Kstate

Kansas State Offers Update On Status Of Star Ayoka Lee Ahead Of NCAA Tourney

Shandel Richardson|
Mar 24, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats center Ayoka Lee (50) blocks out Colorado Buffaloes guard Kindyll Wetta (15) during the fourth quarter at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images
Mar 24, 2024; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats center Ayoka Lee (50) blocks out Colorado Buffaloes guard Kindyll Wetta (15) during the fourth quarter at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

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Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas State women's basketball team received some encouraging news entering the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jeff Mittie provided an update on star Ayoka Lee heading into the No. 5 seed Wildcats' game Friday against No. 12 Fairfield in Lexington, Ky. Lee missed 14 of the last 15 games because of a foot injury.

"Better than I expected," Mittie said of Lee. "Thursday, Friday, we went [practiced] back to back. That was a pleasant surprise to me because I was concerned about the back to back."

Lee only played briefly in a victory against Kansas Feb. 22 but Mittie anticipates she plays throughout the tournament. On Sunday, Lee went through a full practice. A 6-foot-6 forward, Lee averaged 16 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 65 percent shooting. She is the Wildcats' career scoring leader. In 2022, she set the women's Division I record with 61 points against Oklahoma.

"She did more and didn't step out of a drill at all," Mittie said. "Probably as good as we could expect."

Mittie said conditioning is the biggest issue. While he won't place Lee on a minutes restriction, he will do his best to make sure she gets breaks by sitting her before television timeouts, etc.

"She's probably not able to go long, long stretches without a rest," Mittie said. "Her conditioning level, we're probably gonna have to rest her."

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here