MANHATTAN, Kansas (KStateSports.com) – K-State, the four-seed in the Albany 2 region, led wire-to-wire on Friday afternoon, as the Wildcats downed Portland, 78-65, in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Bramlage Coliseum on Friday afternoon. With Friday’s win, K-State has now advanced at least one round in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time.
K-State (26-7) has secured 26 wins this season, the most in the Jeff Mittie era and most by the Wildcats since the 2002-03 season (29). This is the sixth 26-win or better season in program history.
For the sixth time this season the trio of Gabby Gregory (22 points), Ayoka Lee (21 points) and Serena Sundell (16 points) scored in double figures in the same game. This was the first time Kansas State has had multiple players score 20 or more points in the same NCAA Tournament game since March 19, 2005 against Bowling Green when Kendra Wecker (25) and Laurie Koehn (22) reached the marks.
Gregory scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Her 22 points were a career-high for an NCAA Tournament game.
Lee tallied 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a game-high nine rebounds. With her 21 points, Lee scored a career-high for an NCAA Tournament game and notched her second career NCAA Tournament game with 20 or more points.
Sundell carded a career-high for an NCAA Tournament game with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting including 3-of-4 from long range, dished out nine assists and hauled in five rebounds. Sundell’s nine assists were the second-most in a K-State NCAA Tournament game and the most since Shalee Lehning set the school record with 13 against Drexel on March 21, 2009.
Portland (21-13) was paced by Maisie Burnham with 21 points, while Kianna Hamilton-Fisher added 12.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– K-State raced out of the gate to a 25-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats used a 15-2 run to increase its advantage to 18, 24-6, with 52 seconds remaining. With 3:54 remaining in the quarter, Gabby Gregory carded a layup to send all five K-State starters into the scorebook. The 25 first quarter points set the program record for points in a first quarter in an NCAA Tournament game.
– The Wildcats held a 40-28 lead at halftime, as the Pilots used a 10-4 run to end the second quarter to bring the game to within 12. K-State’s 12-point halftime lead was its largest in an NCAA Tournament game since holding a 13-point lead over Harvard on March 23, 2003. K-State shot 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the field in the opening half.
– After Portland closed to within eight, 45-37, K-State used an 8-2 run to go back in front by 14, 53-39, with 5:13 to play in the third quarter after a Lee rebound and putback.
– The teams would play to a deadlock in the third quarter, as each team scored 17 points and the Wildcats held a 57-45 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
– The Wildcats would go up by 15, 62-47, as Gregory connected on a three-pointer with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter.
– Portland cut the K-State lead to nine, 70-61 with 3:23 left in the final quarter. Gregory drained her second 3-pointer of the quarter with 3:04 to play to boost the Wildcat lead back to 12, 73-61.
– Sundell put the icing on the cake by connecting on her third 3-pointer of the game with 32 second left to give the Wildcats a 15-point advantage, 78-63.
– K-State shot 51.0 percent (26-of-51) from the field, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from 3-point range. The 51.0 percent performance is the sixth-highest field goal percentage in an NCAA Tournament game and the highest since shooting 52.9 percent on March 23, 2009, against Vanderbilt.
– The Pilots shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) but were held to 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from 3-point range.
QUICK FACTS
– This was the first meeting in the series between K-State and Portland. The Wildcats are 8-1 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference.
– The Wildcats own an all-time record of 15-17 in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats own an 8-2 record in NCAA Tournament games played in Manhattan. The Wildcats are 6-0 in first round NCAA Tournament games played in Manhattan, with five of the six wins coming by double digits.
– Head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 644-369 (.636) in 32 seasons as a head coach and is 190-134 (.586) during his 10-seasons at K-State. Mittie is 4-4 in his five NCAA Tournament appearances with K-State.
– K-State is 396-155 (.719) in its 36-season history inside Bramlage Coliseum, including a 16-1 mark this season. The Wildcats own a 229-29 (.888) record against non-conference opponents inside Bramlage, including an active streak of 29 straight wins against non-conference foes.
– K-State owns a record of 248-94 (.725) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 12-7 (.632) all-time when ranked 15th in the nation.
TEAM NOTES
– K-State’s starting five consisted of guards: Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Gabby Gregory and center Ayoka Lee. This was the 26th time (21-5) this starting five has been used this season. This was the 113th career start for Lee, the 111th collegiate career start and the 65th start at K-State for Gregory, the 102nd career start for Sundell, the 98th career start for Jaelyn Glenn and the 92nd career start for Brylee Glenn.
– The Wildcats held a 40-28 lead at halftime on Friday. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 150-18 (.893) when leading at halftime, including a 21-1 record this season. The Wildcats have won 263 consecutive games when leading at halftime by 12 or more points.
– K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in a quarter two times on Friday. This season, the Wildcats have 47 quarters with a field goal percentage of 50.0 percent or better. The 47 quarters with a field goal percentage of 50.0 percent or better equals the high of 47 from the 2016-17 season.
– The Wildcats are 7-7 (.500) when teams have shot 40 percent or better against them.
– With its one blocked shot on Friday, K-State tied the school record for blocks in a single-season with 170, which equals the mark established in 2021-22.
– With 21 assists on Friday, K-State tied the school record for assists in a season with 618, matching the effort of the 2002-03 squad. The Wildcats have 12 games this season (11-1) with 20 or more assists. Over the last 16 seasons, K-State is 92-8 (.920) when handing out 20 or more assists in a game.
PLAYER NOTES
– Gregory registered her 84th career game, her 43rd at K-State and her 14th this season with 10 or more points. Her 22 points were a career-high in an NCAA Tournament game.
– Gregory made three 3-pointers on Friday, which is the 70th time in her career with two or more connections from long range, including 16 games this season.
– Lee recorded her 52nd career game with 20 or more points and tied her with Kendra Wecker (2001-05) for most 20-point games by any Kansas State player this century. This was her 104th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career (113 games). Lee’s career total stands at 2,184 and trails Nicole Ohlde (2000-04; 2,241) for second on the K-State career scoring list.
– Lee has shot 50.0 percent or better from the field in 77 career games.
– Lee hauled in nine rebounds on Friday. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,107, improving upon her own school record for career rebounds. Lee moved into ninth in Big 12 history for career rebounds. This was Lee’s 104th career game with five or more rebounds. Lee’s nine rebounds today pushed her into fifth in program history for career NCAA Tournament rebounds with 32. She is the first player in school history to reach 30 or more rebounds through her first three NCAA Tournament games.
– Sundell notched her 70th career game with 10 or more points, including her 25th this season. Sundell owns 1,252 career points and moved into 23rd on the K-State career scoring list passing Claire Coggins (2003-07; 1,236) and Jalana Childs (2008-12; 1,237).
– Sundell’s nine assists on Friday improved her career total to 543 and passing Kayla Goth (2015-19; 540) for fourth in school history for career assists. Sundell set a career-high for assists in an NCAA Tournament game. This was Sundell’s 64th career game with five or more assists. Sundell’s assist total this season (183) ranks seventh in school history for a single season.
UP NEXT
K-State will matchup with the winner of the Colorado/Drake game in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Sunday’s game time and network designation will be announced on Saturday.
Single-session tickets are available and start at $18 for bench tickets, $15 for youth and senior bench seats, and $10 for groups of 12 or more. Contact kpogue@kstatesports.com for more information about group tickets.
All seats in Bramlage Coliseum will be reserved, and tickets are digital. Print-at-home general admission parking is available for $5 each day. Get your post-season tickets now by visiting BITLY/WBBNCAA or calling the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-221-2287.
