MANHATTAN, Kansas - K-State will conclude the 2020 portion of its schedule on Monday night, as the Wildcats host (22/22) Texas at 7 p.m.
• Monday’s game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Missy Heidrick (analyst) will have the call.
TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Online: kstatesports.com
• The Wildcats are led this season by sophomore Ayoka Lee, junior Christianna Carr and redshirt junior Rachel Ranke.
• Lee, a candidate for all four of the national player of the year awards, leads K-State in scoring (18.2 ppg), field goal percentage (.625), and rebounds (7.3 rpg). She is averaging 1.7 blocks.
• Carr is second on the team and ranks 17th in the Big 12 in scoring with 13.1 points per game while shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range. She leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game 2.9.
• Ranke continues her climb towards 1,000 career points, as she is averaging 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She needs 127 points to become the 43rd player in program history with 1,000 or more career points.
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. 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 (.625), ranks fifth in scoring (18.2 ppg), fifth in blocks (1.7), ranks eighth in rebounding (7.3 rpg) and ranks 13th in field goal percentage (.744).
3. Ebert Emerging
• Sophomore guard Emilee Ebert leads K-State in assists (26; 3.3 apg) and total blocks (12; 1.5 bpg). She is the only player in the Big 12 to rank among the top-12 in both assists per game and blocks per game.
4. Ranke from Distance
• Redshirt junior guard Rachel Ranke connected on a pair of 3-pointers at Iowa State. With the 12 made 3-point field goals, Ranke will become the seventh player in program history with 200 or more connection from 3-point range.
5. 2020 in the Rearview
• Kansas State will play its final game of 2020 on Monday. Entering the game, K-State is 15-11 in games played this year. The Wildcats won six of their last eight games before the season was halted due to COVID-19 in March.
Number to Know
30
• K-State has a blocked shot differential of +30 this season (42-12).
• The Wildcats are second in the Big 12 in blocked shot differential, trailing Oklahoma State’s +34 (52-18).
• 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.
• In the Jeff Mittie era, K-State is a +290 in blocked shot differential with the best effort for a season coming in the 2019-20 season at +66 (163-99).
Last Time Out
at (rv/rv) Iowa State 91, Kansas State 69 (December 18, 2020; Ames, Iowa)
• K-State led 40-37 at halftime, but allowed the Cyclones to score 54 points in the second half.
• K-State was led by Ayoka Lee with her third straight game with 20 or more points as she notched 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled in three rebounds.
• Christianna Carr reached double figures for the sixth time this season with 11 points including a 3-of-6 effort from 3-point range. Carr has made three or more 3-pointers six times this season.
At a Glance: Texas
• Texas (5-1, 0-0 Big 12) enters Monday’s game following a 101-80 win over Drake on Friday night in Austin.
• The Longhorns are guided on the sideline by first year head coach Vic Schaefer. The 1984 graduate of Texas A&M owns a career record of 306-173 (.639) during his 16 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.
• The Longhorns are led by Charli Collier and Celeste Taylor.
• Collier, a junior forward/center from Mont Belvieu, Texas, leads the team in scoring (23.7 ppg) and paces the squad in rebounding (10.5 rpg). Collier is second in the Big 12 in scoring and rebounding. Against the Bulldogs, Collier tallied 17 points and four rebounds.
• Taylor, a sophomore guard from Valley Stream, N.Y., is second on the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and paces the squad in steals with 3.6 per game.
K-State Against Ranked Opponents
• The Wildcats are 83-217 (.277) against teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll including a 52-62 (.456) mark against AP ranked teams in Manhattan.
• K-State is 11-41 (.212) against AP ranked opponents in head coach Jeff Mittie’s seven seasons in Manhattan.
• The Wildcats ended an eight-game losing streak against AP ranked opponents with a 62-53 win over South Dakota State on December 10. This was K-State’s first win against a ranked non-conference opponent since defeating Drake on March 18, 2017, in the NCAA Tournament.
Wildcats Solid From the Arc
• Kansas State has opened the season from beyond the arc with 54 connections on 199 attempts (.271). The Wildcats have received 23 of the 54 made 3-point field goals from Christianna Carr.
• The Wildcats rank third in the Big 12 for 3-point field goals made per game (6.8) and rank 17th in the nation for total 3-point field goals made.
• 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 24-6.
• Under head coach Jeff Mittie, the Wildcats have made five or more 3-pointers in a game 142 times in 203 total games including 21 games with 10 or more connections from deep (19-2).
• In the seven seasons under Mittie, K-State has buried 1,192 three-pointers which is 5.87 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.
Goodson Assisting New Faces
• Sydney Goodson joined the Wildcats this summer as a graduate transfer after spending two seasons on the floor with Texas Tech.
• Goodson has gelled well with her new teammates, as she has handed out 21 assists (2.6 apg) this season. Over the last four games, she is averaging 3.8 assists.
• During the Jeff Mittie era, Goodson ranks tied for sixth for assists by a transfer in her first and/or only season with the Wildcats.
• She tied her career-high with eight assists against Kansas City on December 14.
• In her career, Goodson has handed out 197 assists (2.2 apg) with a career-best of 95 in the 2018-19 season at Texas Tech.
Lee Putting the Ball in the Basket
• Ayoka Lee remains a great scoring threat in the post for K-State.
• Lee has started the 2020-21 seaosn with an average of 18.2 points per game and five games in double figures including a career-high 31 points against Kansas City on December 14. Lee ranks fifth in the Big 12 in scoring.
• She has scored in double figures in five of the six games she has played this season including a current streak of three straight games with 20 or more points. Lee has scored in double figures in 32 career games, including 12 games with 20 or more points.
• With her 31 points against Kansas City, Lee became the 26th player in program history to record 30 or more points in a game.
• In the 2019-20 season, Lee averaged 15.7 points (456 points) and ranked eighth in the Big 12 in scoring and was the top freshman scorer in the Big 12. Nationally among centers, Lee ranked fourth for points per game.
• The product of Byron, Minnesota, ranked fourth in school history for points in a freshman season.
• In combination with her rebounds and blocks, Lee was the first freshman in program history with 400 or more points, 300 or more rebounds and 90 or more blocks in a freshman season.
Ranke with Range
• Guard Rachel Ranke continues to be a threat for the Wildcats from beyond the three-point line.
• For her career, Ranke has made 188 three-point field goals and ranks seventh on the K-State career 3-point field goals made list. She ranks seventh in program history for career 3-point field goals attempted with 598. She needs 12 made 3-point field goals to become the 12th player in program history with 200 or more 3-point connections.
• Ranke holds the school record for 3-point field goals made by a player 6’0” or taller in school history.
• In the 2018-19 season, Ranke led the team with 71 three-point field goals made. Ranke ranked fourth in program history for 3-point field goals made by a sophomore.
• Since the 2000-01 season, Ranke made the second-most 3-point field goals in the first two seasons of a K-State career with 160 conversions.