Despite resting star center Ayoka Lee and sharp-shooting guard Taryn Sides with minor injuries, No. 13 K-State women’s basketball eased past Belmont, 82-56, at Bramlage Coliseum on Thursday night.
Making up for the two key contributors were transfer forwards Temira Poindexter and Kennedy Taylor — a duo which combined for 41 points. Poindexter finished with a team-high 23 points. Taylor, coming off a double-double in her Wildcat debut on Monday, scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds.
“It’s better than what I envisioned,” Poindexter said to K-State Athletics. “I really am enjoying my time here, and I’m just very grateful to be here and be able to play with the teammates that I’ve met, and I feel like we’re gonna be good this year.”
Poindexter notched 19 of her 23 points in the first half, including five 3-pointers. She also added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
“[Poindexter] seems just so effortless at times out there,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “Very instinctual and smart. She is picking up things that we’re wanting her to pick up. And I noticed that right away in the summer, when we were going through a lot of plays, she was out there with veterans, and we’re running an action that we’ve run, so everybody knows it, and she didn’t take long to pick it up.”
Lee and Sides’ injuries were minor ankle and foot injuries, respectively. Mittie doesn’t anticipate long-term issues with the rest.
“[Lee] could have gone in tonight but I just would feel better if she wasn’t 85% and I think that she’ll be really, really good here through the weekend, and that’ll give her good practice time,” he said. “Taryn, I think will be the same way. I think it’ll be good to have the weekend, and then hopefully we won’t have any lingering effects after that.”
With the extended time off, K-State will look to be healthy as it continues its five-game home stand at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, hosting Creighton. Thursday night was a doubleheader at Bramlage, with men’s basketball hosting LSU at 8 p.m.