I’ve got to admit when I started a blog about K-State sports that I didn’t think I’d post much, if ever, about women’s basketball. It’s not that I don’t respect the sport, it’s just not really my thing. K-State women’s basketball has been bad to mediocre to pretty good over the years but has never been much more than that on the national stage. That is until now. This year’s team has piqued my interest not only because they are nationally ranked, but because they have one of the best, if not THE best player in college basketball, Ayoka Lee, playing for them. Lee set the NCAA women’s basketball record for points in a game on Sunday, scoring 61 against Oklahoma. I’ve tuned in for a couple of their games and I’ve been pretty impressed. The more I have read and watched about Ayoka Lee, the more impressed I have become. My headline that she is an extraordinary person is not based on knowing her personally but based on what I have read about her and what I have seen from her in interviews. See if you agree with me…

“I’m staying another year. I really love what I’m doing for school. I want to finish my education. I love that program. That’s the plan right now.”…Ayoka Lee, www.kstatesports.com, 1/25/2022

JM: This was a very exciting announcement from Lee. The sky is the limit for this basketball team the rest of this season and next season. They’ll likely compete for the Big 12 championship and perhaps a national championship.

“Just growing up, my mom made a really big emphasis on how sports aren’t going to last forever. You need to have something else, because it can be taken from you at any moment. That’s just kind of what I have found here in school and the master’s program I’m in. I just love it. It’s definitely something I want to do after sports are done, whenever that is.”…Ayoka Lee, www.kstatesports.com, 1/25/2022

JM: Education is number one for Lee, making her decision to stay in school another year an easy one.

“It’s really crazy to think about and wrap my mind around it. To think that I can break all these national records, that was never the thought for me. It’s just an honor and a blessing.”…Ayoka Lee, www.kstatesports.com, 1/25/2022

JM: Still humble. I like that.

“Ayoka Lee did not play organized basketball until the seventh grade.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Watch her play and you’ll find this hard to believe.

“Her high school never made it to the state tournament before she arrived.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Never? The legend begins…

“She tore her ACL during the tourney her senior year, was rated a three-star recruit by some services and redshirted her freshman season in college to recover from the injury.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Did this injury scare off some higher profile programs and allow her path to K-State? If so, kudos to Jeff Mittie for offering her a scholarship and getting her to come to Manhattan.

“I would have skipped any meeting or agenda I had today to talk about this kid,” said Malia Schroeder, the activities director and assistant principal at Byron ((Minn.) High, which is about 10 miles west of Rochester) when Lee was in school and now the school principal. “From the moment you get to know her, she is one of the most wonderful, genuine adults you’ve ever met. She was involved in almost every club and activity that we have here. She was crowned homecoming queen by her peers. She truly embodies what makes a human being great.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Does praise get any higher than this? She “truly embodies what makes a human being great?” You don’t hear that very often!

“She was constantly doing things for our school, our community, whether through student council or mentoring ninth-graders.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Sounds like something a K-Stater might do. 😉

“Darren Nelson coached Ayoka Lee at Byron, watches her college games and sends her congratulatory texts.

Nelson first saw her when she decided to play basketball in the seventh grade. Now 6-6, she was a head taller than the competition. “She could hardly run up and down the court without tripping over her own two feet,” Nelson said. “She scored a lot, but her skills hadn’t caught up to her body yet.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: I read this quote and I thought about the times I have watched her play. She still kind of jogs up the court gingerly like she is trying not to trip over her own feet.

“She would average a double-double from ninth through 12th grade. Before her, the Byron scoring record was 1,299 points. She scored 2,287 points.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: What?

“She was a phenomenal student, president of the student council,” Nelson said. “On the court, she was a quiet leader who became more vocal her last two seasons, when she was team captain. It’s just an honor to have coached her.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Just add “student council President” to her resume. No biggie. 😉

“I wish I could say I taught her everything she knows, but she has kept improving because of her work ethic. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing her in the WNBA soon.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: More praise from her high school coach, Darren Nelson. I think it’s safe to say that she will be playing in the WNBA someday.

“She holds records here for track and field, volleyball and basketball,” Schroeder said. “She was always looking to give any kind of accolades that came her way to her teammates.”…Jim Souhan, Star Tribune, 1/25/2022

JM: Heck, get her on the K-State volleyball and track and field teams, too!

“For the week, Lee averaged a stratospheric 43.0 points with a .660 field goal percentage and an .870 free throw percentage. She also averaged 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 0.5 steals. Lee’s 43.0 points per game average is the highest for a single week in Big 12 history.”…Rick Nixon, www.ncaa.com, 1/26/2022

JM: While all of these numbers are impressive, the 66% field goal percentage is the most impressive to me. Two out of every three shots she has taken in the last two games have gone in. That’s unreal.

“For the season, Lee leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring (25.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.597) and blocks (3.5 bpg). She is second in the league in rebounding (10.9 rpg) and is ninth in free throw percentage (.759) and 14th in steals (1.4 spg). Her 485 points this season are a new career-high and her 200 made field goals are also a new career-high.”…Rick Nixon, www.ncaa.com, 1/26/2022

JM: Is it safe to say she is dominating the Big 12?

“Honestly, you never want to be on this side of an NCAA record,” (Oklahoma) Sooners coach Jennifer Baranczyk said when it was over in Manhattan. “Maybe I need another word. What’s another word for incredible? Outstanding, amazing, spectacular. All-American? Yes, all of those things.”…Mike Loprest, www.ncaa.com, 1/24/2022

JM: Need more adjectives? Nope.

“Thirty-nine women’s college basketball teams played Sunday without scoring 61 points.”…Mike Loprest, www.ncaa.com, 1/24/2022

JM: You read that right. Ayoka Lee outscored 39 women’s college basketball teams on Sunday.

“It was very, very cool to watch, and especially because we’re playing them this week,” UT guard Joanne Allen-Taylor said. “I’m just hungry and just ready to face an opponent like that.

“I think they’ll be really excited to come in here and try to beat us. It’s gonna be a big game. I just got excited when I saw that, it’s our chance to stop them.”…Danny Davis, www.hookem.com, 1/26/2022

JM: Texas is ranked number nine in this week’s AP poll. K-State travels to Austin tonight to play Texas at 7:00. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus. I’ll be watching to see if Texas can “stop them.”

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