AUSTIN, Texas—K-State Women's Basketball will be in action in Austin, Tx on Saturday.
GAME 14
Television
Longhorn Network
Play-by-Play: Alex Loeb
Analyst: Andrea Lloyd
Radio
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: James Westling
Analyst: Randy Peterson
Live Stats
kstatesports.com
Series History vs. Texas
• Texas leads the series with K-State, 28-17.
• The Longhorns have won five straight in the series, including the last meeting on March 11, 2022, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships in Kansas City.
• Head coach Jeff Mittie is 5-18 in his career against Texas.
MANHATTAN, Kansas - K-State (11-2) begins its Big 12 slate on Saturday, as the Wildcats visit the newest arena in the league, the Moody Center in Austin, to face Texas at 2 p.m.
• The Wildcats have started 11-2 for the second straight season and reached 11 overall wins before Big 12 action for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
• Saturday's game airs on Longhorn Network, as Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Andrea Lloyd (analyst) will have the call.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State WBB
1. All the Delicious Turnovers
• In the last four games, K-State has forced 88 turnovers including a season-high 33 by Kansas City on Dec. 7. In the four games, the Wildcats have scored 101 points off opponent turnovers (25.3 ppg).
2. G-Squared Leading the Big 12
• Senior Gabby Gregory leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th in the nation in scoring average (21.0 ppg). She is the only player in the Big 12 currently averaging 20.0 or more points per game. She also leads the Big 12 in games with 30 or more points (2) and games with 20 or more points (9).
3. Sundell Evenly Distributed
• Sophomore guard Serena Sundell needs seven assists to become the 20th player in program history with 250 or more career assists.
4. Ebert at the Line
• Senior guard Emilee Ebert tied the longest consecutive free throws made streak in school history (38 straight) and is 34-of-35 this season. Ebert has reached the minimum of 2.5 free throws made per game to lead the Big 12 andis second in the NCAA for free throw percentage this season (.971).
5. K-State in Big 12 Road Openers
• K-State starts its 27th Big 12 season on the road. The Wildcats are 9-17 all-time in Big 12 road openers and have won two of their last three road openers.
Number to Know: 11
• K-State has registered 11 games this season with 70 or more points.
• The 11 games with 70 or more points are the most through the first 13 games of a season for K-State since the 2001-02 season, when the Wildcats also tallied 11 games.
• Amongst the Big 12 this season, K-State is tied with Kansas for the league lead for games with 70 or more points scored with 11.
• Since the 2001-02 season, K-State is 238-28 (.895) when scoring 70 or more points in a game including an 86-14 (.860) record in the Jeff Mittie era.
At a Glance: Texas
• (rv/rv) Texas (9-4, 0-0 Big 12) enters Saturday's Big 12 opener with a six-game win streak in tow following a 96-53 win over Texas A&M Commerce on December 28.
• The Longhorns are guided on the sideline by third-year head coach Vic Schaefer. The 1984 graduate of Texas A&M owns a career record of 360-192 (.652) during his 18 seasons which includes head coaching stops at Sam Houston State and Mississippi State. He led Mississippi State to a pair of NCAA Championship Game appearances and has guided the Longhorns to consecutive Elite Eight appearances with a 59-20 (.747) record.
• Texas features six players averaging double figures in scoring and are led by Sonya Morris, Shaylee Gonzales and Rori Harmon.
• Morris, a graduate transfer guard from St. Louis, Missouri, is averaging 11.6 points per game this season after spending her first four seasons at DePaul.
• Gonzales, a graduate transfer guard from Gilbert, Arizona, is averaging 11.0 points per game and 3.8 rebounds this season after playing at BYU.
• After missing the first five games of the season due to injury, Harmon has returned to average 10.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds. The Longhorns are 7-1 with Harmon in the lineup. Against Texas A&M Commerce, the sophomore guard from Houston, tallied 15 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals.
Last Time Out
at K-State 77, Morgan State 46 (Dec. 21, 2022; Manhattan, Kan.)
• K-State improved its non-conference home court winning streak to 19 with a 77-46 win over Morgan State on Dec. 21.
• Of the 12 Wildcats to see the floor against the Bears, 10 registered four or more points.
• Gabby Gregory tallied her ninth game with 20 or more points with 20 points and six rebounds.
• Rebekah Dallinger scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.
K-State Off to Solid Start
• With its 11-2 record through 13 games, K-State has tied its best start to begin a season under head coach Jeff Mittie.
• The 11-2 record through 13 games equals the best start from the 2021-22 season and the best start for the Wildcats since opening the 2008-09 season with a 13-0 mark.
• This is the eighth time since at least the 2000-01 season K-State has started a season 11-2 or better.
• K-State's 11 non-conference wins were the most in a season since the 2008-09 season (11).
K-State's 12th Month Record
• In the 55th year of women's basketball at K-State, the Wildcats own a record of 237-102 (.699) in the month of December.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 36-17 (.679) in the month of December.
• K-State has had a .500 or better record in the month of December 47 times in its history, including a current streak of 27 consecutive seasons.
Wildcats on the Road
• K-State has a 286-311 (.479) record in road games during the program's 55-year history.
• Since the 2000-01 season, K-State owns a 126-132 (.488) mark in road contests. K-State is 20-26 (.435) in the last four seasons in road games.
• In his career in games played on the road, head coach Jeff Mittie is 162-191 (.459) including a 37-54 (.407) mark during his time at K-State.
• In the 2021-22 season, the Wildcats were 5-10 in road games, which included a four-game road winning streak from mid-December to mid-January. This was the longest road winning streak for K-State since the end of the 2018-19 regular season. The five wins were the most since the 2019-20 season.
Cats Cash in at the Charity Stripe
• Kansas State continues to earn trips to the free throw line, which is a trend during head coach Jeff Mittie's time at K-State.
• The Wildcats are shooting 80.4 percent (230-of-286) from the foul line this season and have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted, 230-218. K-State has recorded 23.1 percent of its points this season from the foul line.
• Kansas State leads the Big 12 and ranks second in the nation for free throw percentage.
• K-State has shot 80.0 percent or better from the line seven times this season (5-2), including a high of 94.7 percent (18-of-19) against South Dakota State on Dec. 10.
• The Wildcats have made 20 or more free throws in a game four times this season.
• Against Northern Arizona on Nov. 25, the Wildcats made a season-high 28 free throws and attempted 39 freebies. The 39 attempts were the most in the Mittie era and the most since K-State attempted 41 against Colorado on Jan. 13, 1990.
• The 28 made fouls shots were the most since K-State made 29 against TCU on March 1, 2021.
• Last season, K-State shot 420-of-551 (.762) from the foul line. K-State is receiving 19.3 percent of its point total from the charity stripe.
• K-State's free throw percentage of 76.2 percent established a school record for team free throw percentage in a single-season.
• The Wildcats ranked second in the Big 12 and 27th in the nation for free throw percentage and ranked second in league-only games (.765).
• This was the seventh season under Mittie in which K-State made 350 or more free throws in a season with a high of 462 in the 2016-17 season. K-State's 420 free throws made this season are the most since the 2018-19 season (424).
• The Wildcats made 80.0 percent or more of its free throws in a game 14 times last season (11-3). K-State had more free throw attempts than its opponents in 16 games (12-4).
Generating Offense from Defense
• Kansas State has used an opportunistic defense to create additional offensive chances this season.
• K-State's opponents have turned the ball over 241 times (18.5 topg). K-State ranks third in the Big 12 and 24th in the nation in turnover margin at +5.8.
• The Wildcats have tallied 251 points off opponent turnovers (19.3 per game | 1.04 points per turnover). The 251 points are 25.2 percent of K-State's overall point total.
• K-State has a +137 margin in points off turnovers compared to its opponents (251-114).
• The Wildcats have six games with 20 or more points off turnovers, including a season-high 32 against Kansas City on Dec. 7. The 32 points off turnovers marked the most since the Wildcats score 34 points off turnovers by Central Arkansas on Nov. 9, 2021.
• K-State has eight games with 25 percent or more of its points off turnovers, including a season-high 44.4 percent against Kansas City on Dec. 7.
Sundell Sets the Table
• Serena Sundell has established herself at the point for K-State with her distribution skills.
• In the 2022-23 season, Sundell has handed out 67 assists (5.2 apg) including a season-high nine against Clemson on Nov. 24 and eight assists with zero turnovers against Houston on Dec. 4. Sundell owns three career games with five or more assists and zero turnovers.
• Sundell ranks third in the Big 12 in assists per game and is 23rd ninth in the nation for assist to turnover ratio (2.68). Sundell ranks 22nd in the nation for total assists (67).
• She has 28 career games with five or more assists including a career-high 11 assists.
• Sundell's career total stands at 243 and ranks 21st on the K-State career assists list. She needs seven assists to become the 20th player in program history with 250 or more career assists.
• Her career assist to turnover ratio of 2.03 is the school record (min. 100 career assists).
• The 2022 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recipient handed out 176 assists (5.3 apg) and a 1.85 assist to turnover ratio in her freshman season.
• Sundell's total of 176 assists ranked seventh in school history for a single season. Sundell was responsible for 32.3 percent of K-State's assists last season.
• Sundell was the second freshman in program history with 175 or more assists in their debut season and her total of 175 ranked second among K-State freshmen behind Shalee Lehning's school record of 189 in 2005-06.
• Sundell, a five-time Big 12 Freshman of the Week recipient in 2021-22, was third in the Big 12 and 20th in the nation for total assists. She was second in the Big 12 and 23rd in the nation for assists per game.
• Among the nation's freshmen, Sundell was second in total assists and assists per game.
• Against Iowa State on Jan. 11, Sundell tallied a career-high 11 assists. This was the 15th time a K-State player handed out 11 assists in a game and was the most assists by a Wildcat since Kayla Goth tied the school record with 13 against West Virginia on March 9, 2019.
• At South Dakota State on Dec. 11, Sundell dished 10 assists with just one turnover.
• Sundell handed out nine assists with one turnover against Central Arkansas in the season-opener on Nov. 9. Her nine assists set the school record for assists in a K-State debut.
Gregory Secures 1,000 Career Points
• Guard Gabby Gregory has been a dynamic addition to the K-State lineup this season.
• In her career, Gregory has scored 1,058 points (12.4 ppg). She is the first player to transfer to K-State and reach the 1,000-point mark in her collegiate career.
• This season, Gregory is averaging 21.0 points on a .432 field goal percentage, including a .340 three-point percentage and an .845 free throw percentage. She also leads the team on the glass with 6.3 rebounds.
• Gregory leads the Big 12 and ranks 12th in the nation in scoring average and is 10th in the nation for total points scored (273).
• She leads the Big 12 in games with 20 or more points (9) and games with 30 or more points (2).
• The product of Tulsa, Oklahoma, earned her first career Big 12 Player of the Week honor following the first week, as she averaged 22.0 points per contest on a 50.0 percent field goal percentage including a 40.0 percent effort from 3-point range, a 90.9 percent effort from the foul line, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Her 44 points in the first two games were the most by a Wildcat in their first two games in purple and white.
Gregory Quickly Climbing Chart
• Guard Gabby Gregory has been a dynamic addition to the K-State lineup this season.
• Gregory is averaging 21.0 points per game (273 points) and ranks fifth in school history since the 2011-12 season for points scored by a K-State transfer in their first season with the Wildcats.
• The most points scored by a transfer player in their first season with the Wildcats is 335 by Tasha Dickey in the 2011-12 season.
• Only three transfer players completed their first season with K-State with 300 or more points scored: Dickey, Angela Harris (329) and Karyla Middlebrook (301).