Despite it only being the beginning of the season, the Kansas State women’s basketball team is off to a start of gelling together and getting wins.
The Wildcats defeated Lamar University with ease, 89-61. The starting lineup looked a little different, including two freshmen, Jordan Speiser and Gina Garcia.
“We’ve got a lot of new pieces in there,” K-State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “The chemistry of working together, everybody connecting, is just going to take some time. We’re seeing better things every game, but it’s not going to be a straight line of improvement.”
Even though different players were in the mesh, the refinement of skills was solid at times, but it can always be better.
“I think this team, through the roster, can shoot the ball,” junior guard Taryn Sides said. “I think we’re gonna have those games where it doesn’t fall. I think our defense really kept us in that game versus SMU. We just needed one to get going and we were able to do that. I’m just proud of the group for sticking in it, even though our shots weren’t falling.”
K-State’s start wasn’t the strongest as they had a slim 9-6 lead over the Cardinals, 5:42 into the game and would be tied at 20 going into the second quarter.
“I think the main thing was we stopped fouling as much as we did in the first quarter,” Sides said. “It’s hard to get going when you have to stop every other possession. We just locked in better defensively and we were able to push in transition on offense and get into a little bit of a flow.”
While the ‘Cats weren’t as accurate from the arc as in previous games, finishing shots in the paint helped make up for other shot attempts.
“I think we’ve gotten there differently,” Mittie said. “Certainly, in our pick-and-roll game, it’s an area that we’re improving. We’ve got a long way to go, but it’s not going to be the way it was a year ago.”
With a guard-dominant roster, utilizing ways for them to get downhill is critical for the Wildcats to put up points effectively.
K-State outworked the Cardinals in the paint, scoring 48 points out of the Wildcats’ 89 overall points.
The Wildcats scored 41 points in the second half while increasing their lead from 20 to 30 points late in the fourth quarter. The white and purple jerseys would finish the game shooting 51.6 percent from field goal range and 32 percent from the three-point line.
Leading the stats in points was Sides with 20 points, along with four steals and five assists. Sophomore guard Izela Arenas had 18 points, going 2-for-3 from behind the arc.
Speiser had 11 points, along with recording her first double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds. While her three-point game hasn’t been on fire yet, that didn’t stop her from pushing on and contributing.
“It’s been great,” Speiser said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been learning the whole time. Basketball-wise, just being able to play, adjust to the speed difference from high school and it’s been really fun.”
From her athletic skill set along with her personable traits, Mittie has liked what he’s seen from Speiser.
“I thought she did some really nice things off the bounce,” Mittie said. “I like the attitude that she has; she certainly is ready to shoot it. I think as we progress, she’s going to get better and better looks, but I like the fact that she did a lot of things tonight, better. I told her yesterday, I think her defense continues to get better. You saw tonight the rebounding, so she’s doing more things.”
The Wildcats turn around at Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 13 to battle against South Dakota at 4 p.m.
“We’ve got to keep the focus on us getting better together in practice. We’ll get back to us. We’ll get tomorrow off, come back Wednesday but Wednesday’s practice will be at 90% us, because I want to make sure we continue to build those good habits.”
