K-State women fall to Kentucky in 4th

MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State put a scare into (11/12) Kentucky on Thursday night at Bramlage Coliseum, but Kentucky used a fourth quarter surge to hold off the K-State upset bid in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, 60-49.

K-State (1-1) overcame a seven-point deficit in the first quarter, 12-5, to secure a 16-14 lead at the end of the frame. K-State held Kentucky to one field goal in the final 3:36 of the quarter.

Taylor Lauterbach came off the bench to record a crucial three-point play with 2:43 to play to pull the Wildcats within one, 14-13. A jumper from Ashley Ray gave the Wildcats their first lead of the night, 15-14, with 34 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Kansas State increased its lead to five, 25-20, as Christianna Carr, Emilee Ebert and Rachel Ranke all made 3-point field goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter.

Kentucky (3-0) tied the game at 25 with 1:51 remaining in the first half, but it was short lived as Ray found a cutting Laura Macke who finished with a layup to give K-State a 27-25 lead at the half.

K-State shot 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from the field in the first half, which included a 50.0 percent (5-of-10) effort from beyond the arc. K-State held Kentucky to a 26.5 percent effort. Eight of the nine K-State players to see the floor in the first half scored at least two points.

Macke helped K-State to a three-point lead, 30-27, early in the third quarter. Kentucky scored four quick points to go in front, 31-30, with 7:16 remaining.

K-State went back in front, 36-33, with 4:45 to play. Cymone Goodrich became the ninth K-State player to score as she finished a lefthanded layup. Carr followed with a layup of her own and Ranke forced a Kentucky timeout with a transition layup.

Kentucky would outscore K-State 6-2 in the final two and a half minutes of the third quarter to grab a 43-41 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

A three-pointer from Carr with over five minutes to play squared the game at 49. K-State would then go cold as Kentucky finished the game on a 11-0 run to avoid the upset.

Carr led the Wildcats with 15 points including a 4-of-9 effort from behind the arc and five rebounds, while Ranke came off the bench to finish with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Kentucky was led by Dre'Una Edwards with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

K-State finished the night shooting 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the field including 36.4 percent (8-of-22) effort from 3-point range. Kentucky notched a field goal percentage of 37.1 percent (23-of-62) and held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

K-State will return to action on Saturday, December 5 at Central Arkansas. The game will be available on the Bear Nation Network at ucasports.com.

JEFF MITTIE, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement …
"Well I think we had the kind of game we needed. 2-poiont game with 4:50 to go and then we just couldn't execute some things and I couldn't find anything that I felt good about going to. There were some windows of opportunity that I think we had, but we didn't control the ball well enough. Guards have got to control the ball better in that stretch and we have to control the ball better in that stretch. Proud of our kids for battling. I thought they battled all night. We got good production from [Taylor] Lauterbach in the first half who was really good and did some good things. Ashley Ray did some good things and came in and gave us some good minutes. Their pressure ultimately, the two things that bothered us the most was their pressure and Edwards got to the offensive glass a bunch which gave them some extra chances in the second half."

On Ayoka Lee's status…
"I don't know the status. I know she's on crutches. We haven't been the luckiest. Yesterday our back-up point guard [Jada] Moore gets her finger stepped on and actually breaks it. That's why she was out today. Lee going down in the first four, first five minutes of the game, so I don't know we will see. I think she is able to put a little bit of pressure on it, but she's obviously not able to go."

On executing a good start to the game…
"I thought our group did a great job, I really did. I think it was 25-19. Kentucky made a late run in that half but we ended up being up at half, so I felt like we kinda served it and maybe we could go in. Back and forth in the third. We were making some plays. I thought our group had a great look to them. I think we got worn down in the end."

On Kentucky's offensive rebounds…
"I think they're active. They have quick hands, they're active, they obviously have athletes that can play above. I think we have to box out better, we have to chase better. We were undersized there down the stretch. We have to do all those things much much better."

On Rachel Ranke's improvement throughout the game…
"I think she looked like she had her legs under her for the first time this year. She seemed to play better. Early I didn't think she was playing very well. She made a couple plays where I think she had opportunities. One of them was a shot clock violation where they returned the ball to her, but you know it's been almost a year since she's played. She played her last game maybe December 14th or something last year and then you have what we have all had which is the in-and-out of practices. It's good to see her back, good to see her have her legs under her and get her confidence going."

On the concerns about the high number of turnovers…
"Our guards have to control the ball better. It is a concern. We will get back to work and see if we can't help them. We have to help them as much as we can and do things better and that's our job. There's not a lot of time. One of the things about this stretch for us is that there is not a lot of practice time. We have a bus trip tomorrow down to Arkansas, that's obviously a change. We will have to kind of get ready mentally and play a solid UCA team on Saturday that is usually in the top half of their league."

CHRISSY CARR, JUNIOR GUARD
On Ayoka's injury and the team's bounce back…
"Coach Mittie has kinda been pushing us in our head since the season started and way before the season started. Expect the unexpected. Injuries are going to happen, we kind of dealt with the injury bug before. COVID is going to happen and things are going to happen on the court, but that doesn't mean they are going to sit there and stop and say, 'Oh she's out, let's try again tomorrow.' I feel like we had some energy and of course we all feel bad that Ayoka [Lee] is out, she's my dog, but the game has to go on. We still have to play, we still have to perform, we have to do the best we can do to be able to get the 'dub. I felt like our team fought hard. I'm very proud of our girls. I'm proud of Taylor [Lauterbach] and Ashley [Ray], the way that they picked up and did some things. Our team played really hard and mature today."

On having success behind the 3-point line…
"It's always good when the ball is going in the basket. I feel like we were playing together. The ball was finding the right people at the right time and I feel like when we find those easy shots, that's when the shot is going to fall. We all work a lot on our shot. When we get those easy shots, you think about it like when the ball is coming out of somebody's hands on the offensive rebound kick-out, I just think of the gun, just like in the practice gym by ourselves with the music blasting. That's just what I think about with all our girls and what I think all of us think about. Coach Mittie says that an offensive kick-out is just like shooting it on the gun. Load your legs and knock down that shot. I think we did a good job of that today."

On losing the lead in the fourth quarter…
"Fatigue got to us there in the fourth quarter. Fatigue got to me definitely. Mentally we started to soften a little bit. Our girls did a good job picking each other up and still fighting until the last second. With a team like that, you can't let stretches get ahead that late in the game. They do a really good job of executing and the free-throw line. I feel like that's what they did a really good job at. We just have to do a better job at limiting turnovers and staying poised. We got in panic mode there in the fourth, so moving forward we just have to stay calm in those situations. We have been there. We know what it's like against the number 11 team in the country, so now we have no excuse to not get better from it now."

On the improvement on the 3-point shot this season…
"I would say it's not even about rhythm, it's more about staying poised. Poised is our biggest thing right now. We have a couple new players. We are switching up our offense, we are moving a lot more. We have been working in practice about finding the right shot, what's the right shot for that possession. If we find the right shot, the shots are going to knock down, I'm 100% confident that that is going to happen, and if it doesn't we are confident that we are going to get the offensive rebound and find another one. I feel like we have to keep working in practice at finding the right shot and keep working in games at finding the right shot as well. I think we did a really good job of that today at finding the right shot for everybody. I am very confident going forward that we are going to continue to work on that. I have full trust in our coaches that they're going to keep nailing that in our head too so we can keep shooting like that and only more forward. "

On Ashley Ray's success as the third center off the bench…
"Ashley is one heck of a person. I love her to death. One thing she does really really well is bringing energy. She's always talking. Even on the days when we are down in practice and down in games. There were sometimes in the game where I was super super tired and I was looking at Coach Mittie to give me a sub even though I probably wasn't going to get it, but Ashley came over and gave me a pat on the back and instantly my mindset changed right then and there.  Sometimes I don't think of how much of an impact she has just how much she talks and how much energy she brings on the court. She talks so much and she's so positive. It is so much appreciated on our team and myself as well. Just seeing someone who has been through that knee energy, she has every excuse to sit there and be negative about her knee, negative about not playing as much, and negative about stepping into a role she was unfamiliar with, but I think she has done a great job at accepting that and boosting everybody up with her. I think that's a great component to have as a senior and a leader of our team. People definitely look to her to communicate and people look to her to follow her steps, so I love her to death and I think she's done a great job."

RACHEL RANKE, JUNIOR GUARD
On her increase in confidence throughout the game…
"I would say my goal from the jump was create impact on the defensive end, come in and get rebounds and start a spark for our team on the defensive end. Going forward, I think that is the mindset that everyone needs to have. Whether you're coming off the bench or starting, it doesn't matter. We need everyone to contribute on both ends of the floor. That was my emphasis right away. I wanted to make an impact on the defensive end and let the offensive side come to me."

On the confusion when switching from man-to-man and zone…
"Communicate. Making sure when the shot goes up, everybody has a body to box out. Effort is important too. We have to control that too, keep grabbing those boards. I think it's a little bit of everything, communication, effort, all of the above."

On the quick turnaround to the next game in Arkansas…
"We just have to have a short memory. We can be mad about tonight until tonight is over. I think we have a quick turnaround, so tomorrow it is all about Central Arkansas. We go play them on the road and that's a win that we need to pick up on the road. I think it is just about having a short memory. Basketball is going to keep going on and going on, so we can't keep dwelling on everything and we have to be ready to go for the next game."

On the toughness of Kentucky's defense…
"I feel like if we would have been a little more composed at times, I felt like we were rushed at times, but I feel like their defense wasn't anything we haven't been dealt already. We've practiced with a lot of pressure on us, we've practiced breaking that press with the trap for a month now, so I think it's just a matter of us staying poised and keeping our fundamentals ready and going."

On the fatigue in the fourth quarter…
"We have a lot of people everywhere right now. That means every single person on the roster has to be ready right now. It's times when we get exhausted that we have to realize we have to keep pushing. Basketball is a game of runs like that and we can't give up so easy. Whether we are tired or not, we have to keep plugging away."

KYRA ELZY, KENTUCKY HEAD COACH
On winning on the road on a tough shooting night…
"I'm so proud of our players today. They were so resilient. Obviously our shots weren't going in at a rate that we're used to them going in. We had to lay our hat on our defense. They were gritty. They were tough. They made tough shots down the stretch when we had to."

On the pace of the game…
"We play with a reckless abandon offensively in the first half. We had one-pass shots. We were extremely rushed, thought we missed some layups around the rim which really started to panic us. Everybody was looking to score and be aggressive, but we played way too fast. I thought we slowed down in the second half and made the defense work. We made three to four passes, and then we started getting open shots and drives to the rim. I thought we made a great adjustment by settling down.

On Howard's performance in her first game…
"It's her first game back. She hadn't played in a game since March. I thought she was locked into the game plan of what we needed to do. I thought she got frustrated. Her shots weren't going in. Credit to K-State. I thought they were really physical with her early. Rhyne is a talented player. She will work the kinks out. The shots she took tonight that were wide open, they will go in. I just kept talking to her about making the play, but I commend her. Even though her shots weren't going in, she still buckled down defensively. She got rebounds and had some unbelievable passes to help other people score."

DRE'UNA EDWARDS, REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE, FORWARD
On the road game and getting the win…
"It was different, of course, especially with no fans, but we had to fight through it and get through it and we did.

On finding a way to regroup when K-State didn't make it easy…
"We had to motivate ourselves, and our coaches got after us in the locker room at halftime. We just had to fix our mindset and get back to it."

On Rhyne Howard's first game back…
"I wouldn't necessarily say rust. It was her first game back, so she just had to get the hang of things and get back to it."

On the pace of the game…
"I would just say that they were throwing some defensive things at us that we haven't seen before. We just had to get used to it and go with the flow. We ended up getting right with it after halftime."


ROBYN BENTON, JUNIOR, GUARD
On the team shooting poorly but still winning on the road…
"Our coaches always say that we hold our hats on defense. Our defense is really what helped us win this game even on an off shooting night."

On if Coach Elzy was happy after the game…
"Yeah, because we won. We're taking the W anyday."

On getting a win on the road…
"It was my first road game with the Wildcats. It feels good to be with this team. It's been a quick transition, but I've found ways to step up when the team needs me."