Feb 02, 2023

🏀 WBB: K-State upsets 12th-ranked Iowa State

Posted Feb 02, 2023 11:35 AM
K-State WBB vs Iowa State.jpg
K-State WBB vs Iowa State.jpg

MANHATTAN, Kan.— With a strong third quarter and a late fourth quarter push, K-State collected a 78-77 upset win over (12/12) Iowa State inside Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night. The win snapped a five-game losing streak by the Wildcats against the Cyclones and was K-State's second Associated Press top-15 win of the season, also downing fourth-ranked Iowa in November.

K-State (14-9, 3-7 Big 12) put three in double figures for the 19th time this season and were led by senior Gabby Gregory with a game-high 27 points while playing all 40 minutes for the second straight game. Gregory, who entered the contest as the number-two scorer in the Big 12, carded her 14th game this season with 20 or more points and did so on 9-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and a 6-of-7 effort from the foul line.

Joining Gregory in double figures were sophomores Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Glenn added five rebounds, two assists and two steals to her final line, while Sundell led the Wildcats with five assists and hauled in five rebounds, pocketed a steal and blocked a shot.

Iowa State (15-5, 7-3) saw four reach double figures and were led by Lexi Donarski with 18 points, while Ashley Joens added 17 points.


HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Cyclones would lead by as much as 11 in the second quarter, 34-23. K-State would hold Iowa State without a field goal for the final three minutes of the quarter and outscored them, 9-2, to pull within four at halftime, 36-32. 
- Gregory started the rally with a 3-pointer and then tallied a pair of free throws with 1:54 to play. Sundell then capped the quarter with four points on layups, including a halftime buzzer beater. 
- K-State extended its run into the third quarter, scoring the first five points of the frame to take a 37-36 lead with 8:01 to play. After the Cyclones regained the lead with a 3-pointer, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to go in front by five, 44-39, with 6:16 to play in the third. Three-pointers from Brylee Glenn and Gregory on consecutive possessions keyed the run.
- A Gregory layup with 4:37 to play in the third gave the Wildcats a 48-43 lead. Iowa State would use an 8-0 run over a two-minute stretch to take a 51-48 lead and force a K-State timeout with 2:44 to play in the third stanza. 
- A free throw and a three-pointer from in front of K-State's bench by Emilee Ebert gave the Wildcats a 54-53 lead entering the fourth quarter. In total for the third quarter, Gregory scored 12 of K-State's 22 points. 
- K-State raced out to begin the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run and built a seven-point lead, 62-55, with 7:14 remaining and forced an Iowa State timeout. Sundell opened the quarter with a layup and was followed by two free throws from Ebert. Jaelyn Glenn then made layups on consecutive K-State possessions to force the timeout.
- A five-point burst by Joens tied the game at 64 with 3:01 to play. On K-State's next possession, Ebert finished a layup through contact to give the Wildcats a 66-64 lead. On the ensuing Iowa State possession, Jaelyn Glenn plucked Joens's pocket and raced to the other end for a layup with 2:24 to play and giving the Wildcats a 68-64 lead. 
- After an Iowa State timeout with 2:17 remaining, the Cyclones scored on a putback to pull within two, 68-66. Jaelyn Glenn answered on K-State's next possession with a three-pointer from the wing to give the Wildcats a 71-66 led with 1:41 left.
- The Wildcats would clinch the win by shooting 7-of-8 from the foul line in the final 22 seconds of the game, as Gregory was 4-of-4 and Sundell was 3-of-4. 
- K-State ended the night shooting 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the field, including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from beyond the arc.
- The Cyclones shot 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the floor and shot 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from 3-point range.
- The Wildcats held a 21-14 advantage in points off turnovers and a 13-7 edge in fast break points. Iowa State entered Wednesday averaging 13.5 turnovers per game, but the Wildcats forced 16 Cyclone mistakes.


QUICK FACTS
- K-State leads the series with Iowa State, 54-47.
- The Wildcats are 28-18 all-time against the Cyclones in games played in Manhattan.
- Kansas State owns a 227-193 record in the month of February including a 30-34 mark in the Jeff Mittie era.
- The Wildcats are now 2-1 this season against Associated Press top-25 opponents. 
- K-State is 8-9 all-time against opponents ranked No. 12 in the Associated Press top-25 poll, including three of their last five.


TEAM NOTES
- Wednesday's starting five were Sarah ShematsiJaelyn GlennSerena SundellBrylee Glenn and Gabby Gregory. This was the 10th time this group started a game together this season (5-5).
- The Wildcats trailed at halftime, 36-32. This was the 12th time this season K-State trailed on the scoreboard after the first 20 minutes. This was K-State third win this season (3-9) when trailing at the half.
- K-State held a 54-53 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Wildcats are 12-0 this season when leading after three quarters and own a 13-0 record when leading with five minutes remaining in the fourth.
- The Wildcats scored 20 or more points in the third and fourth quarters for the second straight game. This season, K-State owns 33 quarters with 20 or more points scored.
- K-State saw three or more players in double figures for points for the 19th time this season.
- The Wildcats were 16-of-20 (.800) from the foul line on Wednesday. This was the 10th time this season K-State shot 80.0 percent or better from the charity stripe.


PLAYER NOTES
- Gregory tallied her 60th career game in double figures for points and her 19th at K-State. She has scored in double figures in five straight games.
- Wednesday was Gregory's 14th game this season and the 22nd of her career with 20 or more points. Gregory leads the Big 12 for games with 20 or more points.
- Gregory ended the night with three 3-pointers. This was her 16th game this season and the 44th of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range. 
- Sundell reached double figures in points for the 15th time this season and the 34th time in her career.
- Sundell set the school record for career blocked shots by a guard with 43, passing the mark established by Kayla Goth (42).
- Sundell dished five assists on Wednesday, her 13th game with five or more assists and the 33rd of her career. 
Jaelyn Glenn scored in double figures for the 17th game this season and the 23rd time in her career.
Jaelyn Glenn pulled in five rebounds on Wednesday, her 13th game this season with five or more rebounds and the 23rd of her career. Glenn has hauled in five or more rebounds in all 10 games of Big 12 play this season.
Sarah Shematsi made two three-pointers on Wednesday, her sixth game this season and the 12th of her career with two or more connections from 3-point range.
- Shematsi pulled in a team-leading six rebounds on Wednesday, her sixth game this season with five or more rebounds and the eighth of her career. Shematsi has led the Wildcats in rebounding four times this season.


FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Jeff Mittie
On the importance of this win…
"I think there's no question it's a big one. We've been through a really tough stretch where we didn't play as well as we were capable of but we have started to play better but we haven't tasted victory. And you know, you want that work in practice to carry over to game night and you've got to trust that it will. And I'm really proud of the team for trusting it. Even when they strayed away from the game plan, they got back to it. And there were a couple of times we strayed a little bit away from it down the stretch, but we got back to it and players made plays and you've got to make plays in a game like this."

On if there was an emphasis to get off to a hot start…
"It's been a point of emphasis for a while, both halves, it's been a point of emphasis that we do things better. It's important because we've played pretty well but boy when you just dig yourself a hole and then it changes your substitution patterns, it can change some things. And it certainly changes some things for the other team. They're playing now with a lot of confidence. The thing I thought we did tonight, we got (Ashely) Jones off to a rough start. She's such a veteran that she comes back and has a good second half, but yet, she doesn't have a monstrous game. And so we hold her kind of at bay. I just thought our team did a lot of things a lot better tonight."

On any halftime adjustments made…
"We made a few little wrinkles to a few things, but I would just say the biggest thing our players did was they stayed with the game plan of getting downhill and getting in the paint and shooting threes off of it. Not just settling for threes, we were really moving the ball and playing better together. But I think it started with our mentality of getting downhill first."

On carrying this momentum forward…
"I think you just take it into practice. You take the one practice at a time, how do we get better? Get a little bit of rest. This was a big battle so we'll get a little bit of rest we play on Sunday. And have a good practice, you know keep that momentum going. I have felt like we have had pretty productive practices and I felt leaving practice that not only have we improved individually at where I feel like they can continue to grow, but also how we can help each other play better. So defensively tonight, that was a step forward defensively for us to do some things better. They still shoot a higher percentage than I'd like but that's a really good offensive team. So just get back into practice on Friday and get ready to hopefully you know carry this over."

Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly
Opening Statement…
"I certainly want to congratulate Kansas State. I thought they played really really hard, really well. It was a really good game. Obviously, when you go on the road, one of the things we talk about as a staff is you never know the play that is going to change the game and when you lose by one, we can sit here all night and pick out a play or two. But credit to them they played really hard and really well. And we competed but just not efficient enough in certain times."

On the key to K-State pulling away…
"I think the biggest thing is we really had a hard time guarding them. Recently, ever since we lost Stephanie (Soares) we've had to kind of reinvent ourselves defensively and our scouting, what we call scouting report defense has been really good. Tonight it wasn't and they exploited it in a lot of different ways, and that's a credit to them. So that was the biggest thing for me. Defensively, we just we didn't do the little things we needed to do to to beat a very skilled offensive team."

On what worked well in the second quarter…
"I think the biggest thing was we quit turning the ball over for about six minutes. Obviously, we're not a very deep team and when Ash (Ashley Joens) and Lex (Lexi Donarski) got in foul trouble in the second quarter, we didn't finish the half the way we needed to. But you know, I think for us, we have a lot of people that have the ability to score, but the turnovers and points off turnovers hurt us. But other than that, I think really defensively you just have to be much better on the road in this league than we were tonight. And that's a credit to them."

FROM THE FLOOR
Gabby Gregory, K-State Senior Guard
On if she made any adjustments to go on her scoring run…
"I just stuck to the game plan and we wanted to get the ball inside, play out of the post and skip out if you had open shooters and that's really just what I did. I just had opportunities to score and I took advantage of them."

On what this year has meant to her…
"It's been a lot of fun. I mean, going into the portal, I was looking for a fresh start and I knew coming to K State I could have that. And I mean my teammates have been incredible ever since I got here. I'm back to having fun playing basketball and I guess you can see it on the floor, like I'm just having a blast and my teammates are incredible and we just played together so well. It's just been a lot of fun."

Jaelyn Glenn, K-State Sophomore Guard
On her performance in the fourth quarter…
"Well, one of our biggest points of emphasis was driving the ball and getting it in the paint. So just my teammates doing that got me open, and I would just have to just move along the three point line a little bit so they could see me but my teammates really did a lot of the work just driving the ball and getting me open. Yeah, and then just staying confident in my shot and shooting it."

On her stretch of a layup followed by a three-pointer…
"I definitely think it was a gamble on the steal. I think I had three fouls so that really could have gone either way. But I'm glad it went my way. And then on that three it just felt really good coming off. I didn't know like how much time was on the clock or like maybe we didn't really need that three, but I'm just confident in my shot. It felt really good coming off."

UP NEXT
K-State returns to the road, as the Wildcats visit Texas Tech on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday's game will air on ESPNU and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network.