K-State Trio Named to All-Big 12 Teams
MANHATTAN, Kansas – The Kansas State trio of senior center Ayoka Lee, junior guard Serena Sundell and senior guard Gabby Gregory were among the All-Big 12 squads, as the league office announced the 2023-24 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball Awards on Tuesday.
Lee was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team and was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Sundell joined Lee on the first team, while Gregory was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recipient. This is the 10th straight season K-State has had two or more players earn All-Big 12 honors.
Lee was named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the fourth time in her career. She joins Nicole Ohlde (2000-04) and Kendra Wecker (2001-05) as the only four-time All-Big 12 selections in program history. Lee joins Breanna Lewis as the only players in program history with two or more Big 12 All-Defensive team honors.
Sundell collected her first All-Big 12 First Team honor and her third straight All-Big 12 citation as she was an honorable mention recipient in her first two seasons. Gregory earned her second career All-Big 12 honor, as she was named to the All-Big 12 First Team last season.
Lee, a 2024 Naismith Women’s Player of the Year Midseason Team honoree and a 2024 John R. Wooden Award Top 20 candidate, has had a strong 2023-24 as she is averaging 19.8 points on a .620 field goal percentage, 8.3 rebounds and 2.83 blocked shots. She ranks seventh in the nation and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage. Lee is third in the Big 12 in scoring average, second in the league and seventh in the nation for blocks per game and sixth for rebounding average.
Lee, a Lisa Leslie Award Top 10 finalist, has recorded 11 games this season with 20 or more points including her second career 20-20 double-double with 24 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots against Oral Roberts.
This season, Lee has led the Big 12’s top defense with 18 games of two or more blocked shots including a season-high seven at UCF on Jan. 6 and at Iowa State on Feb. 14. The 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year candidate has also collected two or more steals in five games.
In her career, Lee ranks fourth in school history for points scored with 2,116, second for rebounds with 1,077, the school record holder for career blocks with 300 and owns the school record for career double-doubles with 57. She is the first player in program history with 300 or more career blocks and 100 or more career steals.
Sundell is second on the team in scoring with 11.9 points per game on a career-best .535 field goal percentage. She leads the Big 12 for total assists (160), is second for assists per game (5.3 apg) and fifth for assist-turnover ratio (1.93). The All-American candidate is second for Big 12-only games with 5.7 assists per game, she ranks fourth in league-only games for field goal percentage (.539) and is 12th in conference play for scoring (13.82 ppg).
With her point (358) and assist (160) totals this season, Sundell is the first player in program history and the third Big 12 player since at least 2009-10 to record three seasons with 350 or more points and 150 or more assists.
In her career, Sundell is fifth in school history for career assists with 520 and is second in program history for career assists per game (5.25 apg). She ranks 26th on the K-State career scoring list with 1,210 points. She is the only player in school history with 1,000 or more career points, 500 or more career assists and 50 or more career blocked shots.
Gregory has averaged just under 10 points per game this season (8.9), but established a career-high for assists with 104 (3.5 apg). She ranks 11th in the Big 12 in assists per game and is sixth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1.89).
In her two seasons at K-State, Gregory is the first player to transfer to K-State and then reach the 1,000- and 1,500-point marks in her collegiate career. Gregory has scored in double figures in 41 games at K-State. She also ranks fifth in program history for career free throw percentage (.801).
Up next for K-State is the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship. The Wildcats are slated as the 3-seed and will face either West Virginia, Cincinnati or UCF on Saturday at 8 p.m., in Kansas City at T-Mobile Center. Session and single-game tickets are available at big12sports.com. Premium seating options range from $35-$85, dependent on the session and sideline reserved seats range from $15 for early rounds to $25 for the championship game. General Admission tickets can be purchased starting at $10.
Saturday’s game can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and can be heard on the K-State Sports Network including the flagship stations Sunny 102.5 FM and 1350 KMAN, online at kstatesports.com, or on the K-State Sports app.
2023-24 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Awards
Coach of the Year: Jennie Baranczyk, Oklahoma
Co-Player of the Year: Madison Booker, Texas & Skylar Vann, Oklahoma
Defensive Player of the Year: JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
Newcomer of the Year: Peyton Verhulst, Oklahoma
Freshman of the Year: Madison Booker, Texas
Sixth Man Award: DeYona Gaston, Texas
All-Big 12 First Team (all honors listed alphabetical by school)
Lauren Gustin, BYU; Audi Crooks*, Iowa State; Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas; S’Mya Nichols, Kansas; Ayoka Lee*, Kansas State; Serena Sundell, Kansas State; Skylar Vann*, Oklahoma; Peyton Verhulst, Oklahoma; Madison Booker*, Texas; JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
* – unanimous selection
All-Big 12 Second Team
Sarah Andrews, Baylor; Kaitlin Peterson, UCF; Madison Conner, TCU; Aaliyah Moore, Texas; Jordan Harrison, West Virginia
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Aijha Blackwell, Baylor; Dre’Una Edwards, Baylor; Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, Baylor; Kailey Woolston, BYU; Jillian Hayes, Cincinnati; Laila Blair, Houston; Addy Brown, Iowa State; Zakiyah Franklin, Kansas; Holly Kersgieter, Kansas; Gabby Gregory, Kansas State; Nevaeh Tot, Oklahoma; Sahara Williams, Oklahoma; Anna Gret Asi, Oklahoma State; Sedona Prince, TCU; Shaylee Gonzales, Texas; Shay Holle, Texas; Taylor Jones, Texas; Bailey Maupin, Texas Tech; Jasmine Shavers, Texas Tech
Big 12 All-Defensive Team
Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas; Ayoka Lee, Kansas State; Shay Holle, Texas; Jordan Harrison, West Virginia; JJ Quinerly, West Virginia
Big 12 All-Freshman Team
Addy Brown, Iowa State; Audi Crooks*, Iowa State; S’Mya Nichols, Kansas; Stailee Heard, Oklahoma State; Madison Booker*, Texas
* – unanimous selection
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