Ayoka Lee returns from injury as Kansas State Wildcats beat KU in Sunflower Showdown
A sellout crowd roared when Ayoka Lee was introduced during Kansas State’s senior day ceremonies on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.
They were saying “hello” more than “goodbye” to her in that moment. Even though she doesn’t have much time left in her college basketball career, this was the first time K-State fans had seen Lee in uniform since Jan. 19. Lee suffered a fracture in her foot against Arizona State that day and missed the next eight games with the Wildcats.
But she is getting healthy now, and the 6-foot-6 senior center returned to action in style as she helped K-State to a 90-60 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.
K-State coach Jeff Mittie eased Lee back into action and only used her for five minutes on Saturday. But she was part of the starting lineup and managed to score six points and grab two rebounds while she was on the court.
This was her first step toward returning to her usual role in the middle of K-State’s frontcourt.
“(Her foot) was more sore than we liked before the game, so we knew that we weren’t going to go long,” Mittie said. “(K-State radio play-by announcer) Matt Walters asked me right before the game, and I said, five to 10 minutes. So that’s where we were planning on. But it was sore at halftime, hopefully tomorrow is better and we’re making that progress.”
The Wildcats were happy to have their All-America center back, even if it was only for a few minutes.
Her teammates led the way after she exited the game.
Taryn Sides made five 3-pointers on her way to 15 points for K-State. Her best moment of the afternoon came when she avoided a KU defender and drained a shot from well beyond the arc at the end of the second quarter.
Temira Poindexter added 14 points and Serena Sundell sent out a school-record 15 assists.
“I didn’t do anything different going into it,” Sundell said afterward. “The game felt really slow so I’m very happy about that. But 15 assists, that’s pretty cool.”
It meant a lot to her to break the record in front of a packed house.
“We’re so lucky here,” Sundell said. “We have the best fans, and they sold out Bramlage on senior night for the Sunflower Showdown, such an important game for us. It’s just huge. I’ve had an absolute blast during my four years at K-State, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve had the best experience, surrounded by this community and the people here. I think it all showed tonight.”
K-State dominated KU in both of their regular-season meetings. The Wildcats defeated the Jayhawks 91-64 in Lawrence and then won by 30 in Manhattan.
With the win, the Wildcats (25-4, 13-3 Big 12) remained near the top of the conference standings. They will look to build off this performance in their next game on Monday against Baylor at Bramlage Coliseum. The Jayhawks (15-12, 5-11 Big 12) will next play at BYU on Tuesday.
This story was originally published February 22, 2025 at 8:21 PM with the headline "Ayoka Lee returns from injury as Kansas State Wildcats beat KU in Sunflower Showdown."