance Bound (Manhattan Mercury)
• K-State picked No. 9 seed in Women's NCAA Tourney (WIBW-TV)
• Instagram video of the Cats departing MHK
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3/09/22 Ayoka Lee: The Athletic 1st Team All-America
This is a subscription site, so we're only able to see a reference to Yokie's inclusion on the All-America team, but we know they made a fine choice! (link) Here's a full-size photo of the announcement.
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3/07/22 So Many Big 12 Recognitions to Announce!
For a summary of all 2022 Big 12 honorees, start here. K-State Women's Basketball has the program's announcement right here. If you'd like to download an enlarged announcement graphic for each player, click "poster" below.
- Ayoka Lee: All-Big 12 First Team (poster)
- Ayoka Lee: All-Big 12 All-Defensive Team
- Serena Sundell: All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (poster)
- Serena Sundell: Big 12 All-Freshman Team (unanimous)
- Brylee Glenn: Big 12 All-Freshman Team (poster)
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3/06/22 K-State's the No. 6 Seed in the Big 12 Championship
Here's the announcement from the Big 12. It's the 6-seed Cats vs. the 3-seed University of Austin on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 P in KCMO. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
Texas won 66-48 in Austin, and 62-51 in The Octagon. Enough!
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3/03/22 Serena Sundell Stars, but Continues to Grow
Above is the title of D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra for today. It was no doubt prompted by the announcement three days ago that our point guard, Serena Sundell, had been named - for the fourth time - the Big 12 Freshman of the Week. This honor shows she's a strong contender for Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Coach Jeff Mittie, responding to that possibility, said, "What she doesn't get a lot of credit for is just the overall game. She fills up the stat sheet." He added, "I think she's made the argument all year. Four times conference freshman player of the week."
D. Scott stated, "Sundell entered the week leading all Big 12 freshmen in 3-pointers (41), 3-point percentage (.350), free-throw percentage (.825), assists (155), assists per game (5.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.12), blocks (21) and minutes per game (31.6)."
Here are Serena's current stats from HerHoopStats. You may have to be logged in to see them. As of this week, Serena is the only freshman in the nation with 160 or more assists, and 40 or more 3-point field goals made. Finally, she ranks second in program history for assists in a freshman season, with 162. Her total trails only the record of 189 set by Shalee Lehning in the 2005-06 season. Sundell's 162 assists lead all Big 12 freshmen, and rank second among freshmen nationally.
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3/02/22 Farewell to our awesome seniors
The Bramlage Coliseum home crowd - along with K-State Women's Basketball - said goodbye to four players after their final home games. Here are links to videos edited from their teammates' comments and well wishes, along with their official recognitions. Here are Twitter links for photos and videos from senior night.
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3/01/22 Lawrence and Fae Odgers: K-State Women's Basketball Superfans
Lawrence and Fae Odgers have almost never missed a KSU WBB game in recent years... home or away. Their loyalty and support are greatly appreciated by K-State's team and staff, as demonstrated by a long-standing tradition of post-game hugs. Their guaranteed front-row, corner-of-the-court seats make them easy for the players to find. The Odgers often come equipped with signs. They're easy to spot, because of their ever-present white hats.
Katherine Benhardt, a sideline reporter for K-State Athletics, narrates a must-see video feature on Twitter. Here's the video on Facebook.
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3/01/22 Laura Macke: Looking to Make the Most of Her Final Home Game
D. Scott Fritchen has a nice K-State Sports Extra, focused on Laura Macke. She tells about her early days playing basketball in Baileyville, and also about her background in music. Laura has accepted a job as an architectural engineer (and a marriage proposal) for the summer. I know she'll continue to make the best of everything she does!
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2/28/22 Serena Sundell collects her 4th Big 12 Freshman of the Week honor
We weren't surprised in the least, after her 24-point performance vs. Oklahoma on Saturday. She's a serious contender for Freshman of the Year! (Serena Sundell: Big 12 Freshman of the Week #4)
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2/28/22 Yokie's a semifinalist for Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year
Here's a list of the semifinalists.
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2/25/22 Serena Sundell on what brought her to K-State, and her goals
Here, produced by Cox®, is a two-minute video of our awesome point guard, Serena Sundell, talking about her background, and her goals. (Twitter video) Serena's very intelligent, and her speaking ability is quite impressive. Of course, we certainly appreciate her perfect passes.
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2/24/22 Six Academic All-Big 12s
The Big 12 has recognized Cymone Goodrich, Taylor Lauterbach, Ayoke Lee, Laura Macke, Jada Moore and Savannah Simmons for academic excellence. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence, so Serena Sundell (4.0), Malene Lind Pedersen (4.0), Brylee Glenn (3.0+) and Heavenly Greer (3.0+) were not yet eligible.
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2/20/22 Kansas High School Girls Points Chart
If you don't follow Brad Doebele, @catfan28, you should! He's a passionate and involved K-State Women's Basketball fan, who loves to compile information related to our team. That certainly includes updates on high school stars, and K-State commits and signees. The information usually comes in spreadsheets, which he posts as JPEG images.
Brad's latest, amazing effort is assembling a ranked chart of Kansas HS girls' points totals. As of today, it's still a work in progress, as he's requesting input from all over. OK... here's his points chart on Twitter, with players back to the 1970s. First on the list is Jackie Stiles, with 3,603 points. K-State players are shown on the chart with purple backgrounds, and Kansas (and K-State) Sports Hall-of-Famer Laurie Koehn is second on the chart, with 3,160 points.
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| 2/18/22 Big 12 Stats Update
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2/18/22 Bidgette Gordon Giving Back to the Game of Basketball
D. Scott Fritchen has written what's closer to a biography than a K-State Sports Extra, in telling the story of Bridgette Gordon, K-State WBB's new Coordinator of Recruiting Operations. There are stories about playing for Pat Summitt at Tennessee, who won 1,098 games. Bridgette played in the 1988 Olympics. and in the WNBA. She's in the Women�s Basketball Hall of Fame. Be sure to read her Sports Extra. (K-State roster bio)
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2/17/22 Ayoka Lee got a billboard!
Three days ago, as announced below on Feb. 14, K-State Athletics unveiled a web site to promote Yokie for All-American. Today WBB broadcaster @BrendaVanLengen tweeted a picture of a giant billboard in downtown KCMO, using Yokie's picture to promote the Big 12 WBB Tournament on March 10-13.
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2/17/22 2023 commit Taryn Sides is on the 2,000 Point watch
The great @catfan28 posted a tweet yesterday, with his latest awesome chart. It shows the Top 20 points totals of Kansas HS girls basketball players, led by Jackie Stiles, with 3,603 points. Our Laurie Koehn had 3,160, Shalee Lehning had 2,510, and Kendra Wecker had 2,305.
Anyway... Taryn, who's currently a junior, is currently at 1,404 points. She's on a pace of high-400s per season, and could easily end 2021-22 with an average of 500 points per season; therefore, she's very likely to join the 2,000 Club.
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2/15/22 Brylee Glenn keeps practice interesting
Here's a fun tweet from a recent KSU WBB practice. There's some kind of drill going on, and Brylee's non-stop chatter added lots of humor and energy to the festivities. I tweeted that she reminded me of Holly Bonde's commentary in practice: "I'm like a snail." "My hair looks like a poodle." ...
Re-entry (2/16/22): Alright! Here's Brylee's next video, "Look good. Feel good. Play good." (Twitter link) The video crew has gone to great lengths to caption Brylee's commentary. Don't miss it. Then, at the end, Serena wants to know if her roommate, Brylee, is going to do the Griddy. Well, I had to get on Google for that. I was clueless. Here's a compilation on YouTube of The Griddy, as performed by NFL players. I have my doubt that the NCAA would allow it.
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2/14/22 K-State Athletics Announces a Web Site to Promote Ayoka Lee for All-American
This is a big-time effort by K-State to get Yokie the recognition she deserves. (link) (announcement)
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2/11/22 Happy birthday to the Glenns
Happy 19 to Jaelyn #3 and Brylee #5... born in scenic Overland Park in 2003! We're so fortunate and proud to have both Big 12 Freshman of the Week players at K-State!
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2/11/22 Ayoka Lee: High on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List
Click here to vote for Ayoka Lee for the 2022 Lisa Leslie Award. Here's K-State WBB's update on Yokie's standing.
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2/10/22 Some Encouraging News for Serena Sundell
At Baylor last night, our star point guard, Serena Sundell, had an ankle injury about three minutes into the first half. She never attempted a field goal. Our three-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week missed most of the game. Coach Mittie gave a brief phone interview on KMAN's The Game this afternoon. He reported that x-rays today showed no serious injury, but Serena was using crutches today. Coach Mittie called the recovery a day-to-day situation. I wish Serena the very best, and hope she's able to return to action vs. The University of Lawrence on Saturday.
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2/09/22 Ayoka Lee and NIL
Next Page Sports tweeted today that Yokie is their first female athlete to be signed on by them for representation.
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2/09/22 More Recognition for Yokie
K-State WBB has announced that this week, Ayoka Lee is on the Wade Trophy Watch List, and was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team. Thank goodness Shift-Command-C in Photoshop allow me to add extra space to Yokie's awards list above!
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2/07/22 Glenn Twins: Family Culture Video + a K-State Sports Extra
Newly released is a fun, one-minute video that shows Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn in action. (Twitter video) They have started a bunch of games as freshmen, and have been steady contributors. Both have been designated Big 12 Freshman of the Week.
They're versatile. One time down the court, you'll get a three. It won't be long before there's a steal, and they have nice moves to the basket for lay-ups. Combined, they have 63 steals this season. Jaelyn's hitting 37% on 3s. Brylee's hitting 76% on FTs, and Jaelyn's hitting 60%. Both are averaging 39% on field goals. (season individual stats)
In interviews, it's obvious that they're very intelligent, and well-educated. Jaelyn and Brylee are the topic of today's K-State Sports Extra, Glenn Twins Enjoying Experience with "Second Family."
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2/03/22 Big 12 WBB Stats Leaders Through Feb. 3
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1/31/22 Fun Facts on Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell
This info has been totally swiped from K-State Athletics, and no doubt was compiled by Randy Peterson and staff. It's taken from the Iowa State game advance story.  Follow this link for much more information than shown here!
Ayoka Lee:
Lee, a 2022 All-America and National Player of the Year candidate, leads the nation for total points scored (526), and is second in the nation in scoring average (25.0 ppg). She also leads the nation in field goals made (217), and is second in blocked shots (68), fifth for blocks per game (3.24) and double-doubles (14). She leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (.582).
Serena Sundell:
Sundell, a candidate for Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is second on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg), and leads the Wildcats in 3-point field goals made (34). She is second in the Big 12 in total assists (125) and assists per game (6.0).
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1/26/22 Coach Jeff Mittie's Trick Shot
Coach Mittie has been making his half-court bounce shot for years. 1. Shouldn't the university provide him with a purple cape? 2. Has anyone sent video of this to SportsCenter? (video)
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1/29/22 I got an Ayoka Lee commemorative basketball!
I was completely surprised and speechless this evening, when Joni from K-State Athletics made a surprise delivery to my front row seat during the TCU game. Athletics put together a package of special deals, to commemorate Ayoka Lee's NCAA-record 61 points vs. OU on Jan. 23. I didn't know about the set of 61 numbered, autographed mini basketballs, but I now own #20! Maybe this traces to all the chirping and tweeting I've been doing on this site, over the past six days, about Yokie's amazing season. Anyway, I'm honored and very thankful!!
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1/28/22 Catfan28 Weighs in on NCAA Tournament Prospects
The tireless @catfan28 has an analysis in table form of the Cats' odds of hosting in the NCAA tournament. Kansas State isn't a lock, but there are reasons to be hopeful for our 15-5 team. I highly recommend it!
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1/27/22 Rachel Ranke has a successful repair of her back
Rachel Ranke's proud dad has tweeted news of a successful operation on her back. Cat fans are so sorry that this has taken this season away from her. She's a redshirt senior. We don't know her plans from here forward, but we're happy to report that she already has 1,000 points as a Cat! Best wishes!
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1/27/22 Emilee Ebert visits kindergarten in Frankfort
Emilee traveled north to her hometown this week, to have a talk with some youngsters. I'm sure she had inspiring stories and good advice for them.
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1/27/22 Breaking down the first in-season top 16 women's basketball reveal
The NCAA Women's Basketball web site has an early look (click here) at likely top 16 seeds in the tournament. They have Kansas State at #16 today. Updates will be released on Feb. 10 and Feb. 28, and the tournament selection will be on March 13. (additional video)
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1/27/22 Fitz explains why KSU WBB star Ayoka Lee is so special
Mr. GoPowercat himself, Tim Fitzgerald, has an interesting analysis on the reasons for Yokie's success. "She has really, really good hands... exceptional hands." "It's really fun to watch how fine-tuned some of the elements of her game have become, because she isn't explosive." "K-State can never forget to find a way to get her the ball."
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1/27/22 Ayoka Lee keeps going after record game vs Sooners
Dave Skretta of AP News posted this follow-up after Yokie's next game. Ayoka Lee keeps going after record game vs Sooners
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1/27/22 Ayoka Lee Recaps "Crazy" Sunday
Yokie's 61 points in the OU game has been a national story this week, so why not have a second K-State Sports Extra, to review all the fun?!
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1/25/22 Yokie's not going anywhere soon!
Kellis Robinett has tweeted that #50 will be with K-State for another year. She's working on a master's degree. She said, "I'm staying another year. I really like what I'm doing in school."
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1/24/22 Ayoka Lee: Still the HerHoopStats #1 Player
I'm not sure how often this rating is revised. At this moment, Yokie's Win Shares rating is #1, at 8.8. A player from South Carolina is at 8.7, and a player from Virginia Tech is at 7.1. (link)
In Points Per Game, the leader is at 25.7, and Yokie is #2, at 25.5. By the way, Serena Sundell is #15 nationally in Assists, at 5.9 per game. She's within 0.5 assists per game of being in the top ten.
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1/23/22 Ayoka Lee Sets the NCAA Division I Scoring Record
This became national news almost instantly, and K-State WBB's home game with Oklahoma will be a lifetime memory, as Ayoka Lee set a new NCAA scoring record of 61 points. Along with that, she almost outscored the entire OU team, as the final score was KSU 94, OU 65. I'm sure that Coach Mittie wasn't aware that if he'd left Yokie in for another half minute or so, she would have broken Askia Jones' MBB record of 62 points, set on the Bramlage Coliseum court on March 24, 1994. (story)
Yokie had a historic accomplishment tonight, which she might well surpass by the end of her K-State WBB career. For the moment, the accolades coming in from all over are being linked in the Media and Game Results page on this site. Huge congratulations to Yokie! Finally... here are links to the game recap and box score.
Here's a link to D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra for Jan. 24, "A Performance That Will Never Be Forgotten."
Matt Henderson, of KWCH in Wichita, has tweeted a video edit, "All 23 of Ayoka Lee's Made Baskets Today in Under 2 Minutes." I decided to chart how Yokie shot those. Of the 23, 20 were shot with both hands, and 3 were shot with her right hand. Also, 19 were banked off the glass, and 4 went straight in the basket. (These numbers may not be perfect. The video download wasn't top quality.)
Here's a better-quality video of Yokie's scoring extravaganza, posted to YouTube by PassThaBall.
K-State Women's Basketball observed the occasion with a tweet, "How good was Ayoka Lee on Sunday? She outscored 40 NCAA D1 teams, by herself." (link)
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has named Yokie their National Player of the Week... an honor repeated from January 2.
Don't miss this! HerHoopStats has posted a brief video analysis of Yokie's decisions, and the great teamwork and passing by the Cats.
World Exposure Report named Yokie their National Player of the Week.
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1/19/22 Charlie Creme, ESPN: Serena Sundell's Currently the #3 Freshman in the USA
Here's a well-deserved shout out for Serena Sundell, as ESPN, earlier today, listed her as the #3 freshman in the country. (link) She's on the short list for Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
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1/19/22 Sundell Siblings Push Each Other from Long Distance
Here's a real nice profile on the entire Sundell family. In today's K-State Sports Extra, D. Scott Fritchen, with help from Serena and brother Jalen, tell the story of the support she constantly receives from Fargo and Maryville. I believe I have seen Serena's parents, Bob and Korena, at every game in the Octagon this season. Serena is certainly having a freshman season to remember, as point guard and a regular starter. As a three-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week, early in conference play, Serena will be a serious contender for Freshman of the Year. It's going to be amazing watching all of her accomplishments at K-State. And... she earned a 4.000 in her first K-State semester.
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1/16/22 Recruiting Updates from @catfan28
This is a shoutout to @catfan28 for keeping K-State WBB fans up-to-date on recruiting prospects, including commitments, signings and season stats at their current schools. Monitoring all this via who-knows-how-many different sources, is the sort of thing sports publications pay a nice sum to professional writers for. Thanks, Brad!!
Here's a link to a 2023–2026 chart of possible (and signed) future Wildcats. Here's a 2020–2025 chart of likely K-State rosters. Along with recruting, we get stats updates for our current team.
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1/10/22 Kansas State's Ranked in Today's AP Poll
The AP Poll doesn't have a permanent URL for this week's poll, but the Cats (13-2) are finally ranked! Among Big 12 teams today, only Iowa State (14-1) is ranked higher, at #9. K-State (13-2) has a better record than #13 Texas (11-2) and #14 Baylor (10-3), and is equal with #23 Oklahoma (13-2). The two teams that have victories over the Cats are #1 South Carolina (15-1) and #4 N. C. State (14-2).
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1/10/22 Yokie Leads the Nation in Player Efficiency
Ayoka Lee, as of today, leads the Player Efficiency Rating, as compiled by HerHoopStats.com, at 49.5. The next-highest is Aliyah Boston of South Carolina. Ashley Joens, the highly-touted player from Iowa State, is at 30.3 today. Here's a tweet by the Big 12 Conference. Nice work, Yokie!
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1/09/22 Brenda VanLengen votes for the Cats!
Long-time sports (especially women's sports) broadcaster Brenda VanLengen tweeted today on the big topic in Manhattan... why K-State Women's Basketball (13-2) hasn't been ranked in either the AP or Coaches polls. In fact, our favorite team has barely even received votes! Meanwhile... at this moment, the Cats are #13 in the NET ranking, and the answer is simple. That ranking is an objective compilation of game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.
Along with the NET ranking, as reported here, Kansas State was designated the NCAA National Team of the Week on Jan. 4, and Ayoka Lee carried three different National Player of the Week honors this past week. I think much of this can be explained by a lack of research by the coaches and writers involved. (NET Ranking explained)
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1/07/22 HerHoopStats Update — K-State Players
Ayoka Lee:
#1 NCAA Player by Win Shares (6 stats categories)
#4 in points per game (23.9)
#19 in rebounds per game (10.6)
Serena Sundell:
#36 in assists (5.3 per game)
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1/06/22 Big Time Bek
This is a fun highlights video of K-State's Rebekah Dallinger, the reigning NJCAA National Player of the Year. Of course, she's with us now. I love to watch her. She's always happy and upbeat, and a shooting threat from all over the place. Come and see her play!
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1/04/22 Shalee Lehning - Sublette HS Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX
Here's a real nice story about one of my heroes, K-State Sports Hall-of-Famer Shalee Lehning. I'd describe its purpose as support for equality for males and females in sports. It was posted by the KSHSAA. I'm pleased to report that in addition to the K-State HOF, Shalee is an honoree of the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, at the age of 27.
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1/04/22 Kansas State WBB: NCAA's Team of the Week after Upsetting Baylor
This is huge! The NCAA has noticed the Cats' (11-2) excellent play this season. Then our favorite team got an epic W on Sunday, leading almost the entire game vs. Baylor, resulting in the first win over them in 37 tries. (NCAA link)
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1/04/22 Ayoka Lee Collects Three National Player of the Week Honors in One Week
I'll come back to this later today. I have to go watch the bowl game. This is huuuge! (KSU WBB link)
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1/03/22 Sundell helps Wildcats knock off Bears for first time since 2004
Serena Sundell's hometown paper, The Maryville Forum, has a real nice story on the Cats defeat of Baylor. It has a bunch of quotes from Serena on the Cats' goals, and how the game played out. This victory is a milestone, as Kansas State had lost to Baylor the last 36 times.
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12/28/21 Ayoka Lee's on the Naismith Trophy Watch List
Here's a tweet from @NaismithTrophy, listing Yokie with the leading PPG standing among candidates (but we knew that, as she leads the nation).
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12/22/21 Rebecca Lescay, Ayoka Lee highlight WBB Starting Five
This story points out, "Lee leads the nation in total points (285), total blocks (48) and field goals made (118). She ranks second in the nation for double-doubles (8), blocks per game (4.0), third in the nation in points per game (23.8), total rebounds (133) and field goal attempts (207)."
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12/22/21 Classroom Cats: Four 4.000s, and Six with 3.000 or Higher
4.0: Serena Sundell, Ayoka Lee, Malene Lind Pedersen, Taylor Lauterbach (link)
3.0+: Brylee Glenn, Cymone Goodrich, Heavenly Greer, Laura Macke, Savannah Simmons, Jada Moore (link)
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12/20/21 Ayoka Lee: Player of the Week / Brylee Glenn: Freshman of the Week
The Big 12 Conference has taken notice of the Wildcats this season! Ayoka Lee reigned for a week, starting Nov. 15, as Big Player of the Week, and Brylee Glenn, who was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Dec. 6, are back on duty. (K-State link) (Big 12 link)
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12/20/21 Rachel Ranke unable to return this season
I'm very sad to report that Rachel Ranke will need another operation in January, as while recovering from a previous injury, she was injured in September. Rachel has been such an important part of K-State WBB, and she did very well in the 3-on-3 tournament in June 2021. Best wishes, Rachel, and our thanks! (Manhattan Mercury story)
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12/20/21 UIC Game Canceled
COVID strikes again. Illinois-Chicago canceled their Dec. 22 game with the Cats this afternoon. The virus was the reason. Athletics is looking for a substitute to play that day, or in the future.
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12/18/21 ...and it was party time in Manhattan!
Kansas State was 17.7 seconds away from defeating the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 18, 68-56. For some inexplicable reason, their coach called a timeout. How it would be possible to amass 12 points in 17.7 seconds – to take the game to overtime – will remain one of the great Bramlage Coliseum mysteries. Management decided to play Sandstorm, which wasn't as risky as usual, because it was a student vacation. Attendance was officially 5,209, by the way.
D. Scott Fritchen has just posted the latest K-State Sports Extra, entitled Win over Oregon Represents the Next Step for K-State. Be sure to read it. This edition is less about the mechanics of winning the game than the postgame celebration, and it's also about the significance of the victory vs. a Power 6 opponent (whatever that is).
I predict that there will be more joyous moments like this, as the season progresses.
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12/18/21 Kansas State 68, Oregon 56
Our Cats, 10-2, have lost only to #1 South Carolina and #2 NC State. Oregon came in as #22 in the Coaches' Poll, and RV in the AP Poll; however, the Cats were #11 in the NET Rankings, and Oregon was #15.
A topic before Oregon's arrival was their size. Kansas State never trailed in the game, and while the score was close at times, they maintained a lead, following a 2-2 tie. Oregon came with a good 48.3% on FG, but at our house, they shot 33.3%, while Kansas State shot 42.1%. (box score)
KSU Athletics did a nice job of promoting this game. Tickets were reduced to $1. Coach Mittie improved on that deal earlier in the week, offering 1,000 tickets for free! Attendance was officially 5,209. The average attendance, prior to this contest, was 2,280.
Something I think the Cats can take from this win is that a big, ranked team kept closing in on them, with the Cat's lead often in single digits, but they never got intimidated. Let's keep the attendance high, and support our awesome team.
Finally, Ayoka Lee was recognized after the game, if I recall, for recently reaching 1,000 points. There are many more points to come, I dare say. Here's a hi-res photo that shows the details on the game ball, and you can click on the photo below for a hi-res version.
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12/17/21 Do-It-All Ebert Helps Cats to a Fast Start
Emilee Ebert is the subject of a very interesting and detailed K-State Sports Extra, by D. Scott Fritchen. The subject is that after growing up around basketball, along with her intelligence, she has adapted to playing most any role needed. At present, she's playing power forward more than shooting guard. But... when playing guard, her assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.2... second in the Big 12. Jeff Mittie said,
"She's playing at a higher level. She's making really good decisions with the basketball. Her assist-to-turnover ratio has been fantastic, and her rebounding numbers have gone way up. Defenses are mixing man-to-man and zone, and she's finding a good rhythm in the middle of zones. Her play has really improved."
As a fan, I've always felt confident when Emilee's on the court. She makes good decisions, is skilled and also unselfish. We're certainly fortunate to have her.
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12/13/21 Serena Sundell did it again!
For the second time in three weeks, The Silent Assassin has been designated the Big 12 Freshman of the Week, as shown in the graphic just above, and announced by the Big 12 and K-State WBB.
Over the Dec. 5 - 11 week, Serena had her first career double-double vs. SDSU, when she had 16 points, hit 50% on 3FG, had 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. At Omaha, she had 12 points, hit 75% on 3FG, had 4 assists and 3 rebounds. She only played 20 minutes vs. Omaha.
Looking at Serena's season stats to date, our point guard's averaging 10.6 points/game. She's hitting 43% on FG, 40% on 3FG and 80% on FT. She has 53 assists and 13 steals. She's playing about 27 minutes per game. There's almost three months left in the regular season. We expect there will be more Freshman of the Week honors for Serena. Regardless, Coach Mittie found us a good one!
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12/11/21 Kansas State Prevails over South Dakota State in a close one
One might expect that a contest between the 8-2 Cats vs. 3-6 South Dakota State would be easy. It turned out that they're a good team, and the Cats only had seven players available, because of illness and injuries. "All's well that ends well," they say. The Cats got behind, but started scratching their way back. Serena Sundell earned her first double-double (16 points and 10 assists). The Silent Assassin led the team with 4 3FGs (video), was perfect on FTs and had 5 steals.
Yokie set another record: total career games of 30 points or more. (She came into 2021-22 with three 30-point games, and has five this season.) She led all players with 14 RB, had 38 points, 6 blocks and... fortunately... was able to play 37 minutes!
Emilee Ebert had valuable contributions, with 9 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal. Rebekah Dallinger had 8 points.
Here are your official game recap and box score.
A fun fact is that tonight the Cats won their second consecutive non-Big 12 road games since December 2012... when Brittany Chambers was our shooting guard.
Best wishes to Jaelyn and Brylee Glenn, and Taylor Lauterbach, who were unable to play because of illness (and also to our players who haven't seen the court this fall, because on lingering injuries).
South Dakota State mascot is the jackrabbit. Wouldn't it be kind of fun if the female teams there were called the jillrabbits?
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| 12/10/21 Yokie has been busy!
As of today, Yokie is 2nd in the nation for total points scored (228) and is 5th in the nation in scoring average (22.8 ppg). She leads the nation in field goals made (95) and blocked shots (38), is 6th in total rebounds (107) and 20th in rebounds per game (10.7 rpg).
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12/09/21 Claire Coggins: Lead Talent Evaluator, RecruitLook Hoops Girls
Coggins is down in San Antonio these days, as Karen Aston's coaching UTSA. Here's a tweet that announces Claire as a talent evaluator for RecruitLook Hoops Girls, which I believe is involved with youth club teams. I know she'll do great for them!
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12/08/21 K-State WBB 87, Omaha 56
Good stuff happened in Omaha tonight! The Cats' first quarter was one for the ages! K-State hit 7 of 9 3FGs (~78%), with 12 of 15 total FGs. The Q1 score was 36-9, and the first-half score was 56-24. The Cats hit 7 of 8 shots in the first five minutes of the game.
In the end, Yokie led with 19 points, Jaelyn had 16, Serena (who only played ½ the game, as she wasn't feeling very well) had 12 points, Laura had 10, and Brylee and Rebekah had 9 points. Jada was perfect on 3FG. Laura (4-4) and Jaelyn (2-2) were perfect on FTs. Yokie and Emilee led with 8 rebounds. Emilee led with 6 assists, and Serena and Cymone each had 6.
As the game's end neared, clearly the Cats were trying to break the 3FG record of 16, rather than just tie it; however, moments after the final buzzer, Cymone Goodrich nailed a three, which as you might expect wasn't counted, because of a pesky rule about the end of the game. So, Cymone hit a buzzer non-beater.
This was our favorite team's first road win in just over a year. I think we need to prepare ourselves for a number of good nights like this! Here's the official recap of the game.
Here's a re-entry on Dec. 10, as D. Scott Fritchen has posted a K-State Sports Extra, A Night They�ll Remember Forever. Also, here's a brief Twitter video of postgame.
Certainly one of the most fun aspects of this is knowing that there are many more days like this to come!
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12/07/21 Brylee Glenn: Big 12 Freshman of the Week
I have the announcement picture just above here, and the news releases in the media coverage section of this site, but failed to add the big news in this section. Here's a nice Twitter video shoutout, featuring some fancy shots from Brylee, plus her comments. Now, here's the Big 12's announcement, and K-State WBB's announcement. Our new players are making an immediate impact!
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12/07/21 K-State WBB's #11 in NCAA NET Rankings
I'd never heard of the NET Rankings before Coach Mittie's first radio show last night. I gather that they were established last season. So... I've added links in the left-side navigation column, including NET Rankings (WBB) Explained.
Anyway... on the Dec. 5 NET Rankings posting, K-State Women's Basketball stands at #11 among 356 teams. I'll be keeping an eye on this, as it will be a major factor in NCAA Tournament selection.
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12/06/21 Ayoka Lee: Top of the Nation by Win Shares
That's right... as of today, Yokie leads NCAA Women's BB in this Her Hoop Stats category. It's a good measure of how important a player is to her team. When you bring up the link, scroll down to TOP NCAA PLAYERS BY WIN SHARES. (When you locate that category, you can click on the player's name to reveal many more details, as well as explanations of the categories.)
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12/05/21 Yokie's at the Head of the Class!
Here's a fun tweet, showing Yokie as a national stats leader in FG made and total blocks.
I replied to the tweet with, "Yokie's averaging 23.2 pts./game. She has 209 pts. and 240 min. played, averaging 0.87 pts./min. At all 40 min., she'd be averaging ~35 pts. per game. The team's averaging 72.2 pts./game." My thoughts were, Yokie's doing great, and if we could stop her defenders from flopping, she could play more minutes. She's certainly the Center of Attention of our opponents.
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12/03/21 Sundell Learning to Lead Early in Her Career
D. Scott Fritchen's latest excellent K-State Sports Extra is a profile and update on freshman point guard Serena Sundell. As you can see in the entry just below, she's the Big 12 Freshman of the Week at this moment. Serena is very intelligent, and eager to make the most of her opportunities. She is going to have quite an impressive career. Along with her shooting skill, our point guard's passes are catching a lot of attention.
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11/30/21 Serena Sundell: Big 12 Freshman of the Week
Superstar Serena Sundell was a fine choice for Big 12 Freshman of the Week! Here are a few pertinent links:
• Serena Sundell: Calm, Cool and Collected (video)
• Serena Sundell: Big 12 Freshman of the Week (K-State WBB)
• Serena Sundell: Big 12 Freshman of the Week (Big 12)
• Lee, Sundell Named to Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team
• Serena Sundell has already surpassed expectations (video)
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11/20/21 The Collegian Names Ayoka Lee K-State's #1 Athlete
After all, Yokie is ESPN's reigning National Player of the Week in WBB! (Collegian link) Don't worry... Deuce, Skylar, Aliyah Carter and Felix are also on the list.
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11/17/21 Expansion of 2022 DI WBB tournament to 68 teams approved
Here's the official word from the NCAA.
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11/16/21 Sports Extra: Ayoka Lee's Sensational Week Is Just the Beginning
Yokie's the subject of D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra today.
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11/16/21 Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell: Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team
K-State WBB has announced that Yokie and Serena - no surprise - made the All-Tournament Team, with Yokie honored as MVP! Also, here's the WNIT's announcement of the recognitions.
Yokie averaged 24.7 points, and averaged 76.2% on FGs, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 blocked shots and 2.3 steals. Then there was the matter of her setting a K-State WBB record of 43 points vs. Central Arkansas! On the day that Yokie was proclaimed as ESPN's National Player of the Week, she had 31 points vs. North Carolina A&T, surpassing the average that got her National POW. I got to see almost every home game of the great Nicole Ohlde, our consensus All-American. Nicole had a very consistent shot off the glass (which I've often hoped other players would copy). Yokie is versatile, with a high-percentage shot off the glass, as well as a nothing-but-net inside shot. She has a total of 117 points over her first four games of the season, shooting 73.1% on FG, and averaging 29.3 points per game.
Serena Sundell, serving as point guard, had a career-high 15 points against North Carolina A&T. She had 5.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and a blocked shot. (I've definitely noticed Serena's passes. They're right on target, well-timed and easy to catch.) Her contributions are no surprise, as she came to us as Missouri's Miss Show Me 2021. Serena leads the Cats with 24 assists, and she's averaging 72.7% on FT. (WBB Stats Page)
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11/15/21 Preseason WNIT
Here's the Preseason WNIT web page. I hadn't paid enough attention to know that Kansas State and NC State served as host sites... with two games played over three days at each site. I do know that Kansas State WBB was scheduled to play at NC State, long before the Preseason WNIT competition began. It appears that all games played were prescheduled, and didn't result from progression through a bracket. For example, the competition this month was called a schedule, but for the Postseason WNIT, there was a bracket. There were four regions, with the Postseason championship played in Memphis in March 2021.
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11/15/21 Ayoka Lee: Big 12 Player of the Week
Yokie's recent accomplishments and stats are listed just below. She became National Player of the Week just hours before being named the Big 12 Player of the Week. Here's the release from the Big 12. By the way, Yokie scored 31 points in this evening's victory over N.C. A & T, which is more than the average that got her National Player of the Week, AND... she hit 76% in tonight's game, so she surpassed the FG performance that got her two Player of the Week recognitions! We're so fortunate to have Yokie!
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11/15/21 Ayoka Lee: ESPN Power Rankings National Player of the Week
In ESPN's women's college basketball Power Rankings, posted today by Mechelle Voepel, K-State's own Ayoka Lee has been recognized as the National Player of the Week. Voepel wrote,
"The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 28.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in three victories, while hitting 72% (36-of-50) of her shots from the field. That included a school-record 43 points in the Wildcats' opener against Central Arkansas."
Here's ESPN's stats page for Yokie.
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11/10/21 K-State WBB Signs Four in November
Jeff Mittie and staff are pleased to announce today the signing of four players who will start in 2022:
Name, Position, Hometown, School
Michayla Gatewood, Guard, Glenn Heights, Texas, Desoto High School
Ja'Mia Harris, Guard, Lancaster, Texas, Desoto High School
Eliza Maupin, Forward, Webster Groves, Missouri, Webster Groves High School
Mikayla Parks, Guard, Norman, Oklahoma, Norman High School
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11/09/21 Ayoka Lee's All-Time K-State WBB Single Game Scoring Record
- Yokie surpassed the great Brittany Chambers' KSU WBB single-game record of 42 points, shortly before the buzzer sounded in the Central Arkansas game tonight, as she reached 43 points.
- Seconds after the final buzzer sounded, a Bramlage usher pointed out that our All-American center had just outscored the entire Central Arkansas team, in the 103-40 outcome!
- Brittany Chambers, the program's all-time scoring leader (with 2,165 points), had scored 42 in the 2013 WNIT, vs. Texas Southern on 3/25/13. Here's a PDF of the database I made.
- Here's a calculation of the outcome, assuming no bench time for Yokie in tonight's contest.
43 pts. ÷ 23.65 actual min. played = 1.1818 points per minute.
1.1818 x a full 40 minutes would = 72.7272 points.
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11/09/21 Glenn Sisters Bring Twinning Ways to Manhattan
D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra gets us better acquainted with the twins, #3 Jaelyn and #5 Brylee. Women's BB has been after them, back to 8th grade! They were born in Overland Park, and they're from the Raymore area, just south of KCMO. Their Barstow School is in KCMO, on State Line Rd. so they literally went to secondary school a few feet from Kansas.
In their interview, they emphasize how well they know each other's game, as they've played both school basketball and AAU for a long time. Coach Mittie talks about Jaelyn's smart play, skills and versatility, and Brylee's agressiveness, toughness and energy. They're adjusting adjusting to a faster game, which we know is a transition for most new players entering Division I. Be sure to take a break from this page, and read all about them!
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11/03/21 Dallinger's International Basketball Journey Leads Her to K-State
Yes, we actually do have the reigning National Junior College Player of the year, Rebekah Dallinger, with K-State WBB now! Read D. Scott Fritchen's K-State Sports Extra to find out how she's going to contribute.
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11/02/21 Ayoka Lee: Stepping into the Brightest of Spotlights
I highly recommend this profile on Yokie, written by former K-State WBB guard Missy Decker Heidrick for thenexthoops.com. Missy was with the Cats from 1994-97. She mentioned Rochester, MN in the story. It happens to be her hometown. Yokie's from Byron, five miles away.
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10/29/21 Ayoka Lee for the Lisa Leslie Award!
Once again, Yokie's on the Lisa Leslie Award watch list. (announcement) This award is either determined or influenced by fan voting. Here's how it works. Fans may vote once per day. (voting link) Note: The link in KSU WBB's announcement doesn't seem to work, so use the one right here. To vote, you'll have to indicate you're not a robot, and you'll have to cast a vote in five-or-so other categories before you get to Yokie, who's a center.
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10/21/21 Crafted Continues on Twitter
Crafted, the Internet series from @KStateWBB is painting with small talk, and it's totally free... unlike ESPN+. Ayoka Lee is our host. Meep!
• Preview
• Episode 1: Yokie visits with our new Cat, Serena Sundell.
• Episode 2: Rebekah Dallinger tells about her start in basketball.
• Episode 3: Jaelyn Glenn and Yokie in a photo of their paintings
• Episode 3: Jaelyn Glenn and Yokie paint alien beings, and visit about Jaelyn's start in basketball
• Episode 4: Brylee Glenn and Yokie paint shapes. Brylee likes Lemonade Mouth. I have that DVD.
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10/21/21 Ayoka Lee stays a step ahead of Big 12 WBB coaches
The Manhattan Mercury has a real nice update on Yokie, as the season begins 10 days from now.
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10/19/21 Women's Hoops Ready for 2021-22
That's the title of a must-read preview in today's Manhattan Mercury. It covers things Jeff Mittie is focusing on with veterans Yokie and Taylor, and introduces the exciting group of newcomers, including Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Rebekah Dallinger and Heavenly Greer. Malene Pedersen will unfortunately be red shirting this season. Washburn's up first, at 1 P.M. on Halloween, in the Octagon of Doom and Despair.
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10/18/21 Here's the latest on K-State WBB Recruiting, Compiled by catfan28.
Nothing on recuiting gets by catfan28. Tonight, he updated his KSU WBB Roster / Commits Chart
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10/18/21 Michayla Gatewood Is Committed to K-State
Michayla Gatewood pinned a tweet today, stating her commitment to KSU WBB. She's a 5' 6" point guard and a HS senior from DeSoto (Texas... not Kansas). Here's Maxpreps' profile on Michayla. Here's ESPN's profile. She'll be available in fall 2022. It seems she was here on Oct. 16, because the four coaches had the same outfits on as in other recruits' pictures.
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10/17/21 Addy Brown Had a Return Visit to K-State
Addy Brown tweeted pics from her visit to WBB and the K-State Football game. She's a Class of 2023 player from Derby. (no... not Derby Dining Center... Derby Kansas!)
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10/16/21 Amari Byles Has an Unofficial Visit
Amari Byles, a 6' 2" guard, has tweeted appreciation for an unofficial visit to KSU WBB. She's an 8th grade player from Dallas, with offers from SMU and Cincinnati.
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10/16/21 McKenzie Mathurin Gets a Scholarship Offer
McKenzie Mathurin @mathurin2025 has tweeted an announcement of a scholarship offer from K-State Women's Basketball. She's from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and it appears that she had an official visit today. It doesn't appear that she has committed at this point. Here's her profile on pregirlhoops.com. It shows her as a 5' 10" center/guard. Okie State and others are after her, too. She's a high school freshman, according to this tweet, so we can't expect a decision right away.
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10/14/21 Ayoka Lee: More to Write in Her K-State Career
Ayoka Lee, halfway through her K-State WBB career, has tremendous accomplishments on the court, and is an Academic All-American. We're so fortunate to have her! She's a perfect role model, who's entering her third season with a bachelor's degree. Yokie's defenders' prime strategy of faking fouls is addressed on page 7 of the 2021-23 NCAA Rules. Don't miss D. Scott Fritchen's latest K-State Sports Extra!
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10/13/21 Taylor Lauterbach's Instagram Takeover
Get acquainted a bit more with the new WBB Cats, as Brylee, Jaelyn, Serena and Malene tell us their favorite practice drills. (link) OK... I haven't yet figured out why this says Instagram, because the video's on Twitter. Actually, the video starts with veteran players answering fan questions. Someone asked Rachel Ranke what her favorite Coach Mittie quote is. I could have answered that. It's "Figure it out!" (You get a stomp with the quote. I think I've seen Coach do that in games.)
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10/11/21 Kansas State Is a Host Site for the Preseason WNIT in November
I did not know this, until I took my first look at our 2021-22 schedule. Here's the schedule. The Cats will play UT-Martin, Western Kentucky and North Carolina A&T at home, then will hop on a plane and play NC State.
I have very pleasant memories of Kansas State winning the Postseason WNIT in March 2006, in Bramlage Coliseum, before a capacity crowd of 13,340. Kimberly Dietz made the All-Tournament Team, and the great Claire Coggins was the WNIT MVP.
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10/11/21 NCAA Women's Basketball Rules 2021-23 Address Flopping
We all know that flopping in the vicinity of Ayoka Lee - and trying to get her fouled out in the first quarter - has become a prime defensive tactic. The new NCAA WBB rules have addressed it.
The rules committee is concerned with an increase in the number of situations when players "flop" or fake being fouled to try to fool the official into believing a foul has been committed. Acts such as, but not limited to, embellishing the
impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays, shooters "flopping" or flailing their arms to draw a foul, and dribblers using a "head bob" attempting to get a foul ruled on their defender do not belong in our game.
Acts such as, but not limited to, embellishing the impact of incidental contact on block/charge plays, shooters "flopping" or flailing their arms to draw a foul, and dribblers using a "head bob" attempting to get a foul ruled on their defender do not belong in our game.
You can download the new NCAA Rules for free. (PDF link)
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10/03/21 Keep an eye on Macey Huard
This 6' 2" shooting guard from Colorado / Valor Christian HS had an unofficial visit to K-State over the weekend She got an offer from K-State WBB in July. If you look at her Twitter page, you'll see she has offers from Wyoming, San Diego, Montana, Northern Colorado, San Francisco, Fresno State, Hawaii, and probably others.
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9/27/21 Laurie Koehn to K-State Athletics Hall of Fame
Laurie's an excellent choice. She went in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. For several years, she held the NCAA WBB record for career three-point FGs. Her total of 392 has been the Big 12 WBB record for 15 years! (link) She will be inducted into the K-State Hall of Fame on October 1. K-State says,
Laurie Koehn was one of the greatest sharpshooters in women's NCAA history while at K-State from 2002-05. She is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals made in Big 12 history with 392 (also a NCAA record until 2020), and in attempts at 942, while also holding the Big 12 record for career free-throw percentage at 87.7. Named the ESPN.com Rookie of the Year as a freshman, Koehn helped the Wildcats explode onto the national spotlight with a 26-8 season and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2002. The Cats followed up that season with a school-record 29-5 campaign in 2003 before claiming the program's first-ever Big 12 Championship in 2004. Koehn was named All-Big 12 three times during her career, and was a two-time Academic All-American. Koehn ranks fifth in school history in career points with 1,733, and remains littered in the record book for 3-pointers. Koehn signed a free agent contract with the Washington Mystics for the 2005 season. and went on to enjoy an eight-year professional basketball career both in the WNBA and overseas. Among Koehn's career international playing highlights was a gold medal as a member of Team USA's U18 team in July of 2000 at the FIBA Americas Championship, and a silver medal as a member of Team USA again in 2003 at the Pan American Games. Koehn was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Here's video of Laurie setting the NCAA record for three-pointers. Also, don't miss this from 2013: Laurie hits 132 of 135 three-pointers in five minutes. (video) Danielle Zanotti has play-by-play.
We conclude this tribute with an add-on, as Laurie is the subject of the Sep. 28 K-State Sports Extra by D. Scott Fritchen, entitled Q&A with K-State HOF Inductee Laurie Koehn.
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8/19/21 Malene Pedersen is a Wildcat!
K-State WBB tweeted a first-day photo of Malene outside the Jardine Tower. She had some delay in getting here from Denmark, but we're happy to have her now.
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7/30/21 MEEP!
Here's a fun practice video, starring #50, Yokie! Don't miss it! (Twitter link)
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7/23/21 Serena Sundell Brings K-State Connections to Wildcat Hoops
Austin Siegel's latest K-State Sports Extra is focused in part on the fact that Serena's brother, Jalen played for Chris Klieman at North Dakota State. Before committing to KSU WBB in March of 2020, Serena called Peyton Williams to ask for her thoughts, and Peyton had 100% good things to say. When Serena made her visit, it felt like home, and we're extremely fortunate to have her.
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7/18/21 Jaelyn, Serena and Brylee Stuff the Bus
Jaelyn Glenn @GlennJaelyn, Serena Sundell @serena_sundell and Brylee Glenn @bryleeglenn12 did some public service (the voluntary kind) today. Here's Coach Nick's tweet. Our new WBB players were helping collect clothes for USD 383 students, which is a project of the Konza United Way.
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7/18/21 Roommates Ready to Roll
Here we see former Phenom teammates (25-2 in summer 2018) Jaelyn Glenn (3), Serena Sundell (4) and Brylee Glenn (5) modeling their Cat uniforms. We going to have a very fine season, with a nice mix of veterans and newcomers!
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7/14/21 K-State Offers a Scholarship to Britt Prince from Nebraska
Britt tweeted her gratitude for an offer from KSU WBB yesterday. She already had offers from Creighton and South Dakota. Here's a profile on Britt by the Omaha World-Herald. Britt, a 5' 10" freshman, plays for her mother at Elkhorn North HS, so we can't have her for three years. If you're not sure what a force she already is on offense, watch this! As a freshman guard, she averaged 24 points per game. Now, if you'd like to be blown away, watch this video from her club team in 2020. Opponents foul her, and she scores anyway.
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7/07/21 Mike Nicholson: Ready to Define Chief of Staff Role for WBB
The latest K-State Sports Extra (thanks, Austin Siegel) introduces us to WBB's first Chief of Staff. Coach Nick is the latest 2021 WBCA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year. He comes with three decades of coaching experience, hoping to restore a program that missed postseason play for the first time since 2014.
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7/07/21 K-State WBB Welcomes Rebekah Dallinger from Sydney
WBB tweeted an announcement of Rebekah Dallinger's arrival at the Little Apple. At Miles CC, she averaged 25.8 points, had two games with 40-or-more points this season, and was named the WBCA National Player of the Year in the NJCAA. Great things are in store for K-State WBB in 2021-22!
Here's a group photo of Rebekah, Coach Nicholson and Staci Gregorio in Jardine today.
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7/03/21 Vote for Yokie for Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year!
Voting is open, and it closes at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 5. Vote Here. The winner will be announced by the Big 12 on Tuesday, July 6.
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7/01/21 Serena Sundell got her Missouri state championship ring
Maryville Spoofhound Girls' Volleyball tweeted a pic of a team reunion. Apparently it took a while for the championship rings to come through.
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7/01/21 Lane Trudo Is K-State WBB's New Strength Coach
Here's the announcement from K-State WBB.
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7/01/21 Serena Sundell Is a Wildcat (along with Brylee and Jaelyn Glenn, and a bunch of Missourians)
Don't miss Jon Dykstra's story in The Maryville Forum on K-State WBB's Serena Sundell and her transition to MHK with Brylee and Jaelyn Glenn, plus the long list of Missouri natives associated with the program. I'm very optimistic about 2021-22! There is an impressive collection of ties to Missouri among KSU WBB's players and staff, starting with Jeff Mittie.
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6/24/21 Ayoka Lee: Big 12 Athlete of the Year Nominee
It's fun to be reminded of the exceptional student athlete resume Yokie has accumulated! The award outcome will be decided by a fan vote, from July 2 to 5, on Big12Sports.com. (link)
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6/12/21 Mike Nicholson: New WBB Chief of Staff
Jeff Mittie has created a new Chief of Staff position, as reported by the Manhattan Mercury. Here's the announcement from K-State WBB. Coach Nick is the 2021 WBCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year. |
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6/11/21 K-State WBB Will Host in the Preseason WNIT Tournament
Here's the story from the Manhattan Mercury.
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6/11/21 Hall of Game - K-State 3x3 Hoops "Here to Win" in Springfield
I'd never heard of 3-on-3 basketball, but our Cats sure had fun with it at the Basketball Hall of Fame. It's another must-read K-State Sports Extra, by Austin Siegel.
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6/04/21 @KStateWBB Tweets Impressive Spring Grades
Regardless of all the distractions of COVID-19, multiple Cats had impressive grades.
- 4.000 for Sydney Goodson, Taylor Lauterbach, Ayoka Lee and Ashley Ray
- 3.5 - 3.9 for Cymone Goodrich and Jada Moore
- 3.0 - 3.5 for Emilee Ebert, Laura Macke and Savannah Simmons
As a team, the Cats came in at 3.365. That's very nice work.
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6/04/21 Jaelyn Glenn is a Wildcat!
K-State WBB tweeted a group photo yesterday, welcoming Brylee Glenn, as she arrived with roommates Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell. For the Barstow School in Raymore, Mo., Jaelyn was All-District and All-Crossroads Conference First Team, and was All-State. Jaelyn was rated by Preps Hoops as the #1 player in Missouri. She had school single-game records of points (58), three-point field goals (8), rebounds (22) and steals (13).
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6/04/21 Brylee Glenn is a Wildcat!
K-State WBB tweeted a group photo yesterday, welcoming Brylee Glenn, as she arrived with roommates Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell. For the Barstow School in Raymore, Mo., Brylee was Conference and District Player of the Year, and was All-State. She finished with 1,000+ points, a school-record scoring average, and had 40 or more points scored 3 times.
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6/04/21 Serena Sundell is a Wildcat!
K-State WBB tweeted a first-day photo of Serena and the WBB staff outside the Jardine Tower yesterday. What a promising group of recruits we have, with three star players from Missouri! Serena is Miss Show Me, honored as the best high school player in Missouri.
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6/04/21 Ayoka Lee: K-State's Academic All-American
In a post here on May 28, we happily announced Yokie's recognition as a Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Austin Siegel has posted another must-read K-State Sports Extra. It's a look at how Yokie's psychology studies play a part in her daily life, and also her career possibilities in family counseling and sports psychology. She's having a very busy stay at K-State, combining her dedication to academic and athletic excellence.
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5/28/21 Ayoka Lee: 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-American
Yokie was named Academic All-District VII on May 7, and today it was announced that she's Second-Team Academic All-American by the sports writers organization. (K-State release) She will begin a master's degree program in August.
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5/27/21 Gilliam, Thramer and Gregorio in New Roles
Jeff Mittie has announced new positions for three on his staff. Ebony Gilliam will be an assistant coach. Sadie Thramer will be the coordinator of recruiting and Staci Gregorio will be the coordinator of student athlete development and video coordinator. We're very fortunate to have them with K-State WBB. I think there's a very fun season in store for WBB fans! Here's the release from K-State Women's Basketball.
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5/15/21 Anyone Need Tutoring?
K-State WBB has tweeted Cats with diplomas:
• Cymone Goodrich
• Sydney Goodson
• Ayoka Lee
• Rachel Ranke
• Ashley Ray
Unfortunately, because of a recent Twitter decision on cropping photos, you have to save the pictures to see them, or you'll only get half a player.
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5/13/21 Best Wishes to Kelly Thomson
By chance, I noticed a marriage license announcement for Kelly Thomson of Wichita and Lucas Moeder of LaCrosse. Kelly has probably moved to Wichita for her current stage of medical school. We can be sure she'll have smart offspring, who are great Wildcats!
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5/13/21 Serena Sundell: Miss Show-Me Basketball 2021
Maryville High School had a senior awards banquet today. Here's a photo tweeted by someone. It appears they have limestone in Missouri, too. According to my sources, Serena will arrive in MHK in June, and what an impact she will have! (In case you haven't noticed below, the awards shown are for the best high school girls BB player in Missouri.)
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5/07/21 Ayoka Lee: CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team
This is a fine honor, and no surprise. Yokie's First Team All-District. (K-State WBB release)
As a first team selection, Lee advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team selection process, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected in late May.
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5/04/21 K-State Adds Malene Pedersen to 2021-22 Roster
Jeff Mittie has signed international talent Malene (Mah-LEAN-ah) Lind Pedersen to a National Letter of Intent. She joins previous K-State signees Rebekah Dallinger (Sydney, Australia), Brylee Glenn (Raymore, Missouri), Jaelyn Glenn (Raymore, Missouri) and Serena Sundell (Maryville, Missouri). (WBB announcement)
"Malene is a player that fills the stat sheet in every way," said Mittie. "She can play multiple positions and possesses a good knack for scoring. She is a possible redshirt, as she sustained a late season injury. We will assess this when she arrives on campus."
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5/03/21 Graduation Dinner at UMI's
Jeff and Shanna Mittie hosted a team dinner for graduating WBB Cats today. (Twitter pic) Here we see Ashley, Yokie, Sydney, Cymone and Rachel. Coach says three will continue at K-State. I assume they're Yokie, Cymone and Rachel.
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5/03/21 Rebekah Dallinger Has Signed!
K-State WBB announced today that Rebekah Dallinger, WBCA National Player of the Year in the NJCAA, has signed on the line! Coach Mittie talked about her scoring and distributing the ball. At Miles CC, she averaged 25.8 points, and had two games with 40-or-more points this season. This is going to be fun. Rebekah will join Serena Sundell and the Glenn twins, and our awesome veteran Cats.
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5/01/21 Rebekah Dallinger to Be a Cat!
Rebekah @RebekahDalling1 has announced her commitment to K-State WBB. Rebekah is the World Exposure Report NJCAA Freshman of the Year! She's also a WBCA All-American. (Twitter link) The 5' 10" freshman forward is attending Miles Community College in Montana, and is from Sydney, Australia. She averaged 25.8 points per game, 48.7% on FG and 42.9% on 3s.
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4/30/21 Senior Shout Out for Serena Sundell from MHS
Maryville High School is posting farewell pictures of their seniors, and Miss Show-Me Basketball 2020 in the state of Missouri was recognized for excellence in academic work, and in multiple sports. The Silent Assassin is headed our way in summer 2021! I'll repeat what Maryville Girls Basketball pointed out to me in January, "She is also the all time leader in made 3-point baskets, 2-point field goal percentage, and deflections. What is next?... career assists and career rebounds. BTW, she has 5 of the top 6 single scoring games, with a school record 52-point game." Serena is the all-time scorer in basketball... boys or girls... at MHS. Here's the link to Serena's shout out.
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4/27/21 Mulkey's Exit a Result of Strain, Fatigue
That's the title of a combination news story / opinion piece in the Forth Worth Star-Telegram. (link) The story claims that Kim's relationship with the Baylor AD wasn't great. It states that when she got an offer from LSU, she returned to Baylor for a counter offer, and both the AD and president declined. For some reason, she didn't like the decisions related to a new arena to replace the Farrell Center. Some claim that Mulkey wanted the new court to be named for her. Finally, it states that her LSU salary upgrade will be $2.8 million, from $2.7 million at Baylor. Whatever.
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4/20/21 Peyton Williams Added to Seattle Storm Training Camp Roster
Welcome to the United States, #11! K-State Women's BB tweeted news of Peyton's return. (WBB link)
During the regular season, Peyton averaged 8.6 points, with a .528 field goal percentage and a .722 free throw percentage. She averaged 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists. In four Euroleague games, she averaged a team-high 19.5 points, hitting 69.2% on FG, nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
As a Wildcat, Peyton was the first player in program history with the combination of 1,500 or more points, 900 or more rebounds, 200 or more assists, 150 or more steals and 100 or more blocks.
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4/13/21 Chrissy Carr Is Transferring
We wish her well. Now two days after Chrissy's Twitter announcement, K-State WBB has not acknowledged the event, and her reasoning for doing so is unknown. (Twitter announcement) (Manhattan Mercury story)
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3/31/21 Postseason Honors for Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Jaelyn Glenn
The best players in the state of Missouri (K-State WBB's 2021 signees) have scooped up so many honors, it's become a challenge to keep track of 'em all! Let's itemize a few:
Serena Sundell
Jaelyn Glenn
- The Barstow School, KCMO
- Prep Girls Hoops: #1 Player in Missouri (player link)
- Missouri Class 3 All-State (MBCA)
- 2021 stats: ave. 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and almost two blocks
- 2021 All-District and All-Crossroads Conference First Team
- 2021 McDonald's All-American Game nominee (announcement tweet)
- career: 1,000+ points,
- school record: assists and steals
- school single-game records: points (58), three-point field goals (8), rebounds (22) and steals (13)
- Meet Brylee and Jaelyn video
Brylee Glenn
- The Barstow School, KCMO
- Prep Girls Hoops: #5 Player in Missouri (player link)
- Missouri Class 3 All-State (MBCA)
- 2021 District Player of the Year
- 2021 Crossroads Conference Player of the Year
- 2021 stats: ave. 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals
- career: 1,000 points
- school record: scoring average, plus 40 or more points scored (3 times)
- Buckets by Brylee Glenn video
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3/30/21 Shaelyn Martin: Champion for Life
#50 Shaelyn Martin is the latest WBB player to be featured by the Big 12's Champions for Life program. (Twitter) There was no finer role model for young girls. They'd come in with signs made for Shaelyn, hair braided like hers, etc. Don't miss Shaelyn's video. (YouTube) She describes the opportunities playing K-State WBB provided. Now she's working on a doctorate, hoping to help others via occupational therapy. My computer shows that I downloaded that video in April 2017. Be sure to watch it. She is so well-spoken and focused. It was a privilege to watch her play.
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3/26/21 Sydney Goodson: Ready for WBCA Coaching Clinic
Here's the latest excellent K-State Sports Extra by Austin Siegel. It's a feature on super senior Sydney Goodson's contributions in her one season as a Cat, and her goal of becoming a coach. She's participating in a WBCA program next week. Be sure to have a look!
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3/24/21 Serena Sundell: Miss Show-Me Basketball
The MBCA (Missouri Basketball Coaches' Association, I presume) has bestowed its highest honor on Serena Sundell, 2021 Wildcat. This is certainly no surprise, considering her collection of records in her years at Maryville H.S. (tweet by Brandon Zenner) (Maryville Forum link)
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3/23/21 Serena Sundell: Unanimous All-MEC Selection, All-District
The honors keep coming in for future Wildcat Serena Sundell. She was the only unanimous selection for First Team All-Midland Empire Conference, and the Missouri Sportswriters (MSSA) named her All-District. (Maryville Forum link) Serena's 25.9 points per game contributed to her selection!
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3/23/21 Kelly Thomson: Champion for Life
The Big 12's Champions for Life program recognizes student athletes who display the characteristics of a champion: leadership, perseverance, community service and discipline. Today, the Big 12 tweeted recognition of Kelly Thomson, who's currently in medical school. In this YouTube video, you'll hear directly from Kelly on how being a Big 12 athlete helped prepare her for the challenges in her medical training.
Near the end of her time at K-State, I approached her to ask if she'd sign her game program. Often a star athlete will sign an item, say "Here you go," and move on. Kelly engaged me in a conversation, and we talked about her acceptance to medical school. I'd seen lots of examples of her character over her time at K-State, so I wasn't surprised at all, but it was so impressive. Kelly earned three Academic All-Big 12 recognitions. Be sure to watch the video of her comments!
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3/16/21 Yokie Is a Field Goal Percentage Superstar!
Ayoka Lee is known for expressing herself at times with simply, "Meep." (Twitter) I'm sure The Roadrunner would be proud to know her. As of March 14, Yokie is #3 in Division I in Field Goal Percentage. She's at 62.08%. (NCAA stats link) (NCAA stats link PDF)
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3/15/21 Sydney Goodson's Onboard with "So You Want to Be a Coach"
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has this program to help those interested learn about the skills and competencies needed, and I believe it also introduces them to coaches and administrators. (link)
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3/10/21 Big 12 Awards for Ayoka Lee and Chrissy Carr
Today the Big 12 announced postseason honors for Ayoka Lee (First Team All-Big 12) and Chrissy Carr (Honorable Mention). Here's K-State's release.
K-State WBB tweeted, "A career-high 19.4 PPG and Big12 Conference-leading .625 FG% landed Ayoka Lee on the All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight season."
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3/04/21 Farewell to Ashley Ray and Sydney Goodson
Austin Siegel's K-State Sports Extra is a look at the careers and contributions of our departing seniors. They will certainly be missed, and I wish them all the best.
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2/26/21 Serena Sundell has a Midland Empire Conference championship!
Serena, who's signed to be a Cat beginning this summer, led the Maryville Spoofhounds to their first MEC championship since 1986-87. They defeated Chillocothe 47-34 tonight. (Maryville Forum article)
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2/26/21 Putting in the Work is Paying Off for Frankfort Native Emilee Ebert
Austin Siegel's latest K-State Sports Extra is on Emilee Ebert. She's been a regular starter, and is second in minutes per game. She's #1 in assists, and high on the list for steals and rebounds.
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2/25/21 Honors This Week for Serena Sundell
K-State's talented 2021 signee, Serena Sundell, from Maryville, Missouri and her volleyball team are Academic All-State. Also, the Spoofhounds just won the Midland Empire Conference basketball championship by way of victory over Chillicothe. We're looking to see her soon at Kansas State!
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| 2/19/21 Jaelyn Glenn's a McDonald's All-American Nominee
Here's the announcement tweet. Stay tuned for more!
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2/15/21 K-State WBB Breaks Through in Sunflower Showdown
Austin Siegel's K-State Sports Extra is an excellent update on the program's progress after not being able to play for a solid month.
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2/14/21 Okie State Game Time Changed
It was announced today that the tipoff time for Wed., Feb. 17 in Stillwater has been moved up to 3:00 P. No doubt this will help in the Cats' return home, which from OSU is often by bus.
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2/14/21 Laura Macke: Hustle & Heart from the Kansas Kid
K-State WBB tweeted a quick Zoom visit with Laura today. She tells us about beginning to play with her brothers in Baileyville, being a three-sport athlete in high school, and her involvement with Ohlde Elite. Be sure to have a look.
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2/13/21 K-State Extends a 15-0 Start into a 77-66 Win over KU
Our Cats started a new victory streak vs. KU WBB today. (The Streak (PDF) amounts to 36 wins in the last 44 meetings. It includes a 14-2 record in the Jeff Mittie Era. My Media page has the usual collection of links, including the recap and box score. I recommend the postgame interview videos with Jeff Mittie, Emilee Ebert and Ayoka Lee. Here's a very good recap by Nathan Enserro of the Collegian. And... Yokie Lee got her 25th K-State double-double.
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2/05/21 Jaelyn Glenn, 2021 WBB Cat, hit 1,000 points today!
Here's a announcement tweet from Coach Smith at The Barstow School in Raymore, Mo. By the way, Jaelyn became her program's all-time assists leader last month.
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2/01/21 Ayoka Lee's Record Night: K-State Sports Extra
Ayoka Lee and Nijel Pack are the subjects of today's K-State Sports Extra. Yokie scored 37 points vs. Oklahoma last night, along wtih 18 rebounds. Her 37 points are the most ever scored by K-State in a Big 12 game.
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1/29/21 Peyton Williams Finds Balance as Pro Career Begins in Russia
Here's a very interesting K-State Sports Extra on Peyton's pro career, and adjustment to life in Russia.
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1/20/21 I thought we had West Virginia.
The Cats were up by 12 points with one minute to play. The Cats led 38 of 40 minutes. The game was lost on turnovers, as KSU had 29 to WVU's 11. There were 10 turnovers in the final four minutes. Then there was the matter of the foul discrepancy: 23 for KSU vs. 8 for WVU, which no doubt led to Coach Mittie's early return to the locker room. He had two technical fouls in the same dead ball... probably resulting from the uneven foul situation.
Ayoka Lee had 16 points, and Chrissy Carr had 15. Jada Moore had 8, and Sydney Goodson had 7.
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1/16/21 Serena Sundell Comments on 2,000!
Here's an interview link posted by Chris Roush, with video from a podcast from KQ2 in St. Joe. I can't get it to open on my computer. Maybe you'll have better luck! OK... here's a 20-second clip from the interview, that I grabbed from Twitter. OR... I guess you can listen on Spotify... whatever that is.
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1/14/21 2021 Signee Jaelyn Glenn: All-Time Assists Leader
@GlennJaelyn has just tweeted a shout out to her teammates, who she credits for helping her become the assists leader at Barstow High School, in the Kansas City area.
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1/14/21 Oklahoma State Rescheduled to Jan. 25 / Iowa State Rescheduled to Jan. 28
These are both home games. WBB has announced that the postponed OSU game of Jan. 17 will be on Jan. 25 at 4:00 P. Iowa State, originally to be on Jan. 27, is delayed to Jan. 28 at 6:30 P. As of today, there are still four postponed games.
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1/12/21 Serena Sundell Breaks Another Record!
Word from Maryville, Mo. is that 2021 signee Serena has broken 2,000 points for the Spoofhounds. She's the all-time points leader for Maryville (girls and boys), and she still has a minimum of 11 games to play. K-State WBB has had three players with 2,000+ points. All three earned All-America honors, and their jerseys are retired in Bramlage Coliseum.
Re-Entry: Here's a tweeted photo/graphic announcing Serena's 2,000 points. It was posted by her high school, but it looks like something from K-State WBB.
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1/05/21 WBB Activities Pause Extended (3rd time)
More disappointment! The pause now continues through January 17, the home contest vs OSU. (link)
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1/06/21 Serena Sundell Keeps the Hits Coming!
Maryville High School tweeted today the news that K-State's superstar 2021 signee @serena_sundell has become her high school's all-time steals leader. In December, Serena became the Spoofhounds' all-time points leader. In November, Serena notified us that she's known as The Silent Assassin (video). It will be awesome to have her in the Octagon of Doom.
This just in: Minutes after I retweeted Serena's latest milestone, Maryville Girls Basketball @MHSLadyHounds notified me of several other awesome accomplishments.
"She is also the all time leader in made 3-point baskets, 2-point field goal percentage, and deflections. What is next?... career assists and career rebounds. BTW, she has 5 of the top 6 single scoring games, with a school record 52-point game. All of this and humble too."
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1/05/21 WBB Activities Pause Extended
More disappointment! The pause now continues through January 14, the home contest vs TCU. (link)
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1/01/21 Happy New Year!
The Cats have tweeted a greeting to their fans.
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12/28/20 Big 12 Attendance Stats
Brad, @catfan28 on Twitter, likes statistics. He has just tweeted a spreadsheet that shows annual attendance at women's basketball among the Big 12 teams. He reports that every team but Iowa State has gone down in attendance. I have long believed that ISU inflates their attendance numbers in WBB and VB. I know they have good fans, but, for example, look at some of their numbers from COVID-era box scores. They claimed an attendance of 802 when we played there the other day, and 884 vs. Drake. Brad points out that Baylor's record against Big 12 teams is 172-8 from 2001-02 through 2019-20. K-State's attendance was highest in the early 2000s, when we had... guess who... First Team All-Americans Kendra Wecker and Nicole Ohlde, plus Laurie Koehn and Megan Mahoney. K-State WBB has been pretty good in recent years, generally 30-something in Division I. To conclude, I'm pleased that our awesome recruit, Serena Sundell, considers Job 1 to be beating Baylor!
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12/23/20 Rachel Ranke Finding Form at the Right Time for the Wildcats
We're fortunate that Rachel is able to be back on the court. Austin Siegel's K-State Sports Extra reminds us that Rachel was off the court for most of last season. You can tell from this profile that Ranke has a real sense of purpose. While we think of her as a long-range shooter, we learn that she is certainly focused on defense. It's good to have her back!
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12/15/20 K-State is ncaa.com's WBB Team of the Week.
Autumn Johnson posted the fun announcement today of the Cats' selection. She focused on their three wins in one week, and upsetting ranked South Dakota State (leading the entire game), along with strong performances by Ayoka Lee, Chrissy Carr and Rachel Ranke. Very nice!
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12/11/20 Serena Sundell: All-Time Leading Scorer for Maryville H.S.
K-State's extremely talented 2021 signee, Serena Sundell, was recognized as the leading scorer all-time – girls' or boys' – in Maryville history. She broke the mark (1,833 points) just 3 games into her senior season! We're so fortunate to have signed Serena! (Twitter announcement)
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12/11/20 Yokie's Return Powers K-State Past South Dakota State
It was most excellent that the possible return of Ayoka Lee from the injured reserved list became reality. Last year's 12-time Freshman of the Week was back in action. She led all scorers with 18, had 9 rebounds and shot 70% from the field. Austin Siegel wasted no time in producing this K-State Sports Extra.
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12/03/20 Dec. 6 Game Canceled / Central Arkansas Road Game on Dec. 5
The virus apparently struck again, as UT-Arlington has gone to a "pause in activities," so there will be no Sunday, Dec. 6 game in the Octagon. Instead, the Cats will travel to Conway, Arkansas for a visit with Central Arkansas. Click right here for the release from WBB.
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11/29/20 New Hype Video
K-State WBB tweeted this 96-second video today. It's practice clips, recent and past game clips, pep talks, etc. I'm in it at 01:30, but who cares?!
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11/27/20 Versatile Pippin Ready to Work After Winding Road to K-State
Today's K-State Sports Extra introduces us to junior guard Makayla Pippin, who averaged one digit from a double-double at Central Arizona last season. The point of this profile is her versatlity. She can drive the basket or shoot a three, and she's played with different coaching styles. It will be fun to see her in action this week.
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11/27/20 Women's Basketball Heads into Season with Optimism
Marshall Sunner of the Collegian has a nice preview of the season, with comments by Jeff Mittie.
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11/24/20 Emma Chapman Opts out of 2020-21 Season
I just saw the sad news in the online Manhattan Mercury that sophomore Emma Chapman has decided not to play in 20-21. I don't know if that means taking a one-year break, or if she has left the team. I don't think this news was mentioned in the online Zoom session for WBB fans on Monday evening, although it took me a few minutes to find the button to turn on sound. I wish her well with whatever the year brings for her.
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11/20/20 Ft. Hays State Canceled / Newman Added
I'm sorry that Maddie Mittie won't be facing Coach Mittie again this season. The virus has struck again, as reported by K-State WBB today. There was no indication of which team is short of players, but we haven't heard of any instances among the Cats. The Newman game can be followed on the MIAA Network.
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11/19/20 Six Things to Know Before K-State Basketball Tips Off
Austin Siegel has a K-State Sports Extra that looks at both programs. If you wanted to condense the six things into one: they want to play some games!
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11/18/20 Only Two Big 12 Schools Ranked Preseason
The preseason AP Poll came out today. Only two schools, Baylor (4) and Iowa State (15) are ranked.
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11/12/20 K-State WBB Media Day
Here are various interviews to enjoy!
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11/12/20 Meet Brylee and Jaelyn Glenn
Our new Wildcat twins from Raymore, MO introduce themselves in this Twitter video. Brylee likes playing fast-paced and aggressively, and both scoring and creating opportunities for teammates. Jaelyn brings positive energy, and can play different positions. To learn more about them, have a look at this profile from 247 Sports, from January 2019!
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11/11/20 Serena Sundell: The Silent Assassin Is Signed
In this Twitter video, Serena Sundell gives her reasons for choosing Kansas State, and what to expect from her. She confirms that she is, in fact, the Silent Assassin. I hope she has an amazing senior year, and I know Cat fans will welcome her to MHK.
By the way... a week later, I'm editing this post to announce that I've researched what a Spoofhound is. I know what spoof means, but I just wanted to know more about the mythical critter that's so famous in Maryville. I grew up across the river from St. Joe, Missouri, reading the News Press, and this online article explains it. I found lots of different versions of spoofhounds in a Google image search. It goes back about 100 years. It was a carnival toy.
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11/11/20 K-State Signs Three in November Signing Period
 Here's K-State WBB's overall announcement after signing Serena Sundell, and Brylee and Jaelyn Glenn. This is very exciting news! There is... and will be... much more on them here. Although Brylee and Jaelyn are from Raymore, MO and Serena's from Maryville, they are acquainted, I think via club basketball.
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11/11/20 Jaelyn Glenn Signs with the Cats!
Here's the announcement tweet, and Buckets by Jaelyn Glenn. I've heard of Raymore, but haven't been there. It's very close to Overland Park, is next to Claire Coggins' hometown of Lee's Summit, and 10 miles from Kindred Wesemann's hometown, Pleasant Hill.
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11/11/20 Brylee Glenn Signs with the Cats
Here's an announcement tweet. And then there's Buckets by Brylee Glenn.
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11/11/20 Serena Sundell's Cool Signing TikTok
Access it via Twitter. I do believe that one jump she takes prior to pivoting to shoot is within NCAA rules.
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11/11/20 Serena Sundell Has Officially Signed with K-State!
I linked to this newspaper profile from Serena's hometown of Maryville, Mo. in April, when she committed. Today, we see this tweet, announcing she's signed. This is awesome news! By the way, her HS volleyball team just became state champs. Click here for another profile from the Maryville Forum. Finally, here's Buckets by Serena Sundell.
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11/06/20 A Shout Out to the WBB Managers!
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10/29/20 As K-State WBB Elevates Their Game, Expectations Follow
The latest K-State Sports Extra unsurprisingly has an optimistic look at WBB's prospects and goals for 20-21. Rachel Ranke's available again, and Ayoka Lee, #2 on ESPN's Top Freshmen list in April, was tops last season in points and rebounds. Sydney Goodson has transferred in from a troubled Texas Tech program. Coach Mittie recruited her during her high school years. Finally, as documented here, the Cats are #4 in the Big 12's preseason ranking.
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10/26/20 WBB Schedule for 2020-21 Announced
Here it is! The big day (season opener) is November 29, vs. Southern, whatever that is. Oh... then Kentucky is next, on Dec. 3. (We enjoy beating Wildcats.) It looks like we have 15 home games. I hope the germs leave us alone!
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10/22/20 Big 12 Preseason Poll
The Big 12 Preseason Poll is out, and the Cats are #4. (Big 12 release) (K-State release) This is the highest preseason ranking for the Cats in 16 years... since the final season for Nicole Ohlde, Laurie Koehn, Megan Mahoney, Brie Madden and Chelsea Domenico. The Squawks are at the bottom of the chart, by the way.
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10/21/20 Ayoka Lee and Rachel Ranke: Preseason All-Big 12 Recognition
Yokie was one of 10 named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, and Rachel received Honorable Mention. Yokie was a unanimous selection. Here are the releases from the Big 12 Conference and K-State Women's Basketball.
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10/13/20 Serena Sundell Is Playing Her Senior Season of Volleyball
Serena's commitment to K-State WBB for 2021 is well documented here. An article in the Northwest Missourian reports that instead of just focusing on the sport that led her to a Division I scholarship, Serena's playing volleyball, too. I respect her loyalty to both programs. She's not just thinking of herself. And... maybe she can be the next Peyton Williams! (See 9/14/20 below.)
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9/28/20 Mikayla Parks Commitment Update
Two weeks ago, we reported that Mikayla appeared to have committed to be a Cat. This tweet from a radio station in Norman backs up that theory. So does Mikayla's @MikaylaParks12 Twitter account!
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9/21/20 K-State WBB Roster Through 2023-2024
K-State WBB Twitter journalist @catfan28 (no... not J. R. Ewing) has posted an updated chart of current and committed players for the next four seasons. Click in this approximate area. You'll like what you see!
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9/21/20 Eliza Maupin Commits for 2022!
Eliza Maupin, a 6' 3" junior forward from Webster Groves, Mo., has just tweeted her commitment to be a Wildcat. Here's her MaxPreps listing, including some highlights from last season.
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9/14/20 Serena Sundell's Breaking Records in Volleyball
 K-State's 2021 commit, Serena Sundell, from Maryville, Mo., is burning up the volleyball court. She has already broken four school records... all for kills.
Follow Serena @serena_sundell. Follow Maryville Volleyball @spoofhound_VB. This fall, follow Maryville Girls' Basketball @MHSLadyHounds. (Serena was all-state in basketball this past season.) Here's a very complimentary story on Maryville VB vs. Harrisonville, calling Serena "the best athlete on the court."
Cat fans can't wait for her arrival in MHK next year! We have to remember... Serena's from Maryville. Wecker's from Marysville. (Maryville HS tweet)
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9/14/20 It appears we have a commit from Mikayla Parks.
Here's a tweet from @MikaylaParks12. She's referring to fall 2022. Here's a story from the Norman Transcript.
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9/03/20 Which Carr Are You Yelling For?
Chris and Chrissy Carr: Life in the bubble, playoff predictions, and finding your voice are the talking points while daughter and dad play 1-on-1 in Jardine. @chrissycarr4 (&coachcarrKSU (Twitter video)
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8/28/20 K-State Women's Basketball Stands Together
K-State WBB posted a real nice video to Twitter today. It's a statement of unity. Be sure to have a look!
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8/19/20 Jada Moore Brings All-Around Game to Wildcats
Austin Siegel's latest K-State Sports Extra is an in-depth visit with freshman guard Jada Moore, from Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. Jada emphasizes that she's willing to do whatever it takes to win. Also, she loves getting assists. She's rooming with 6' 7" Taylor Lauterbach, and looking forward to getting the ball to Taylor and Yokie. In addition, she focused on shooting in her senior year, and brought up her average. Read all this and more, in this exciting Sports Extra!
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8/03/20 Taylor Lauterbach Ready to Go After Year as a K-State Commit
It's so exciting to think about 6' 6" Taylor Lauterbach and 6' 5" Ayoka Lee dominating near the basket in 2020 - 21! Also, it speaks well for K-State, Jeff Mittie and staff and the '19-'20 Cats that Taylor, who grew up a Wisconsin fan, chose K-State. (She's from Appleton.) It should be noted that Taylor graduated from Appleton West HS with a 4.000. Don't miss Austin Siegel's latest K-State Sports Extra for all the details on Taylor's journey from Appleton to the Little Apple.
Riley Gates of GoPowercat.com announced Taylor's commitment on July 22, 2019. Also, here's a Facebook video with Taylor's comments on choosing K-State.
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7/30/20 Jeff Mittie: My Favorite Game I've Coached at K-State
Here's the latest in a series by Greg Woods of The Manhattan Mercury. He's interviewing each head coach about their most memorable (in a good way) game with the Cats. (link) When Jeff arrived in 2014, his goal was to reach postseason play each year. Until the virus troubles in 2020, he and his teams have done that. His favorite game was vs. George Washinton U. in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
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7/30/20 Brianna Wooldridge Offered a Scholarship by K-State
Brianna @briwooldridge is a 6' 2" forward, from Lincoln Way West HS in Schaumburg, IL. She's a Class of '22 prospect. She also has offers from Marshall, Southern Illinois, Arkansas State, San José State and Cleveland State.
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7/22/20 Peyton Williams Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year 2020
This is hardly surprising, but very nice! Here's a story by GoPowercat.com. This is the announcement from Women's Basketball.
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7/15/20 Claire Coggins on the Life of Fitz Podcast
GoPowercat.com boss man, Tim Fitzgerald, has long been a close friend with the great Claire Coggins. It was inevitable that he'd ask Claire to join him on his Life of Fitz Podcast. Earlier this year, Fitz started doing telephone interviews with K-State sports icons. Claire... no surprise... was an exceptional interview. (link)
If you're new to K-State WBB, Claire was a star guard for Deb Patterson from 2003 - 2007, was a two-time All-Big 12, played for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA, played in Greece and was an assistant for Jeff Mittie. She married former Texas coach Karen Aston. Now Claire, Karen and daughter Marilyn, 3, have moved to Claire's hometown of Lee's Summit. OK... you have the link. Don't miss this interview. Also, why not review Claire's half-court shot vs. Wyoming on Nov. 17, 2006!
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7/15/20 Reintroducing Jada Thorpe
Here's a nice K-State Sports Extra on Jada Thorpe's recovery from an Achilles tendon injury. It happened before her first season began, and she missed all of last season. It explains the difficult process. Her attitude is great.
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7/12/20 Peyton Williams prepares for pro career
Here are nice features on Peyton, who's headed to Russia to play. (Manhattan Mercury) (Collegian)
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7/08/20 Rachel Ranke Is Cleared to Play!
Rachel tweeted earlier today, "After a long, exhausting, and frustrating road to recovery, I can proudly say that the doctor has OFFICIALLY cleared me for play." I know all Cat fans are happy for her.
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7/06/20 Happy Trails to Peyton Williams!
Peyton just tweeted that she's signed with Sparta&K Vidnoje. Vidnoje is a region in Russia. At this point, we don't know much, except that her new team has been champions of the Euro League Women's team four times.
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6/17/20 Laurie Koehn to K-State Athletics Hall of Fame
Laurie's an excellent choice. She went in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. For several years, she held the NCAA WBB record for career three-point FGs. Her total of 392 has been the Big 12 WBB record for 15 years! (link) K-State says,
Laurie Koehn was one of the greatest sharpshooters in women's NCAA history while at K-State from 2002-05. She is the all-time leader in 3-point field goals made in Big 12 history with 392 (also a NCAA record until 2020), and in attempts at 942, while also holding the Big 12 record for career free-throw percentage at 87.7. Named the ESPN.com Rookie of the Year as a freshman, Koehn helped the Wildcats explode onto the national spotlight with a 26-8 season and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2002. The Cats followed up that season with a school-record 29-5 campaign in 2003 before claiming the program's first-ever Big 12 Championship in 2004. Koehn was named All-Big 12 three times during her career, and was a two-time Academic All-American. Koehn ranks fifth in school history in career points with 1,733, and remains littered in the record book for 3-pointers. Koehn signed a free agent contract with the Washington Mystics for the 2005 season. and went on to enjoy an eight-year professional basketball career both in the WNBA and overseas. Among Koehn's career international playing highlights was a gold medal as a member of Team USA's U18 team in July of 2000 at the FIBA Americas Championship, and a silver medal as a member of Team USA again in 2003 at the Pan American Games. Koehn was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Here's video of Laurie setting the NCAA record for three-pointers. Also, don't miss this from 2013: Laurie hits 132 of 135 three-pointers in five minutes. (video) Danielle Zanotti has play-by-play.
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6/16/20 Not Even Death Threats Can Silence Christianna Carr
The Her Hoop Stats Newsletter has picked up the story of Chrissy's peaceful protests of George Floyd's murder. She's lived in Minneapolis, and has now traveled there to join in a protest. (link)
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6/11/20 Jeff Mittie Interview with Tim Fitzgerald
Here's a great, 65-minute interview in the GoPowercat studio with Fitz. It was originally posted in February 2020, but it's fine, because a lot of it is a look at Coach Mittie's life and career. (link)
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6/10/20 #43 Chrissy Carr: "I found my voice."
Chrissy was interviewed by Topeka TV about her participation in a protest related to the murder of George Floyd. I'm sure everyone in the university is impressed with her commitment to make a difference and to lead, and the fact that her involvement has been in a peaceful and respectful way. (@KStateWBB on Twitter) / Here's @Chrissycarr4's tweet from June 4 for Black Lives Matter that's gotten 7,600 likes, and a request from the NCAA to share her words.
On June 11, the Manhattan Mercury ran a very nice feature on Chrissy on their sports page.
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5/28/20 K-State Wildcats to Host the UK Wildcats in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge
The blue Wildcats are coming to town on a yet-to-be-determined date. The programs have never met. UK went 20-8 last season! This will be good, and our Cats will be ready. (K-State link) (Kentucky link)
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5/28/20 How about some Sydney Goodson highlights?!
See below, in April, for the great news that Sydney will transfer from Texas Tech for her senior season here. These highlights were posted today. Sydney's a 5' 8" shooting guard. Be sure to watch this video. She is really good (and Goodson)!
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5/28/20 Taylor Lauterbach's headed our way!
New K-State WBB Cat Taylor Lauterbach, whose signing was documented below in November, has finished high school with a 4.000. Here's a tweet from her proud dad, Mike.
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5/22/20 Vote for Peyton: Big 12 Athlete of the Year
K-State's own Peyton Williams and Tejaswin Shankar are on the online ballot for Athletes of the Year. (It's separate votes.) Here's your link!
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5/19/20 @catfan28's 2020-2024 K-State WBB Roster Chart
The great catfan28, who doesn't go by his real name on Twitter, has just released a chart showing the roster for the next four seasons, as things stand now. (Twitter link) / We always appreciate his enthusiasm for K-StateWBB, and the stats and other information he provides for us!
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5/16/20 Peyton's Powercat Choice Awards Message to Fellow Athletes
Peyton remotely delivered a brief-but-inspiring message to her fellow athletes, I assume as part of the Powercat Choice Awards. As I just posted on Twitter, someday Peyton, having seen the world as part of her international studies, will be invited back to Kansas State to give a Landon Lecture. (video link)
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5/14/20 Peyton Williams: Powercat Choice Awards Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
This year's Powercat Choice Awards are online, because of the pesky virus. We're sure no one is surprised by the choice of Peyton as K-State's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2019-20. She finished with a 3.945 GPA has appropriately been recognized for doing everything the right way. (announcement tweet)
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5/11/20 Yokie Lee: Powercat Choice Awards Women's Newcomer of the Year!
Here's a tweet with the announcement of Ayoka Lee's selection as the top women's newcomer. Here's a brief highlights video.
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4/30/20 Sydney Goodson: A Top Ten Grad Transfer for K-State WBB
ESPN released these WBB rankings this morning. Of all grad transfers, Sydney Goodson, who's making the move from Texas Tech, is listed at #10. (link)
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4/27/20 Sydney Goodson Ready for Next Chapter
Here's a K-State Sports Extra that looks at new Cat Sydney Goodson's history in basketball, and her decision to transfer to America's #1 College Town. She's had a season at Arizona State, and two at Texas Tech. She reports that the K-State decision was an easy one.
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4/24/20 Yokie Named to Her Hoop Stats Fab 15 Freshman Team
This team of 15 is made up of the WBB Freshman of the Year from 32 conferences. (Manhattan Mercury) K-State's only other to have this recognition is Hall of Famer Nicole Ohlde. By the way, K-State is the only team in the Big 12 to have a player on this list.
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4/21/20 Makayla Pippin Transfers from Central Arizona College
 K-State WBB announced today the addition for 2020-21 of Makayla Pippin, a guard-forward who averaged 16.8 points per game.
Makayla ended the 2019-20 season as an NJCAA Women's Basketball Third-Team All-American. She was the 15th-ranked junior college player in the nation by Girls Basketball Report in the 2019-20 season. As a member of the high school class of 2018, she was ranked as the eighth-ranked forward in the nation, and 149th-ranked overall prospect by ProspectsNation.com. She was the 19th-ranked forward in the nation by ESPNW Hoopgurlz.
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4/21/20 Peyton Williams: Big 12 WBB Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 2019-20
This is wonderful, but certainly no surprise! Peyton, for the second time, has been named WBB Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big 12. (K-State WBB release) (Big 12 release)
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4/17/20 Peyton Williams Not Selected in the WNBA Draft
We're sorry to report that Peyton's name wasn't called. It appears she'll be a free agent for a while. Good luck, Peyton! (link)
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4/17/20 Rachel Ranke's season-ending injury and her path to recovery
Greg Woods of the Manhattan Mercury has posted an in-depth story of Rachel Ranke and her unusual injury (involving an extra bone). By the numbers, she should come just within the games-played limit for a medical redshirt, and should be back in action in the fall, which is good news for Cat fans! (link)
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4/17/20 Season Highlights!
Here's a six-minute Season Highlights video from K-State WBB!
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4/17/20 Six Things to Know Before the WNBA Draft for Peyton Williams
I think our fans are all confident that Peyton will be drafted later today. This K-State Sports Extra focuses on her prospects.
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4/14/20 Peyton Williams Video Interview & Singing
Peyton visits with Jenny Fischer of NCAA Digital on her experiences as a two-sport athlete, and the at-home experience. Then she plays her guitar for the online audience. (link)
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4/06/20 Coach Sadie Thramer Misses the Cats
Me, too! When I left the Coliseum after the glorious 83 - 63 victory over the KU Poultry on March 8, I fully expected the Cats would host in the WNIT. I'm real sad for all our K-State athletes. I believe they'll have a very solid 2020-21 season. (Sadie's tweet and team photo)
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4/06/20 Sydney Goodson to Play Her Senior Season as a Cat
 Sydney tweeted her intention today to play her final season at K-State. She's a 5' 8" guard, coming from Texas Tech, and is from Argyle, Texas. She first played at Arizona State.
In 2018-19, she was First Team Academic All-Big 12. In 2019-20, Sydney averaged 30 minutes per game, and played in every game. She average 9 points per game, and had a 41% FG average.
Here's a link to her Texas Tech roster page. / This just in... D. Scott Fritchen of GoPowercat.com has a nice feature on Sydney's transfer.
Re-entry on April 15: Have a look at a one-minute video, with some FAQs about Sydney, in her own words.
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4/01/20 ESPN Ranks Ayoka Lee the #2 Freshman in 2020
You saw it here eventually! Yokie's #2 on the list for 2020 freshmen. After all, she's the Big 12 Freshman of the Year! (link) By the way, Yokie recorded more points, rebounds and blocks per game than the #1 selection.
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4/01/20 Peyton Williams: Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team
Peyton was recognized this week for the prestigious national Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. (link)
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3/29/20 Serena Sundell Commits to K-State Women's Basketball
After visiting at least a dozen universities, @Serena_Sundell, a 6' 0" junior guard from Maryville, Mo., has committed to be a Cat! This is tremendous! She also took visits to, at least: UMKC, Butler, Drake, Cleveland State, Missouri State, Indiana State, Colorado State, St. Louis, North Dakota State, Providence, South Dakota State, Creighton and her hometown NW Missouri State.
Serena comes from a family of athletes. Her dad, Bob, a basketball and track star for NW Missouri State, was inducted into their Hall of Fame last year. Mom Korena was a track and basketball star at Missouri S&T in Rolla. Older brother Jalen plays football for North Dakota State, and played for Coach Klieman.
Here's an online report and interview with Serena from Dec. 24, 2019 by the St. Joe News-Press. The occasion was Serena's 52-point game a few days earlier. She hit 84% on field goals, and her points output was the 13th best in Missouri girl's BB history. In her first game of her junior season, she became the all-time points leader in school history.
Serena was named the Class 3 Player of the Year on March 26. Her high school coach, Quentin Albrecht, said of her,
"If you like basketball, what you'll really like about Serena is she'll dazzle you with the ball in her hand, but watch her on offense when she doesn't have the ball in her hand. Watch how she plays defense, and watch how she goes for boards. She's a complete player."
Serena's hometown paper, The Maryville Forum, posted an excellent profile and update on Serena on April 2.
Congrats and thanks to Coach Mittie and staff for this exciting addition to K-State WBB! Here's Serena's commitment tweet.
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3/27/20 Jeff Mittie: Driven by Unknowns During Recruiting Season Like No Other
Our new Sports Extra guru, Austin Siegel, talks about recruiting during a travel ban, among other complications, in this interview.
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3/20/20 Peyton Williams: Fire and passion is something I had to learn...
Here's a real nice profile on Peyton, compliments of KSNT's Sully Engels. It's a combination of comments by Peyton and video highlights. She is the ultimate student-athlete, and for my vote, retire her jersey! (Twitter video)
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3/18/20 Ayoka Lee Had a Freshman Season for the Ages
You see above the title of a feature on Yokie in a newspaper article in her home area in Minnesota. She averaged a double-double, is First Team All-Big 12 and Freshman of the Year, but you knew that!
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3/18/20 Jeff Mittie: Audio Interview with KD Country 94
Here's a 20-minute interview. Coach Mittie reviews how the early end to postseason basketball came about, then comments on the possibility of seniors getting an extra season. Check it out!
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3/16/20 Peyton visits with WIBW about her season cut short
Here's a brief interview with Peyton Williams, by Mitchel Summers. The message is to appreciate and make the most of every opportunity. I think a strong case could be made for retiring Peyton's jersey. She did everything the right way.
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3/16/20 PowerChat with Jeff Mittie
Somehow I never got these links in when they came out six weeks ago. It's Jeff Mittie visiting with GoPowercat.com's boss man, Tim Fitzgerald. Part 1 Part 2
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3/10/20 Taylor Lauterbach: First Team All-Conference, Honorable Mention All-State
 The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches' Association have announced that K-State's signee, 6' 6" Taylor Lauterbach, is Honorable Mention All-State, after her impressive career at Appleton West High School. Imagine the dynamic duo of Taylor and Ayoka Lee next season!
Appleton West has announced that Taylor is First Team All-Conference. I recognized her on the Bramlage court after the KU game, and got to welcome her to K-State.
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3/09/20 Peyton Williams: 1st Team All-Big 12, Ayoka Lee: Freshman of the Year and Angela Harris: Honorable Mention All-Big 12
It was a big day for the Cats! We have three All-Big 12 honorees. Here's the news from K-State WBB.
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3/09/20 Peyton Williams: Academic All-America Second Team
Here's the not-surprising news on one of Peyton's achievements announced today!
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3/09/20 Ayoka Lee: Big 12 Freshman of the Week, 12th Time This Season!
Here's the word from K-State Sports and the Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 reported,
"Ayoka Lee claimed a record 12th Freshman of the Week accolade. The final weekly awards of the 2019-20 season were selected by a five-person media panel.
Lee averaged 15.0 points on a .524 field goal percentage and a .889 free throw percentage, while pulling in 13.0 rebounds and blocking 3.0 shots in wins over Oklahoma State and Kansas. At OSU, the freshman secured the school record for double-doubles in a season with her 18th, as she notched 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 36 minutes. In the regular season finale against Kansas, Lee boosted her double-double record to 19, as she tallied 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line, and pulling in 14 rebounds."
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3/08/20 The Cats extend the streak vs. the Bluebirds
It was a glorious day in America's #1 college town, as we celebrated K-State WBB's latest victory, 83-63, over KU. K-State's #1 fan, Robert Lipson, a.k.a. Robert the Wildman, sat by me, and I got to hold his We Own This State sign.
The Streak (KSU WBB vs. KU WBB) continues, and is now at 35 Ws in the last 42 games. Coach Mittie (while at KSU) holds a 13-1 record vs. the Poultry. You can download a PDF of The Streak by right-clicking right here!
Thanks and congrats to the Cats (and certainly our seniors, Jasauen, Peyton and Angela). The Cats ended Big 12 play at #4 in the conference (tied with ISU at 10-8).
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2/24/20 Ayoka Lee: Big 12 Freshman of the Week, 11th Time This Season!
Here's the word from K-State Sports and the Big 12 Conference.
The Big 12 reported,
"Lee averaged 20.0 points on a .731 field goal percentage (19-of-26), 13.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in contests against TCU and Texas last week. She tallied a pair of double-doubles to improve her current streak of double-doubles to five, tying the school record for consecutive double-doubles. She also established a freshman school record with 282 rebounds. Against TCU, Lee registered her fastest double-double of the season, reaching the mark with 6:56 remaining in the second quarter. Lee would finish the game with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 17 rebounds and six blocks. At Texas, Lee led the Wildcats with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting (75.0%), pulled in 10 rebounds and blocked three shots in 39 minutes of action."
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2/21/20 Ayoka Lee is becoming one of the best players in the Big 12
Brian Smoller tweeted this in-depth profile by Greg Woods of the Manhattan Mercury. This is a must-read look at Yokie's background and personality, along with glowing comments from current and former coaches and teammates. My compliments to Greg Woods, the author!
Yokie with Brenna Smoller
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