No. 11 Kansas State women’s basketball returned home after a two-game road stint and remained undefeated in conference play against a scrappy Arizona team, winning 62-47 on Thursday night.
“I thought this game was going to be a tough one. I was impressed with Arizona’s defensive toughness and their inside physicality, which gave us trouble early,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “We had a great response in the fourth quarter, found enough offense, and got the job done. There will be nights like this where you have to win in different ways, and I’m proud of us for doing that tonight.”
The win improves K-State’s win streak to 13. The 13-game win streak is tied for the fifth-longest win streak in program history. The Wildcats improved to 18-1 for the second time under the direction of Mittie — the second straight season K-State accomplished the feat.
Senior guard Serena Sundell, the national leader in assists, led K-State with 16 points, eight assists, four rebounds, a block and a steal. With her point total on Thursday, Sundell surpassed the 1,500-point mark (1,507) in her K-State career, becoming the 14th player in program history to reach the milestone.
“One of the things I always appreciate about Serena is that she’s a winner,” Mittie said. “When you have numbers like that, it means there are moments in games where you just do whatever it takes to win.”
Joining Sundell in double figures was senior forward Temira Poindexter with 14 points including 4-of-8 from long range and two rebounds. In her last three games, Poindexter is 12-of-25 (.480) from behind the three-point line.
Senior center Ayoka Lee chipped in on the defensive end by tying her career-high and equaling the school record for blocks in a conference game by sending back eight shots. The eight blocks were tied for the most in any game by a Big 12 team this season and were the most in a league game this season. She also carded six rebounds, two steals and six points.
Out of the gate, Poindexter hit a triple and Sundell made a layup and it was 5-0 not even a minute into the game. However, play started to slow down as both teams couldn’t get a shot to fall against either defense.
Arizona got on the board with four minutes to go in the first quarter. After the media timeout, both teams picked it up offensively, and at the end of one, K-State led 14-10.
“I felt like our defense was really good at the start, but we missed an opportunity to pull away from them. When you hold a team to 16% shooting in the first quarter and you’re only up by four, that’s not the result you want to see,” Mittie said.
Unlike the first quarter, the second quarter was filled with offense. K-State’s offense got a spark from junior forward Gisela Sanchez who scored on three straight possessions including hitting two 3-pointers. Sanchez, a former transfer, was playing against her old team in Arizona.
“I was super happy for Gisela [Sanchez] just to see her get some confidence going,” Sundell said. “We all know she’s capable of scoring. And I think that’s kind of a testament to our team too. We knew she was hitting shots, so we did a really good job, coaching staff too, of calling things for her.”
The run by Sanchez gave K-State a nine-point advantage which the ‘Cats quickly turned into double digits, outscoring Arizona in the second quarter 22-15. Sanchez finished the game with those nine points and was efficient in the minutes she played against her former team.
“We didn’t talk about it, but I could tell she was excited to play this game,” Mittie said. “I think she wanted to show her former coaches how much she has progressed as a player.”
In the second quarter, K-State wreaked havoc on the defensive end, leading to ten points off turnovers in the frame. Those points helped K-State to a 36-25 lead at halftime.
After the break, the desert Wildcats made some adjustments on offense and it helped as they were able to crawl their way back into the game with a 12-2 run in the middle of the third quarter. The run cut the K-State lead to three, 42-39.
“We know that in this league, you have to be ready every night. In any of the Power Four leagues, you have to be prepared, because even the teams that may not finish at the top have players capable of playing in the WNBA,” Mittie said.
The only basket in that run was by Sundell, surpassing her point total of over 1,500 points during her time at K-State.
“I knew I was close. I kind of forgot, but I heard it on the announcement,” Sundell said.
K-State was able to slow down Arizona’s run and got the lead back up to six at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was met with defense again as K-State proved its prowess as it suffocated the Arizona offense, allowing just six total points in the quarter.
“It was important to come out and cut them off and just shut them down early because we knew they weren’t going to give up,” Poindexter said.
K-State scored 15 points in the quarter, led by Poindexter nailing two threes which had stretched the lead to double digits again.
The Little Apple Wildcats will have a chance to extend their winning streak on Sunday as they face the Arizona State Sun Devils at 1 p.m.
