Senior guard Serena Sundell scored 12 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter, leading No. 5 seeded Kansas State to pull away from No. 13 seed UCF late in the Wildcats’ Big 12 Tournament opener on Thursday afternoon.
The first team All-Big 12 honoree Sundell led the way with 21 points but was matched by UCF guard Kaitlyn Peterson, who also scored 21 points and was a thorn in the side of the Wildcats all day.
However, it was Sundell’s supporting cast that outdid the supporting cast of the Knights, which led to the Wildcats’ win.
Other double figure scorers for the ‘Cats included Zyanna Walker with 13 points, Jaelyn Glenn with 11 and Kennedy Taylor with 10 points. Guard Taryn Sides and forward Eliza Maupin each poured in eight points as well.
“You look at the balance of our offense today. I thought Imani Lester and Kennedy Taylor gave us big lifts at the center spot,” head coach Jeff Mittie said to K-State Athletics. “I thought Taryn Sides, we were a better team today with Taryn and Zy on the floor together. They played very well together.”
In the first quarter, K-State got out to a 18-11 lead. The Wildcats were hoping to get a bigger lead on UCF so that they could rest some starters before the long tournament ahead.
However, UCF had different plans as in the second quarter, UCF was able to stick around with their aggressiveness downhill to the rim and at half they trailed by 11 points. UCF had closed the gap in the quarter though as K-State only outscored the Knights by four points.
In the first half, Sundell had yet to find her groove as she had just two points at the break. Considering her low scoring output and the ‘Cats still being up 11, they could feel comfortable knowing there was more left in the tank.
“I just credit my teammates, credit Coach Mittie getting on me and saying you need to get it into your teammates and let the rest work itself out,” Sundell said.
Out of the break, UCF looked like a team fighting for its season, which the Knights were. They made just one three in the contest but their ability to finish inside was keeping them in the game.
The Knights outscored the Wildcats by two in the third quarter and had cut the deficit down to single digits entering the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, UCF showed a little tiredness as it was playing its second game in two days. K-State then took it to the Knights in the fourth to head to the quarterfinals with a 15 point victory.
“I think for us, also, it was good for us to see a variety of players rise to the occasion and play well, particularly in the fourth,” Mittie said.
In the fourth, K-State had an 11-4 run which iced the game. The Wildcats shot an efficient 9-12 from the field in the fourth with a lot of baskets coming easy at the rim.
For the game, the Wildcats shot 53.4% (31-58) from the field and 50% (5-10) from 3-point range. UCF was 39.4% (26-66) from the field and just 11.1% (1-9) from three.
“I thought the three-point line was good, and I thought we found just enough offense from the three-point line and timely offense,” Mittie said.
K-State plays at 11 a.m. Saturday against West Virginia, where they will face the tough test of slowing down guard JJ Quinerly.
“I am a big JJ Quinerly fan most of the year,” Mittie said. “We know that she is playing extremely well. I thought she was one of those four or five players that was up for MVP of the league. I thought she had that kind of a year.”
