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