Former Kansas State women's basketball players such as Kendra Wecker and Breanna Lewis deserve their recognition within the story of the program. In a heavily laden senior class, Ayoka Lee and Serena Sundell will undoubtedly have their spot in terms of all-time contributions while wearing the royal purple Wildcats jersey.
For two players to have such a strong presence as freshmen and leave their clear impact throughout their collegiate playing careers, K-State supporters witnessed two incredible tenures come to an end on Saturday against USC.
Longevity is a key component, and these two have over 250 starts for KSU between them. Success and reaching hallmarks within the history of past classes are also important. This group, with them leading the way, made it to the NCAA tournament three times. This also included a trip to the Sweet 16 for only the fifth time in program history.
Being a good player means being able to be adaptable. Change is inevitable in Division I sports, and how athletes handle the differing landscape on a yearly basis is telling, particularly in how adversity is handled. Sundell saw her role shift and excelled in whatever was asked of her.
Oftentimes, she needed to be the primary ball handler, then more of the first shooting guard option, and then other times yet, someone who needed to focus on setting up Lee. Regardless of which of her teammates were available or with everyone healthy, readjusting to the new rotations, the guard proved her ability to be a complete team player.
Then when others' shots weren't falling and the offense needed to be picked up, she could often drop a 20+ outing herself. For someone who logged a lot of minutes, she consistently showed the energy and work rate needed to be great. The KSU backcourt will be difficult to recognize without her next season.
Long run with Kansas State women's basketball comes to an end
Lee has been the focus of K-State for a number of years now. Highly recruited out of high school, injuries caused her to miss a lot of time. Fortunately for her, the new NCAA rules allowed her to not lose eligibility, and she always found a way back to the court.
Rehab isn't easy, and recovering from multiple surgeries is difficult to overcome. One aspect is for certain, though: she loved playing for the Wildcats and always did everything in her power to suit up again for her school.
When healthy, every frontcourt in the country knew who they were going up against. Her incredible combination of size, skill, and touch around the basket allowed her to single-handedly change the outcome of games.
This dedication and fortitude, when many others would have given up, is what head coach Jeff Mittie is building in Manhattan. Even when she wasn't able to play, she, too, served as a key cornerstone for the KSU hoops team. Now moving on from the Manhattan campus, the void of her absence next year in the frontcourt will be difficult to replace.
For both Lee and Sundell, the Kansas State women's basketball program is losing two incredibly valuable student-athletes who have dedicated their collegiate efforts to the program. Their contributions and success will ultimately make it highly likely that both names will hang in the rafters at some point in Bramlage Coliseum.