Courtesy of K-State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kansas ā K-State junior Ayoka Lee added a pile of records to her career resume on Sunday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum, as the 2022 All-America candidate set the NCAA Division I record for points in a single game by scoring 61 in K-State’s wire-to-wire upset of 14th-ranked Oklahoma, 94-65. K-State has won five of the last seven meetings in the series with the Sooners.
Lee tallied her 13th double-double of the season with 61 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and a steal in 35 minutes of action. Lee recorded her 61 points on 23-of-30 shooting and a 15-of-17 effort from the free throw line.
Lee’s 61 points surpassed the NCAA Division I record of 60 held by Cindy Brown of Long Beach State in the 1986-87 season and Rachel Banham of Minnesota in the 2015-16 season. The 61 points also surpassed the previous Big 12 record of 50 held by Brittney Griner during the 2012-13 season and broke the school record of 43, which Lee established this season in the opener against Central Arkansas.
Lee didn’t enter Sunday’s game with a record on her mind.
“Coming into this game, I wasn’t like, and I don’t think anyone is like, ‘oh yeah, we’re just going to set a record today.’ But I think it just goes back to our preparation. This wasn’t an easy scout. You knew it wasn’t going to be easy but we just executed so well, and it started with our defense.”
The product of Byron, Minnesota, got off to a hot start on Sunday, as she set the school records for points in a half (32; first half) and points in a quarter (20; second quarter). Lee is the first player in school history to score 30 or more points in a half.
K-State head coach Jeff Mittie was pleased with how Lee was able to concentrate on both ends of the floor while having her record-setting day.
“I think it says a lot about the type of player that she is when she is trying to take charge in a 20-point game late in the game, and still doing the right things defensively and talking and not taking plays off. This is a complete player. We focus sometimes on the offensive end, but she was tasked with defending guards today at the three-point line. Ayoka is the same person good, bad, everyday.”
Lee also set the school record for points in a conference game, field goals made in a game (23) and field goals made in a half (12; first half). She tied the school record for free throws made in a conference game and tied for second in program history for free throws made in a game (15).
When asked about Lee’s performance and if she had ever seen anything like that, Oklahoma head coach Jennie Baranczyk ran out of words.
“Well, obviously, she just set an NCAA record. So from that standpoint, no. I don’t know, maybe I need another word. What’s another word for incredible? Outstanding, amazing, spectacular, All American? Yes, all of those things. She was great.”
K-State (15-4, 5-2 Big 12) opened Sunday’s game with a 15-0 run, as Lee tallied 12 of the 15 points and forced a Sooner timeout with 5:44 remaining in the first quarter. Defensively, the Wildcats held Oklahoma to 0-of-5 shooting and three turnovers in the opening four-plus minutes.
The Wildcats would end the first quarter with a 19-11 lead, as Lee scored 14 in the opening quarter. K-State limited the Sooners to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from the field and carded a 43.8 percent (7-of-16) effort of their own.
K-State began the second quarter with a 9-2 run to increase its lead to 28-13 with 7:47 remaining. Lee opened the second with six straight points. Jaelyn Glenn buried her second 3-pointer of the afternoon to force Oklahoma to call its second timeout of the first half.
Glenn finished the afternoon with a diverse stat line of eight points, a career-high 11 rebounds, seven assists and tied her career-high with five steals.
After the Oklahoma (16-3, 5-2) timeout, K-State continued to roll offensively as they would finish the second quarter by outscoring the Sooners, 32-16, and hold a 51-27 halftime lead. Lee outscored the Sooners on her own, 32-27, in the half. K-State would shoot 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field in the second quarter.
Lee increased K-State’s lead early in the third quarter to 25, 57-32, with 7:40 remaining. Oklahoma would cut K-State’s lead to 15, 64-49, with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter on a Kennady Tucker three-pointer.
Lee would break the K-State scoring record and surpass her own career-high with on a layup with 1:55 to play in the third quarter. The basket was the start of a 6-0 run by Lee to rebuild K-State’s lead to 21, 70-49, with 43 seconds left.
In the fourth quarter, Lee tallied 12 points as the Wildcats would outscore the Sooners, 24-14, in the final stanza. Lee would break the NCAA record on a layup with 2:53 left in the game and brought the crowd of 4,347 fans to its feet for an extended ovation as she was subbed out shortly after.
Joining Lee in double figures was freshman guard Serena Sundell with 11 points, eight assists with zero turnovers, five rebounds and a steal.
With Lee’s 61 points and Sundell’s 11, the duo set the school record for combined points by a K-State duo in a single game with 72 points. When including Jaelyn Glenn’s eight points, the trio established a new school record for points by three K-State players in the same game with 80.
Defensively, K-State held the top scoring offense in the nation to its lowest point total of the season with 65. The Wildcats outrebounded the Sooners, 44-26, and forced Oklahoma into 17 turnovers which included 12 steals.
As a team, K-State dished out a season-high 28 assists which were the most by a K-State team since Dec. 3, 2019, when the Wildcats handed out 30 assists against UIW.
K-State will make a midweek stop in Austin, Texas, as the Wildcats face (15/14) Texas on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s game will be available on Longhorn Network. The game will also be available on the K-State Sports Network and for free at kstatesports.com and for free on the K-State Sports app.
