According to a release from K-State Athletics, Kansas State women’s basketball completed its 2017-18 exhibition schedule unbeaten with a 61-46 win over Fort Hays State on Monday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State was led by sophomore forward Peyton Williams with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 14 points in the second half. The Wildcat attack featured five players with between five and nine points for the night. Junior guard Kayla Goth added nine points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Senior forward Kaylee Page carded five points, nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman guard Cymone Goodrich tallied eight points and three rebounds, while junior forward Kali Jones came off the bench to contribute eight points and seven rebounds.
Fort Hays State featured two players with 10 points each, Kacey Kennett and Taylor Rolfs. The Tigers were led on the glass by Tatyana Legette with a game-high 14 rebounds.
K-State was locked in defensively in the first quarter, holding Fort Hays State without points for almost six minutes and just 10 points in the quarter. Kansas State had their own offensive struggles, shooting 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from the field in the opening quarter but held a 13-10 lead at the end of one.
In the second quarter, Jones sparked K-State with active rebounding on both ends of the floor. Jones helped extend K-State’s lead with a 7-2 run over a two and a half minute stretch.
She registered an offensive rebound and putback at 7:48 of the second quarter, the finished a hook shot at 6:40. She completed her strong stretch by ripping away an offensive rebound from a Fort Hays State defender, which eventually resulted in freshman Cymone Goodrich beating the shot clock with a 3-pointer at 5:15 of the second frame.
A jump shot from senior Kaylee Page with 2:04 remaining in the first half gave K-State a 30-18 lead. A three-point play from Belle Barbieri would bring the Tigers to within nine at the half, 30-21.
K-State shot 34.4 percent (11-of-32) and just 2-of-12 from 3-point range. The Wildcats forced 11 Fort Hays State turnovers and held the Tigers to 32.0 percent (8-of-25) shooting.
Williams sparked K-State to open the third quarter, scoring the first six points for the Wildcats to increase the lead to 36-24 with 7:57 to play.
The Wildcats used a 13-3 run over a six and a half minute stretch in the third quarter to build the lead to a 20-point advantage, 49-29. Page started the run with a three-pointer with 7:04 left. Goth finished an old fashioned three-point play with a layup and free throw at 4:06, while freshman Rachel Ranke drained a 3-pointer on a fast break. Another Goth layup and fastbreak conversion from Jones capped the run.
Williams came out strong again at the start of the fourth quarter, scoring K-State’s first eight points of the final stanza. The product of Topeka, Kansas, converted a three-point play then buried a 3-pointer and finally finished a layup at 4:35 of the quarter.
Fort Hays State outscored K-State in the final quarter, 17-12, using six points each from Legette and Rolfs, while Kennett added five.
For the night, K-State shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62) while Fort Hays State carded a 28.3 percent (17-of-60) effort. Both teams pulled down 41 rebounds, but K-State held the edge in second chance points, 15-9. K-State did its damage in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 34-12.
Kansas State will officially start its 50th season of action on Friday, as the Wildcats host Stephen F. Austin at 5:30 p.m. Friday’s game is part of a “Wildcat Weekend,” as fans with a ticket to the next day’s K-State/West Virginia football game can purchase a general admission bench ticket for only $5.