SPOKANE, Wash. (KStateSports.com) – (19/18) Kansas State, the five-seed in the Spokane Regional 4 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, fought tooth and nail against top-seed (4/4) USC but the Trojans edged past the Wildcats, 67-61, in the regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.
K-State (28-8) saw three players reach double figures in scoring on Saturday: Serena Sundell, Ayoka Lee and Jaelyn Glenn. Sundell carded a game-high 22 points on 6-of-13 shooting and a season-best 10-of-11 effort from the charity stripe. She also notched six rebounds, six assists, a steal and a blocked shot. This was her 66th career game with 10 or more points and five or more assists.
With her 10 made free throws, Sundell is the fifth player in program history to make 10 or more free throws in an NCAA Tournament game and the first since Lee made 10 against Washington State on March 19, 2022.
Lee tallied her 65th career double-double and her fourth in an NCAA Tournament game with 12 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal. With the double-double, she ties Ashley Joens of Iowa State for second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles.
Glenn carded 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added two rebounds and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
– USC (31-3) secured a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, as the Wildcats shot 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from the field in the opening frame.
– K-State opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to build a 19-16 lead with 7:29 remaining. The Wildcats would lead by four, 30-26, before the Trojans converted a buzzer-beating layup to send K-State into the locker room with a 30-28 lead.
– The Wildcats built a 39-34 lead with 5:10 to play in the third quarter, as Jaelyn Glenn buried her second 3-pointer of the game. The Trojans answered with a 12-0 run to go in front 46-39 with 2:22 remaining in the third stanza.
– K-State would pull within three, 48-45, at the close of the third quarter, as Sundell carded six straight points.
– The Wildcats would square the game at 51 with 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter on a Lee layup. USC pushed back in front by four, 55-51, with 6:16 left. K-State closed to within one, 60-59, following a Sundell layup with 3:04 to play. K-State would get no closer as the Trojans fended off the Wildcats with seven made free throws in the final two minutes.
– K-State shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from beyond the arc.
– USC shot 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the field and shot 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from distance.
QUICK FACTS
– The series between K-State and USC is tied, 1-1. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 0-3 in his career against USC. The Wildcats own an 80-69 record against current members of the Big Ten.
– The Wildcats own an all-time record of 17-19 in the NCAA Tournament.
– K-State head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 672-378 (.640), including a mark of 218-143 (.604).
– K-State owns a record of 276-103 (.728) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 10-3 (.769) all-time when ranked 19th in the nation. The Wildcats are 3-10 (.231) in its history against teams ranked fourth in the AP poll.
TEAM NOTES
– K-State’s starting five consisted of guards: Zyanna Walker, Jaelyn Glenn and Serena Sundell; forward Temira Poindexter and center Ayoka Lee. This was the 22nd time this lineup has started together this season (20-2). This was the 139th career start for Sundell, the 136th for Lee, the 135th career start for Jaelyn Glenn, the 123rd career collegiate start and 36th at K-State for Poindexter and the 36th career start for Walker.
– Sundell improves upon her school record for career starts and owns the school record for career games played (139). Lee remains in second in program history for career starts and is third for career games played (135). Glenn remains in third in program history for career starts. With her 138th career game played, Glenn is second in program history for career games played.
– The Wildcats held a 30-28 lead at halftime on Saturday. Under Mittie, K-State is 176-21 (.893) when leading at halftime. The Wildcats led at the half in 28 games this season (26-2).
– With its six blocked shots on Saturday, K-State improved its school record total to 206. The Wildcats had 21 games this season with five or more blocks (19-2). This was the ninth time K-State has blocked five or more shots in an NCAA tournament game and the second time this season (13, at Kentucky, 3/23/25).
– K-State scored 20-or more points in a quarter 68 times this season, including the second quarter on Saturday. Since the start of the quarter-system in 2015-16, the Wildcats are 160-65 (.711) when scoring 20 or more points in any quarter of a game, including a 28-3 record this season.
– With its 61 points on Sunday, K-State scored 2,842 points this season which was the single season school record.
– With its 10 assists, K-State improved its season total for assists to 763 and improved its school record for assists in a season.
PLAYER NOTES
– Sundell ended her career with 1,771 points and ranked sixth on the K-State career scoring list. She registered her 22nd career game with 20 or more points and her 99th career game with 10 or more points. She has paced K-State in scoring in 36 career games including 12 this season.
– Sundell made 10 free-throws on Saturday. This was her personal season-high and her most since making a career-high 16 at Texas Tech on Feb. 5, 2023. She made 10 or more free throws in a game twice in her career. She ranks fourth in school history for career free throws made (409).
– Sundell’s six assists on Saturday improved her career school-record total to 811. She remains in fourth in Big 12 history for career assists. Her assist total this season of 262 improves upon her school record for a season. Sundell improved upon her own school record with her 93rd career game with five or more assists. This was the 104th career game Sundell led K-State in assists.
– Sundell’s hauled in six rebounds on Saturday. She completes her career with 577 rebounds, which ranks 24th in program history. This was her 55th career game with five or more rebounds.
– With her 12 points on Saturday, Lee established her career total at 2,533 and tied Odyssey Sims of Baylor for fifth on the Big 12 career scoring list. Lee has scored in every game of her career, 136 games, and set the school record for consecutive games scoring. Lee recorded her 122nd career game with 10 or more points.
– Lee pulled in 10 rebounds on Saturday. She improved upon her own school record for career rebounds and owns 1,262 rebounds in her career. This was her 66th career game with 10 or more rebounds and her 116th career game with five or more rebounds. Lee has led K-State in rebounding in 88 career games including 10 times this season.
– Lee finished with three blocks on the night. Her career total, which is a school record, stands at 356 and ranks fourth in Big 12 history. This was her 92nd career game with two or more blocks.
– Jaelyn Glenn notched 10 points on Saturday. This improved her career point total to 1,203 and she ranks 27th on the K-State career scoring list. This was her 57th career game with 10 or more points.
– Glenn knocked down two 3-pointers on Saturday. She has 72 career games with two or more connections from long range. Glenn ranks eighth in program history with 227 career 3-point field goals made.
– Glenn notched two steals on Saturday. She finishes her career with 265 steals and ranks fourth in school history. Her 265 steals are the most by a Wildcat since the beginning of the Big 12 Conference (1996-present).
– Temira Poindexter carded six points on Saturday. Poindexter ended her collegiate career with 2,011 points (451 at K-State; 1,560 at Tulsa).
– Poindexter tallied two made 3-pointers on Saturday. This was her 79th game of her career with two or more connections.
– Zyanna Walker pulled in eight rebounds on Saturday. This was her 22nd career game with five or more rebounds.
RECAP OF 2024-25
K-State completed its 57th season in program history, as the Wildcats achieved its 19th NCAA Tournament bid and the fourth Sweet 16 appearance in program history. K-State registered the second-most wins in a season in school history with 28 and was ranked in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls for the duration of the season.
