ORLANDO, Florida – (11/12) K-State used a big first half to record its ninth straight win with a 72-56 win over UCF on Saturday at Addition Financial Arena. The Wildcats win streak of nine matches a nine-game win streak to open the 2016-17 season.

K-State improved its record to 15-1 for the first time under the direction of head coach Jeff Mittie. This is the best start for K-State since opening the 2008-09 season with a 15-1 mark. In its history, K-State has opened a season 15-1 four times.

Junior guard Serena Sundell notched a personal season-high 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, two assists and four rebounds. The product of Maryville, Missouri, became the 45th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark with her total on Saturday.

Junior Jaelyn Glenn tallied a personal season-high with 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting including 2-of-2 from long range, four steals, three rebounds and two assists.

Senior Ayoka Lee carded 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, six rebounds and a season-high seven blocked shots. Lee’s seven blocks were the second-most by a Big 12 player this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
– K-State (15-1, 3-0 Big 12) held a two-point advantage, 21-19, after a five-point burst from UCF (9-4, 0-3) to start the second quarter. The Wildcats weathered the threat and responded with a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch to build a 33-21 lead with 5:53 remaining.
– The run started with a Brylee Glenn layup and was quickly followed by an Ayoka Lee layup. Serena Sundell added a layup on a drive, with Jaelyn Glenn adding a layup on a drive of her own on the next possession. Gisela Sanchez then added a layup on a fastbreak and then found Gabby Gregory on another fastbreak to force a timeout by the Knights.
– K-State would end the second stanza on a 9-2 run to build a 42-23 lead at halftime. Lee opened the run with a layup with 5:31 remaining. Taryn Sides added her name to the scoring ledger with a left-handed layup. Jaelyn Glenn buried her second 3-pointer of the afternoon, as she was 5-of-5 from the field for 12 points in the opening half. Sundell added a layup with 2:11 to play to end the first half scoring for both teams.
– K-State shot 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field in the first half which included a 30-12 advantage in points in the paint.
– With a fadeaway jumper at 8:55 of the third quarter, Sundell became the 45th player in program history with 1,000 or more career points and give the Wildcats a 44-23 lead.
– The Knights would outscore the Wildcats in the third, 14-13, as K-State held a 55-37 lead entering the fourth quarter.
– K-State would prevent a UCF comeback in the fourth quarter by shooting 61.5 percent (8-of-13).
– The Wildcats shot 56.1 percent (32-of-57) from the field for the afternoon, which is the highest field goal percentage allowed by UCF this season.
– K-State achieved 52 points in the paint, the fourth time with 50 or more points in the lane this season.

QUICK FACTS
– K-State and UCF met for the first time in the history of the series. Head coach Jeff Mittie is 2-0 in his career against UCF.
– The Wildcats are 222-237 (.484) in Big 12 games.
– Mittie owns a career record of 633-363 (.636) and is 179-128 (.583) during his 10-seasons at K-State.
– The Wildcats are 290-321 (.475) all-time in road games. K-State is 4-0 this season in true road games and are 41-64 (.390) in road contests in the Mittie era. This is K-State’s longest road winning streak since winning four straight road games in the 2021-22 season.
– K-State owns a record of 237-88 (.729) as an AP ranked team. K-State is 29-5 (.853) all-time when ranked 11th in the nation.
– This was K-State’s fourth game in the state of Florida this season. The Wildcats are 3-1 in the Sunshine State this season.

TEAM NOTES
– K-State’s starting five consisted of guards: Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Brylee Glenn, Gabby Gregory and center Ayoka Lee. This was the 16th time this starting five has been used this season. This was the 103rd career start for Lee, the 94th collegiate career start and the 48th start at K-State for Gregory, the 85th career start for Sundell, the 81st career start for Jaelyn Glenn and the 75th career start for Brylee Glenn.
– The Wildcats held a 42-23 lead at halftime on Saturday. Under head coach Jeff Mittie, K-State is 143-17 (.894) when leading at halftime, including a 14-0 record this season.
– K-State shot 50.0 percent or better in three quarters on Saturday. For the season, K-State owns 29 quarters with a field goal percentage of 50.0 percent or better.

PLAYER NOTES
– Lee recorded her 94th career game with 10 or more points. Lee has scored in every game of her career (103 games).
– Lee hauled in six rebounds on Saturday. Lee’s career total for rebounds stands at 1,018, second in school history. She needs 70 rebounds to pass Kendra Wecker (2001-05; 1,087) for the school record for career rebounds. This was Lee’s 94th career game with five or more rebounds.
– Lee improved her career blocked shot total to 275 and remains second in school history for career blocks. This was Lee’s 18th career game with five or more blocks and her 74th career game with two or more blocked shots. Lee needs eight blocked shots to pass Breanna Lewis (282; 2013-17) for the school career record.
– Jaelyn Glenn recorded her 34th career game with 10 or more points and her fourth this season.
– Jaelyn Glenn knocked down two 3-pointers on Saturday. This was Glenn’s 41st career game with two or more connections from long range.
– Jaelyn Glenn pocketed four steals on Saturday. This was Glenn’s 47th career game and her eighth this season with two or more steals.
– Sundell notched her 54th career game with 10 or more points, including her ninth this season. Sundell owns 1,014 career points and is the 45th player in school history with 1,000 or more career points. She ranks 44th on the K-State career scoring list.
– Sundell recorded two connections from 3-point range on Saturday. This was her 19th career game with two or more 3-point field goals made.

UP NEXT
K-State begins a two-game home stand on Wednesday, as the Wildcats host Oklahoma at 6 p.m. Wednesday’s game is MHK Night. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.

Wednesday’s game can be seen on ESPNU and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network including the flagship stations Sunny 102.5 FM and 1350 KMAN, online at kstatesports.com, or on the K-State Sports app. Wednesday’s game will also be available on SiriusXM channels 132 or 199 and the SiriusXM app.