MANHATTAN, Kan.—One of the longest continuous rivalries in all of women's college basketball is set for the first meeting of the 2020-21 season on Saturday afternoon, as K-State visits Kansas in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at 4 p.m.
• Saturday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Jill Dorsey-Hall (analyst) will have the call.
• The Wildcats are led this season by sophomore Ayoka Lee and junior Christianna Carr.
• Lee, a candidate for all four of the national player of the year awards, leads K-State in scoring (16.8 ppg), field goal percentage (.636), rebounds (7.3 rpg) and blocks (1.9). She leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth in the nation in field goal percentage and is ninth in the league in scoring.
• Carr is second on the team and is tied for 15th in the Big 12 in scoring with a career-best average of 13.3 points per game while shooting a career-best 42.6 percent from 3-point range. She is second in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game 2.9.
Starting 5
Five names, numbers or storylines about K-State women's basketball
1. Doorstep of 975
• With its next win, K-State will become the third Big 12 program and the 19th in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to win 975 or more games.
2. Blocks are a Positive
• K-State has a blocked shot differential of +35 this season (52-17). Since blocks became official in 1982-83, K-State has 19 seasons with a positive blocked shot differential including a school record +73 (163-90) in the 2005-06 season.
3. Lee Among League Leaders
• Ayoka Lee, after missing two games, has reached the Big 12 threshold for percent of games played to appear among the league leaders. Lee leads the league in field goal percentage (.636), fourth in blocks (1.9), ranks ninth in scoring (16.8 ppg), ranks 10th in free throw percentage (.766) and 10th in rebounding (7.3 rpg).
4. Lee Moves Up Double-Double List
• With her second double-double of the 2020-21 season, Ayoka Lee moved into a tie for eighth in program history for career double-doubles with 21. She is the fastest to 21 career double-doubles in program history.
5. Ebert Emerging
• Sophomore guard Emilee Ebert has set a career season-high in every statistical category this season. She leads K-State in assists (30; 3.0 apg), assist to turnover ratio (1.67) and is second for total blocks (13; 1.3 bpg).
Number to Know
49
• K-State has blocked at least one shot in 49 consecutive games dating back to February 2, 2019.
• Sophomore Ayoka Lee leads K-State and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 1.9 blocks per game.
• Sophomore guard Emilee Ebert is second on the team with 1.3 blocks per game and a career-best 13 blocks this season. Ebert is the only guard among the top 10 in the Big 12 for blocks per game.
Last Time Out
at West Virginia 65, Kansas State 56 (January 20, 2021; Morgantown, W. Va.)
• K-State played its first game in 30 days due to COVID-19 protocols.
• The Wildcats led for over 28 minutes, but the Mountaineers used a 21-0 run in the final four and a half minutes.
• Ayoka Lee led the Wildcats with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Christianna Carr added 15 points.
At a Glance: Kansas
• Kansas (5-5, 1-3 Big 12) enters Saturday's Dillons Sunflower Showdown after a 75-65 loss against Texas Tech on Wednesday. This was the third straight loss for the Jayhawks.
• On the sideline, Kansas is led by sixth-year head coach Brandon Schneider. Schneider is 59-102 (.366) in his time in Lawrence.
• The Jayhawks feature three players in double figures this season and are led by sophomore Holly Kersgieter and senior Tina Stephens.
• Kersgeiter is averaging a team-best 16.3 points per game on a 45.0 percent effort from the field. She is second on the team in rebounding with 6.9 per contest. Against the Lady Raiders, Kersgieter registered 10 points and nine rebounds.
• Stephens is averaging 11.4 points and is shooting a sterling 55.2 percent from the field while pulling in 6.6 rebounds.
Sharing is Caring
• K-State has opened the 2020-21 season with 134 assists (14.8 apg) on 208 made field goals which is an assist percentage of 71.2. According to HerHoopStats.com, K-State ranks sixth in the nation in assist percentage.
• The Wildcats had a season-high 21 assists against Southern on November 29.
• The Wildcats are 68-3 when handing out 20 or more assists over the last 14 years.
• K-State tallied a season-high assist percentage of 85.7 percent with 12 assists on 14 made field goals at Central Arkansas on December 5.
• Kansas State registered a 2019-20 season-high with 30 assists against UIW on December 3. The 30 assists were the most in the Jeff Mittie era, the most since K-State handed out 30 assists against Grambling on December 4, 2009 and tied for the fifth-highest single-game total in program history.
• In the 2019-20 season, K-State averaged 15.6 assists and an assist percentage of 60.8. K-State ranked 39th in the nation and third in the Big 12 for assists per game.
• Since assists became an officially tracked stat in 1981-82, Kansas State has registered an assisted shot rate of 60.0 percent or higher at the end of a season 20 times in its history.
Wildcats Solid From the Arc
• Kansas State has opened the season from beyond the arc with 67 connections on 229 attempts (.293). The Wildcats have received 29 of the 67 made 3-point field goals from Christianna Carr.
• The Wildcats rank third in the Big 12 for 3-point field goals made per game (6.7).
• The Wildcats made a season-high nine 3-pointers at Iowa State on December 18.
• K-State has benefitted from the shooting of Rachel Ranke and Carr. When either player has made three or more 3-pointers in a game, K-State is 24-7.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, the Wildcats have made five or more 3-pointers in a game 144 times in 205 total games including 21 games with 10 or more connections from deep (19-2).
• In the seven seasons under Mittie, K-State has buried 1,205 three-pointers which is 5.88 per game.
• In the 2019-20 season, the Wildcats averaged 5.0 three-point field goals per game with a percentage at 26.8 (144-of-537). Of K-State's 1,996 points, 21.6 percent came from a three-pointer.
• Kansas State buried a season-high 11 three-point field goals against UIC, which were the most since K-State registered a 2018-19 season-high 14 connections from beyond the arc at Oklahoma on February 10. The 14 connections were tied for the most in the Mittie era.
• The Wildcats followed the effort against UIC with 10 connections against Oral Roberts on November 18. It was the first time K-State made 10 or more 3-point field goals in consecutive games since February 24 & 26, 2018, against Kansas and at Texas Tech when the Wildcats made 12 three-pointers in each game.
Lee Efficient from the Field
• Ayoka Lee continues to put the ball in the hoop at a high rate and is among the top-five on the K-State career field goal percentage list.
• In her career, Lee has a field goal percentage of .581 (233-of-401) and ranks third in program history for career field goal percentage.
• This season, Lee is shooting .636 (49-of-77) from the field and leads the Big 12 and sixth in the nation for field goal percentage.
• At West Virginia, Lee was 6-of-9 (.667) from the floor. This was her 28th career game with five or more made field goals.
• Lee has 25 career games with a field goal percentage of .500 or better.
• In the 2019-20 season, Lee shot .568 (184-of-324) from the field and ranked second in the Big 12 and 20th in the nation. Among freshmen in the nation, Lee ranked fifth for field goal percentage.
• Among centers in the nation, Lee ranked fourth for field goals made (184) and fifth for field goal percentage.
• In Big 12 games, Lee led the league in field goal percentage .578 (119-of-206).
• Lee's field goal percentage in the 2019-20 season ranked as the second-highest in a freshman season in program history (min. 150 field goal attempts).
• Lee was 10-of-10 from the field against UIW on December 3, 2019, and tied the school record set by Priscilla Gary on December 31, 1982, against Cal State Fullerton. Her perfect field goal percentage set the Bramlage Coliseum record for field goal percentage in a game by a K-State player.
• Lee was the ninth player in the history of the Big 12 to finish a game perfect from the field with 10 or more attempts.
• With her effort against UIW, Lee posted the top single-game field goal percentage with a minimum of 10 field goal attempts in the nation last season and was one of six players to finish a game perfect from the floor with at least 10 attempts in the 2019-20 season.
Carr With 3 on the Floor
• Christianna Carr is leading the Wildcats in scoring and from behind the arc to begin the season.
• Carr is second on the team and 15th in the Big 12 in scoring with 13.3 points per game and is shooting 42.6 percent (29-of-68) from 3-point range. She ranks 37th in the nation for total 3-point field goals made.
• In the last four games, she is shooting 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from 3-point range including five connections at West Virginia on January 20.
• Against Idaho State, Carr recorded her ninth career game with 20 or more points with a career-high tying 24. She buried five 3-point field goals against the Bengals to tie her career-high.
• In her career, Carr has made 140 three-pointers. She needs 21 connections from beyond the arc to move into 10th in school history for career 3-point field goals made.
• Carr has 38 career games with two or more 3-point field goals made including 14 games with four or more and a career-high of five four times.
• Carr ranks third for 3-point field goals made by a player 6'0" or taller in school history.
GAME #11
Kansas State (5-5, 0-3 Big 12) at Kansas (5-5, 1-3 Big 12)
Saturday, January 23, 2021 | 4 p.m. | Allen Fieldhouse | Lawrence, Kan.
TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Josh Klingler
Analyst: Jill Dorsey-Hall
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Randy Peterson
LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com
COACHES
Kansas State: Jeff Mittie (Missouri Western '89)
Overall: 575-319/29th season | At K-State: 121-84/7th season
Kansas: Brandon Schneider (Wayland Baptist '95)
Overall: 460-240/22nd season | At Kansas: 59-102/6th season
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP (based on previous game)
Kansas State (5-5, 0-3 Big 12)
F: #13 Laura Macke | G: #23 Jada Moore | G: #24 Emilee Ebert | G: #43 Christianna Carr | C: #50 Ayoka Lee
Kansas (5-5, 1-3 Big 12)
F: #1 Tina Stephens | G: #5 Aniya Thomas | G: #13 Holly Kersgieter | G: #15 Zakiyah Franklin | C: #45 Chisom Ajekwu
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads, 76-47
In Lawrence: 33-25
Last Meeting: March 8, 2020; K-State won 83-63 (Manhattan)
Head Coach Jeff Mittie vs. Kansas: 16-6