The Kansas State women’s basketball team will finish up its exhibition slate by taking on the Newman Jets tonight in Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats are coming off a dominating 66-31 win against Washburn on Friday.
Although the game ended as a blowout, it took K-State some time to get started against Washburn.
“I did not like our effort early in the game, which was a big concern, we seemed to be frozen in our thoughts and what we were doing,” head coach Jeff Mittie said to K-State Sports after Friday’s game.
The Wildcats ultimately got it together against Washburn, outscoring the Ichabods 39-12 in the second half and 22-0 in the fourth quarter.
“I think it is just something we need to build upon, coming into the game with intensity,” senior center Breanna Lewis said. “This is the first game of the season, we should not expect that.”
The Wildcats finished last season with a 19-13 record and a second-round exit from the NCAA Tournament in March.
The Jets didn’t have the same success last season.
The Jets finished last season with a 12-15 record and a 61-52 loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Heartland Conference Tournament on March 3. They lost to Fort Hayes State 76-34 last season.
The Jets’ even lost their first exhibition game on Wednesday, 58-49 against Wichita State.
Mittie said to K-State Sports on Friday that the game against Washburn helped the Wildcats by giving them someone new to practice against.
“I think we needed to play a game,” Mittie said. “I was disappointed early, we really were not doing the things we had worked on. We go out every day against our male practice squad, who are bigger than us and weigh more than us. We had a size advantage in this game, and early in the game we were not taking advantage of it.”
Tonight’s game is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be the final tune-up before the Wildcats open their regular season against Chicago State on Friday.
