The Kansas State Wildcats finished their exhibition slate with a resounding 100-33 win over the Newman Jets Monday night.
The Wildcats opened the scoring with the game’s first 12 points, and took a 73-23 lead into the fourth quarter.
The game, however, was far from perfect for the Wildcats, who committed 17 turnovers compared to the 25 by the Jets.
“The 17 turnovers are a concern because this was not a team that pressured us; this was not a team that denied us from doing things,” head coach Jeff Mittie said. “Those are turnovers that are all on us. They’re all on our decision making and they’re all on us playing at a pace where we can make good decisions.”
Even though K-State forced Newman into more turnovers in the game, Mittie said turnovers are still an issue that needs to be addressed by the coaching staff.
“I think there are times when we are trying to force things too much and not making the simple play,” Mittie said. “We keep talking about doing simple things well. I think if we’ll do those things well, we can then make the home run play even better. At times we’re struggling to stay fundamental.”
The Wildcats also struggled from the free-throw line. They shot just 40 percent in the first half and just under 53 percent through the course of the game.
“We do need to shoot (free-throws) better,” Mittie said. “The only thing I can ask the players to do is step up there with confidence.”
That was about all that didn’t go well for the Wildcats. Senior guard Kindred Wesemann outscored all other players with 21 points, while younger players like freshman guard Mercedes Brooks got experience.
Brooks had 15 points, hitting six of eight field goals and three of five from behind the 3-point line.
“It was exciting getting on the court to play with my teammates,” Brooks said. “I think we moved the ball pretty well. I wasn’t really focused on my game, I was kind of focused on everybody’s game. I was excited to see (junior forward) Kaylee Page knock down all her 3s and (sophomore guard) Kayla Goth — how she played tonight. Everybody played well.”
Page scored 17 points, including going four of eight from 3-point range.
K-State’s defense, meanwhile, shut down the Newman offense. Not a single Jet scored in double-digits. Sophomore guard Bria Degrate led the way for Newman with nine points. As a team, the Jets only scored in double-digits in the fourth quarter, being held to five points in the first, and nine points each in the second and third quarters.
The defense, however, can still improve, Mittie said.
“I thought it was OK,” Mittie said about the defense. “I still feel like there are too many uncontested shots happening. I think that while they had a rough night shooting, the thing that we’re always constantly judging is how many uncontested looks did they get, and I think they got a few too many.”
The Wildcats open their regular season versus Chicago State Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.
