For the first time since 2002, Kansas State women’s basketball will play in the Sweet 16 after downing No. 4 seed Kentucky 80-79 in an overtime classic on Sunday in Lexington, Kentucky.

“I think everybody just witnessed one of the great games in the tournament right now,” K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “It’s hard to even go over all the big shots both teams made… Really proud of our group. To be down five, dig deep defensively, and make plays… Just a lot of really, really big plays in this game. We’re glad to come out on the right side. It obviously could have gone either way, but these games are like that, especially when you have two really good basketball teams.”

No. 5 seeded K-State (28-7) was led by a dominant shooting performance from transfer forward Temira Poindexter, who drilled eight 3-pointers in the contest to score a game-high 24 points.

“It’s my teammates that tell me and give me the confidence because in those moments,” Poindexter said. “I do get down on myself, so my teammates come in and have my back and tell me to keep shooting. [That] is really what lifts me up and gives me the confidence.”

Star senior Serena Sundell scored 19 points with 14 assists, including the game-tying shot to send the Wildcats into overtime. The All-American guard also became the program’s all-time assists leader, passing Shalee Lehning’s mark of 800.

“It doesn’t compare,” Sundell said of breaking the record. “I would choose the Sweet 16 every single day over getting that record. A really cool record, and once again, credit to my teammates for being able to make shots. To be honest, at the beginning of this year, I didn’t really see that record being something that I would reach, but I’ve been able to play with a bunch of really good shooters.”

K-State entered Kentucky’s home arena with the motivation of last year’s Round of 32 loss as the No. 4 seed against No. 5 seed Colorado, and delivered the same feeling to Kentucky to clinch the fourth Sweet 16 appearance in program history.

“I think it really motivated us, we remember what we felt when we walked off the court that day, and we felt like we just let our fanbase down on our home court,” sophomore guard Zyanna Walker said before the game. “So we really wanted to make sure that this year it was a different turnaround.”

Head coach Jeff Mittie reaches the Sweet 16 for the first time in his head coaching career. Mittie was previously winless in the Round of 32 across nine tries with K-State and TCU since 1999.

“We’ve been knocking on the door and we just haven’t gotten it done, and I haven’t gotten it done,” Mittie said. “This group has been a special group…I’m really happy for our fans. I know they wanted this. I know it’s been a long time. I’m just really happy for our fans.”

Star center Ayoka Lee will reach the second weekend for the first time in her illustrious K-State career. In her second game back from a foot injury, Lee scored 16 points on 8-18 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks.

“You got to witness, when we have Lee, how good this team can be,” Mittie said. “She’s a factor at both ends of the floor. She offensively makes people pay attention. You don’t replace All-Americans…We know that, but she gave us everything she could give us today… Kennedy Taylor gave us a big lift, I could go on and on, but just a great basketball game and just a great win for our program.”

Here’s a few takeaways from an all-time game:

Poindexter punctures UK

Poindexter, who transferred from Tulsa, hoping to be the missing piece in the program taking the next step, fulfilled her quest with a sharpshooting Sunday afternoon.

“Really proud of her because this is one of her reasons [for transferring],” Mittie said. “She goes, ‘I want to go to the NCAA Tournament, I haven’t done that in my career.'”

After starting 0-5 from 3-point land, Poindexter proceeded to make 8 of her next 10 attempts from distance, including countless clutch shots to lead K-State’s offense. In addition to her 24 points, Poindexter grabbed six rebounds, served two assists and stuffed six blocks.

“Her dad just about broke my ribs out there with a little hug,” Mittie said. “He was as excited as I’ve ever seen anybody for Temira because those things that she said right away. To see her step up in the biggest moments after a start like that is pretty special.”

Seven of Poindexter’s triples either tied the contest or initiated a lead change in favor of K-State, including the final two in overtime which tied the game at 77-77, followed by the eventual game-winning shot which placed K-State up 80-79 with just under a minute to go.

K-State’s defense held strong in the final minute as Kentucky star Georgia Amoore nearly missed the potential game-winning layup. Amoore finished with 18 points on 7-23 shooting, while Clara Strack led Kentucky with 22 points.

‘A player like her, it’s tough, she does so much for her team,” Mittie said of guarding Amoore. “I thought we did a good job, though…I’m proud of Zy Walker for taking on the task because one of the things that having a Zy Walker does, it allows Serena to not have that defensive stress… And Zy loves it, loves the challenge.”

Sundell shines all around

K-State got off to a slow start offensively as a team, but Sundell kept the Wildcats afloat. Outside of 11 points from the All-Big 12 guard, K-State was 1-11 from the field in the first quarter, and started 0-11 from beyond the arc.

K-State slowly started to see Lee chip away inside, however. Outside of two free throws from center Kennedy Taylor, no Wildcat other than Lee or Sundell scored until 2:10 in the second quarter. Near the same mark, Lee exited with her third foul.

On the late make was Poindexter, who started 0-5 but made back-to-back triples to tie the affair late in the first half. Coupled with K-State’s defense forcing a seven-minute field goal drought, K-State led 33-31 at the break despite a slow start.

“We all came into the locker room at halftime and were like we’re in a really good spot,” Sundell said. “We
didn’t shoot the ball very well, but we got the exact looks we wanted. So we knew if we stayed consistent, we were going to keep getting those looks, and eventually they were going to fall.”

Sundell finished the half with 15 points on 6-8 shooting with three assists, making over half of K-State’s 11 first-half field goals.

The nation’s second-leading assister during the regular season, Sundell took on a facilitating role in the second half as Poindexter heated up. Sundell dished out nine assists in the second half and two in overtime to set the program’s all-time record.

Still, when the moment called for her name, Sundell stepped up and netted the basket to send K-State to overtime, which was her first score of the half.

Taylor takeover

With foul trouble and a targeted defensive attack on Lee, Taylor stepped up off the bench and made a big impact, as she’d proven capable of throughout Lee’s injury absences this season.

“Having girls like Kennedy Taylor step up is so big for us,” Sundell said. “Having our shooters to stay confident, because we know that’s our strength, and not shy away from that when it’s one of the main factors of what’s made us successful all year, I think was really big in that moment to just be able to rely on our habits.”

The 6-foot-2 senior, who has a potential extra year of eligibility, scored 11 points and five rebounds with 7-7 shooting at the charity stripe in her 12 minutes through the first three quarters.

After recording a +16 mark during the first half, the Shawnee, Kansas native paced the Wildcat offense in the third quarter, keeping the Wildcats in front 54-53 heading into the final ten minutes.

Taylor finished with 11 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes of game action, providing a crucial boost off the bench to prevent Kentucky from clawing the win away. Taylor reached 1,000 points in her college career as well.

Up next

K-State will either face No. 1 seed USC, which is led by basketball phenom JuJu Watkins, or No. 9 seed Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 in Spokane, WA on Saturday. Tip-off times and TV broadcast channels for all Sweet 16 games will be announced following the conclusion of the second round.

“I once again knew we were capable of getting here,” Sundell said. “I’m proud of this group, and we want to keep going as far as we can.”