MANHATTAN, Kansas (K-State Athletics) – K-State used a pair of decisive runs in the first half to down Wyoming, 71-55, on Tuesday night in the second round of the 2023 Postseason WNIT at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have won 21 straight home games against non-conference opponents.
K-State (19-16) was led by the trio of Serena Sundell, Gabby Gregory and Brylee Glenn as the group combined for 49 of K-State’s 71 points. Sundell led all scorers with 20 points on 5-of-6 shooting and a 9-of-10 effort from the foul line. Sundell’s nine made free throws were the second-most in a WNIT game in school history. The sophomore from Maryville, Missouri, also tallied five assists and three steals.
Gregory notched 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a 5-of-7 performance from the free throw line to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
Brylee Glenn recorded 10 points including a 7-of-8 effort from the charity stripe and also hauled in five rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– The Wildcats used a 15-2 run over a two-minute stretch in the first quarter to build a 15-7 advantage. Wyoming (23-11) would close to within 15-12, but a 7-0 run from Brylee Glenn ended the first frame with K-State holding a 22-12 lead. The Wildcats would never drop its advantage below 10 points for the remainder of the game.
– Including the final seven points of the first quarter, K-State would go on a 16-0 run spanning the first and second quarters as the Wildcats built a 19-point lead, 31-12, with 7:17 remaining in the second stanza.
– Sundell started the second with a backdoor layup and was followed by Gregory’s second 3-pointer of the night. Sundell then added an acrobatic layup and Gregory completed the run with a layup to beat the shot clock.
– A twisting layup from Sarah Shematsi and a top of the key 3-pointer from Rebekah Dallinger sent the Wildcats into the locker room with a 36-20 lead. K-State outscored Wyoming in the paint, 16-4, during the first half.
– In the second half, K-State registered 35 points with 17 coming from the foul line (17-of-21).
– K-State was held to 3-of-10 shooting from the field in the third quarter, but capitalized at the free throw line by going 9-of-12 to hold a 51-37 lead entering the fourth.
– Wyoming narrowed the K-State advantage to 11, 66-55, with 1:59 remaining but a corner three-pointer by Jaelyn Glenn in front of the K-State bench with 1:42 to play sealed the victory for the Wildcats.
– The Wildcats finished the night shooting 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the field, including 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from 3-point range.
– K-State shot 83.3 percent (25-of-30) from the free throw line. With its 25 made free throws, K-State tied the school record for free throws made in a WNIT game and set the school record for free throw percentage in a WNIT game.
QUICK FACTS
– K-State leads the series with Wyoming, 5-3. K-State is 4-0 against the Cowgirls in games played in Manhattan.
– The Wildcats are 18-9 all-time against schools from the Mountain West Conference.
– K-State is 18-5 all-time in the Postseason WNIT. The Wildcats own a 18-3 record in Postseason WNIT games played in Manhattan.
– Kansas State owns a 138-103 record in the month of March including an 21-19 mark in the Jeff Mittie era.
– K-State is 15-4 in games played in Bramlage Coliseum this season. Over the last two seasons, the Wildcats are 29-7 in games played in Bramlage. The 29 wins are the most home wins over a two-season span in the Mittie era and are the third-most over a two-season span in the 35-season history of Bramlage.
– The Wildcats are 67-8 in home games against non-conference opponents under Mittie, including a current 21-game winning streak.
TEAM NOTES
– Tuesday’s starting five were Sarah Shematsi, Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Gabby Gregory. This was the 21st time this group started a game together this season (10-11). Sundell has started all 68 games in her K-State career. Jaelyn Glenn started her 64th career game and her 33rd this season. Brylee Glenn recorded her 58th career start and the 31st this season. This was the 77th career start for Gregory and her 31st at K-State. Shematsi tallied her 31st career start and her 29th at K-State.
– The Wildcats led at halftime, 36-20. This was the 16th time this season (16-0) K-State led on the scoreboard after the first 20 minutes. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 129-16 when leading at halftime.
– With its six 3-pointers made on Tuesday, K-State has made 258 three-pointers this season. This season’s three-point field goals made total is a new season-high in the Jeff Mittie era and third-most in school history.
– With its 25 made free throws on Tuesday, K-State boosted its season total and school record for free throws made to 572 on the season. K-State tied the school record for free throws made in a WNIT game, equaling the 25 the Wildcats made against Wichita State on March 16, 2023.
– With its 22-point first quarter and 20-point fourth, K-State has registered 450 quarters this season with 20 or more points. This set a new school record for quarters with 20 or more points in a season.
– With their 14 assists on Tuesday, K-State has reached the 500-assist mark for a season (505) for the fourth time in the Jeff Mittie era.
– K-State pocketed 10 steals against the Cowgirls. The Wildcats have 16 games this season with 10 or more steals.
PLAYER NOTES
– With their combined total of 39 points on Tuesday, Gregory (627) and Sundell (491) have combined for 1,118 points this season. They rank fifth for total combined points by a K-State tandem in a season (min. 400 or more points by each player).
– Gregory tallied her 69th career game in double figures for points and her 28th at K-State.
– Gregory ended the night with two 3-pointers. This was her 25th game this season and the 53rd of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range. She improved her season total to 79 connections from beyond the arc. Her 79 three-point field goals made are the most by a Wildcat since Kindred Wesemann made 90 in the 2016-17 season.
– Gregory improved her season total for free throws made to 160. She ranks second in school history for free throws made in a season and has set the school record for free throws made by a senior in a season.
– Sundell reached double figures in points for the 25th time this season and the 44th time in her career.
– With her nine made free throws on Tuesday, Sundell has made 161 free throws this season. With her total, Sundell has set the school record for free throws made in a season. Sundell’s free throws attempted of 202 ranks tied for second in school history for a single season and the most by a guard in program history. Her 187 free throw attempts are the most by a Wildcat since Nicole Ohlde attempted a school record 205 free throws in the 2002-03 season.
– With her five assists, Sundell improved her season total to 180 and set the school record for assists in a sophomore season in K-State history. She remains in 12th on the K-State career assists list with 356. Tuesday was the 22nd game this season and the 42nd of Sundell’s career with five or more assists. She has led K-State in assists in 55 of her 68 career games.
– Brylee Glenn scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and the 27th time in her career.
– With her five rebounds, Brylee Glenn has hauled in five or more boards five times this season and seven times in her career.
– Jaelyn Glenn recorded six steals on Tuesday night, tying her career-high. Glenn’s total set the school record for steals in a WNIT game. This was Glenn’s eighth career game with five or more steals, moving her into a tie for second on the K-State list for career games with five or more steals. She has a career-high 89 steals this season, which are the fourth-most steals in a single season in program history. She is the fifth player in program history to log 80 or more steals in a season. Glenn owns 26 games this season and 37 career games with two or more steals.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
Opening statement…
“I thought defensively we played well. Our game plan coming in, we need to get ball pressure on and they do a good job of running things through the posts. They’re really good at running things through 45, [Allyson] Fertig is a really good player. A strong post player, really does a good job. I thought our centers were really good. I thought our ball pressure was good. I thought we limited touches down there and I thought that was a key to us jumping out to the early lead. Offensively tonight for us this was a struggle all night. We were out of rhythm, spacing was bad, slinging the ball around, not very good there but you’re gonna have nights like that and you’ve got to show up and do the other things.”
On Jaelyn Glenn’s improvement defensively and breaking a WNIT record…
“It’s kind of ironic because some of the growth you saw tonight because she had a rough game offensively. But the growth is that you do the other things and I think that’s what you see, Jay she had five steals at halftime. So I mean, she was continuing to play defense, continuing to do the little things. She’s got great anticipatory skills. She’s got great length to her, she understands angles, all those things are a big key. And she’s a competitor so good for her, that’s a heck of a record to be a part of.”
On how important the scoring run was early in the game…
“No question because as spotty as we were offensively tonight, that kind of a run is critical, because we weren’t able to play well enough offensively to have another run like that. So we were stubborn defensively. That run pushed the lead out to where they really had trouble. I think they got it to nine, maybe. But, you know, we executed things pretty solid after that and got to the free throw line, like I mentioned. So those were big keys for us.”
On what needs to be carried over to the next game…
“Well, our defensive effort for sure. I think both games we played really well defensively. We’ve been on point with the scout. They’ve really, I think done a good job of being committed to the things we have felt were important to stop the other team. And then just our balance, we’ve had good balanced scoring both games so continue to have good balanced scoring.”
FROM THE FLOOR
GABBY GREGORY, SENIOR GUARD
On whether the team is playing at its best…
“I think at times. I think there’s times when we’re connected, I think we play really well. Obviously tonight offensively, we kinda got stagnant at times and that’s when we were not connected, but there were still several plays in the game we were just playing really well together which is pretty hard to beat.”
SERENA SUNDELL, SOPHOMORE GUARD
On her offense…
“I had to adjust pretty early knowing that they were going to come trap when I got it to the baseline which is an area I like to get the ball to, and I still think I could have done better down there and made some better reads and better passes. It’s just kinda finding the open player, at that point somebody has to be open.”
On her passing for the past two games…
“I think I’m still trying to find a balance of my 3 point shot which hasn’t been great this year, but I want to stay confident out there because even if I miss from out there it’s a threat and allows me to get to the basket. I think just being a threat all over the floor makes defenders crash in and I can find my teammates.”
UP NEXT
K-State will face Washington in the Super 16 on Friday at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle. A game time and broadcast information has yet to be determined.
