MORGANTOWN, West Virginia – K-State rallied from a 19-point deficit in the first half to square the game in the fourth quarter, but West Virginia used a late run to hold off the Wildcats at WVU Coliseum on Saturday, 67-58.
K-State (16-13, 5-11 Big 12) was led by sophomore guard Serena Sundell with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. This was Sundell’s second 20-point game of the week, as she scored 24 against Kansas on Wednesday.
Sophomore Jaelyn Glenn added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals, while freshman Eliza Maupin came off the bench to chip in with 11 points and nine rebounds in a career-high 26 minutes.
West Virginia (17-10, 8-8) was paced by senior Madisen Smith with 20 points and six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- K-State was done in by nine turnovers in the first quarter, as West Virginia built a 23-9 lead at the end of the opening frame. The Mountaineers ended the quarter on a 13-0 run.
- K-State had cut the Mountaineer advantage to 12, 31-19, after Eliza Maupin powered in an off-balance layup with 4:05 remaining. A quick 7-0 burst rebuilt the West Virginia advantage to 19, 38-19, with 2:14 to play.
- The Wildcats would win the second quarter, 16-15, by using a 6-0 run to close the stanza and trail 38-25 at the half. Brylee Glenn started the run with a baseline jumper and was followed by an offensive rebound and putback by Gabby Gregory. Serena Sundell capped the quarter with a left-hand layup with 35 seconds to play. Sundell led the Wildcats with eight points in the first half.
- K-State used a 15-0 run to cut West Virginia’s lead to just three, 43-40, with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Sundell started the run with a corner 3-pointer and was followed by a Maupin layup. Sundell then finished a layup through heavy traffic. Gregory added an old-fashioned three-point play with 3:58 remaining. Jaelyn Glenn connected on her second 3-pointer of the evening with 3:16 to play before a Sundell layup with 32 seconds left brought the game to within three.
- A Madisen Smith layup with three seconds left gave West Virginia a 45-40 lead at the end of the third. K-State shot 42.9 percent (6-of-14) and held the Mountaineers to 18.8 percent (3-of-16).
- K-State quickly tied the game at 45 with five quick points to open the fourth quarter. Sundell finished a layup along the baseline and was followed by a deep 3-pointer from Jaelyn Glenn.
- West Virginia rebuilt its advantage to seven, 54-47, with 6:25 to play and force a Wildcat timeout. The Mountaineers would extend its advantage to 13, 62-49, with three minutes to play.
- The Wildcats shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the field, including 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from three-point range. K-State, who entered the game averaging 21 free throw attempts per game, attempted just nine free throws.
- West Virginia finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the floor, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range.
QUICK FACTS
- West Virginia leads the series with K-State, 18-7. The Wildcats are 3-8 in games played in Morgantown.
- Kansas State owns a 229-197 record in the month of February including a 32-38 mark in the Jeff Mittie era.
TEAM NOTES
- Saturday's starting five were Sarah Shematsi, Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn and Gabby Gregory. This was the 16th time this group started a game together this season (7-9). Sundell has started all 62 games in her K-State career. Jaelyn Glenn started her 58th career game and her 27th this season. Brylee Glenn recorded her 53rd career start and the 26th this season. This was the 71st career start for Gregory and her 25th at K-State. Shematsi tallied her 25th career start and her 23rd at K-State.
- The Wildcats trailed at halftime, 38-25. This was the 16th time this season K-State trailed on the scoreboard after the first 20 minutes.
- K-State saw three or more players in double figures for points for the 24th time this season.
- With its six 3-pointers made on Saturday night, K-State has made 218 three-pointers this season. This is the third time in the Jeff Mittie era and the first time since 2017-18 (225) that the Wildcats have made 200 or more three-pointers in a season. This season is the 12th in program history with 200 or more connections from 3-point range.
- With its 22 3-point attempts on Saturday, K-State increased its season total for 3-point attempts to 750. The 750 attempts ranks second in school history for 3-point attempts in a season.
PLAYER NOTES
- Sundell reached double figures in points for the 20th time this season and the 39th time in her career.
- Sundell moved into 13th on the K-State career assists list with 323. She has led K-State in assists in 49 of her 62 career games.
- Sundell carded three steals on Saturday. This was her 21st career game and her 12th this season with two or more steals.
- Eliza Maupin recorded her fourth career game with 10 or more points.
- Maupin recorded her sixth career game with five or more boards.
- Jaelyn Glenn scored in double figures for the 21st game this season and the 27th time in her career.
- Jaelyn Glenn notched 4 three-pointers on Saturday. This was her 20th game this season and the 30th time in her career with two or more connections from 3-point range. For the season, Glenn has made 60 three-pointers which is a new personal single-season high.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On closing the deficit…
“Serena (Sundell) had a really good look to her. I thought a couple of things. Maupin gave us a big lift, rebounding. She was giving us some extra chances. Sundell had a good look to her. (Jaelyn) Glenn got a couple threes. I think the floor was a little more open for us in that stretch. We did a pretty good job, I think, of moving it a little quicker before West Virginia got organized.”
UP NEXT
K-State ends a two-game road trip on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats face (13/11) Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Wednesday’s game will air on ESPN+ and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network.