From K-State Sports
HENDERSON, Nevada – K-State faced its first ranked foe of the season in (13/14) Duke during the opening game of the 2024 Ball Dawgs Classic in Lee's Family Forum. The Wildcats started hot but were unable to hold back the Blue Devils, 73-62, on Monday afternoon.
K-State (5-1) was led by senior center Ayoka Lee with 16 points, while senior guard Serena Sundell added 15 points, four rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Kennedy Taylor came off the bench to chip in with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Duke (6-1) was led by Ashlon Jackson with a career-high 30 points including 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
K-State (5-1) dashed out to an 11-0 run to force a Duke timeout with 6:47 to play in the opening quarter. The Blue Devils would go in front, 17-16, with 42 seconds left but a Kennedy Taylor layup with 26 seconds remaining to send the Wildcats to the second quarter with an 18-17 lead.
- Duke (6-1) would use a 12-0 run, highlighted by 10 points from Jackson, to build a 34-28 lead and force a K-State timeout with 3:05 to play. Jackson would give the Blue Devils an eight-point lead, 37-29, with 32 seconds to play but Lee converted a layup with eight seconds to play to bring the Wildcats within six, 37-31, at halftime.
- The Blue Devils used an 8-1 run in the late stages of the third quarter to build a 55-41 lead with 1:45 remaining in the stanza. K-State would bring the margin to 12, 58-46, entering the fourth quarter.
- The Wildcats closed the gap to 10, 58-48, on its opening possession of the fourth quarter, but a 7-2 run highlighted by Jackson's sixth 3-pointer of the game increased the Blue Devils lead to 65-50 with 7:27 remaining.- Taylor recorded eight of K-State's final 10 points to bring the final margin to 11, 73-62, and to win the fourth quarter, 16-15.
- K-State shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field, which included a 53.8 (14-of-26) effort in the second half but were held to 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from the 3-point line. The Wildcats held the advantage in points in the paint, 42-30.
- Duke shot 43.5 percent (30-of-69) from the field including a 46.7 percent (7-of-15) effort from 3-point range.
- The Wildcats were forced into 18 turnovers, which resulted in a 15-8 edge in points off turnovers for Duke.