Aoka Lee scores 36 points, No. 12 Kansas State women defeat North Florida 79-53

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Ayoka Lee scores and draws the foul

Ayoka Lee scores and draws the foul, 12/16/2023

Dec 16, 2023, 07:17 pm

MANHATTAN, KAN. -- — Aoka Lee scored a seson-high 36 points on a near-perfect shooting night and No. 12 Kansas State defeated North Florida 79-53 on Saturday.

The Wildcats led 20-13 after one quarter, then saw North Florida close the gap when Selma Eklund hit a 3-pointer and a layup to get the Ospreys within 29-25 at the 3-minute mark. But the Wildcats finished the half on an 8-0 run, the last five points coming from Lee. She scored 21 points in the first half and was perfect on nine shot attempts and three free throws.

Lee missed her first shot of the third quarter, then made her next five. She finished 15-for-17 shooting and 6-for-6 from the line. Lee, who holds the Division I scoring record of 61 points in a game, was averaging 19.1 points entering Saturday's game.

The Wildcats scored 11 of the first 13 points in the third quarter to push their lead to 20 points and they led 62-43 heading to the fourth. The largest lead was 79-52 with about 1 1/2 minutes left.

Gabby Gregory had nine points, six assists and five rebounds for K-State (10-1). Freshman backup guard Taryn Sides had nine assists.

Lyric Swann scored 12 points, Eklund had 10 and Jayla Adams added another 10 for the Ospreys (4-8).

The Wildcats, in the midst of three games in five days, have home games against Oral Roberts on Monday and Southern on Wednesday.

North Florida hosts Winthrop on Wednesday.

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