No. 10 Kansas State vs No. 22 West Virginia | Big 12 | 2.21.24

MANHATTAN, Kansas – February 21st, 2024

(10/9) K-State used a double-double effort from All-American candidate Ayoka Lee and key playmaking in overtime to power past (22/22) West Virginia, 73-64, on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum. Dating back to the final two home wins of last season, the Wildcats have now won 17 consecutive home games.

K-State (23-4, 12-3 Big 12) has secured 23 wins this season, tied for the most in the Jeff Mittie era and most by the Wildcats since the 2016-17 season.

With its 12th Big 12 win of the season, K-State has secured the program's most league wins since the 2007-08 season (13). This is the sixth time in K-State women's basketball history in which the Wildcats have won 12 or more conference games in a season.

K-State collected its fifth win this season over an Associated Press top-25 opponent. The Wildcats are one of eight teams in the nation with five or more wins against AP ranked opponents. With its five AP top-25 wins this season, the Wildcats tied for the second-most ranked wins in a single-season in program history. The five ranked wins are the most since the 2003-04 season (5).

The Wildcats featured two players in double figures on Wednesday and were led by Lee with a game-high 34 points, including 28 in the second half and overtime, on 12-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, two blocks and a steal in her first home game since January 13 due to an ankle injury. This was Lee's third game this season and the 14th of her career with 30 or more points. This was her 56th career double-double improving upon her own school record.

Joining Lee in double figures was junior guard and All-American candidate Serena Sundell with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, three assists and two blocked shots. This was Sundell's 13th straight game in double figures. With her three dishes, Sundell surpassed the 500-mark for career assists with 502. She is the fifth player in program history with 500 or more career assists.

West Virginia (22-4, 11-4) was led by JJ Quinerly with 23 points and five steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State entered the fourth quarter down six, 41-35, but held a 57-53 lead with 10 seconds remaining in regulation after a free throw from Eliza Maupin.
West Virginia would call timeout and advance the ball and were rewarded with a banked in 3-pointer from Quinerly with five seconds left. Lee would be fouled on the inbound play and make one of two free throws with four seconds left. The Mountaineers would go the length of the floor in four seconds and convert a layup from Jordan Harrison as time expired to send the game to overtime.
In overtime, Lee would score nine of K-State's 15 points. She made a layup and was fouled after West Virginia's Quinerly missed a 3-pointer on their initial possession. Lee missed her free throw, but Brylee Glenn chased down the rebound. Glenn ended the night with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Sundell would then make a jumper in the paint for a 62-58 lead with 4:05 left in overtime.
West Virginia would tie the game at 62 but the Wildcats rattled off an 11-0 run to build a 73-62 lead with 14 seconds left. Lee scored eight of the 11 points to stake the Wildcats to the advantage.
For the night, K-State shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field including 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the arc. The Wildcats shot 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from the charity stripe.
West Virginia was held to 35.2 percent (25-of-71) shooting including 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from long range.

QUICK FACTS
K-State leads the series, 8-18. The Wildcats are 4-8 against the Mountaineers in Manhattan. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 8-21 in his career against West Virginia.
The Wildcats are 231-240 (.490) in Big 12 games.
Head coach Jeff Mittie owns a career record of 640-366 (.636) in 32 seasons as a head coach and is 186-131 (.587) during his 10-seasons at K-State.
K-State's 17-game home court winning streak is the longest home court winning streak in the Mittie era, which started with the final two home wins of the 2022-23 season. This is K-State's longest home court winning streak since an 18-game home winning streak in the 2002-03 season. This is the second-longest home winning streak in Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State's 15-game home court winning streak this season is the longest single-season home winning streak since the Wildcats won 19 consecutive home games in the 2002-03 season.
K-State owns a record of 245-91 (.729) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 13-4 (.765) all-time when ranked 10th in the nation. The Wildcats are 4-5 (.444) all-time against teams ranked 22nd in the AP poll.
With its attendance of 4,266 on Wednesday night, the 2023-24 season has moved into ninth in school history for total attendance in a season with 73,878 in 15 home games.