Kansas State women's basketball star center Ayoka Lee will return for one more season
MANHATTAN — Kansas State women's basketball will be treated to one more year of Ayoka Lee.
K-State announced Sunday night that Lee, their 6-foot-6 All-America center, is returning for a final season of eligibility after helping lead the Wildcats to a 26-8 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past season.
Lee will compete as a fifth-year super-senior, using an extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also missed two complete seasons (2018-19 and 2022-23) with knee injuries.
Lee, a second-team All-American by The Athletic and third-team All-America pick by The Sporting News, returned from injury to average 19.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots in 2023-24. Her 61.9 field goal percentage ranked sixth nationally, while she was third in the Big 12 in scoring, second in the league and ninth nationally in blocked shots per game and third in the conference in rebounding.
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As a junior in 2021-22, Lee set the NCAA single-game scoring record with 61 points in a blowout victory over No. 14-ranked Oklahoma.
Lee, a four-time Big 12 first-team all-conference pick, is one of four Wildcat starters expected to return next year along with seniors-to-be Serena Sundell, Jaelyn Glenn and Brylee Glenn. Sundell, who averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds, also was a first-team all-conference selection.
Not done yet...@Yokie50 x #kstatewbb pic.twitter.com/MiEoKixBw7
— K-State Women's Basketball (@KStateWBB) April 8, 2024
In all, the Wildcats can return eight of their top nine scorers from a team that earned a No. 4 seed and served as host for the first-two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. They played in front of a sellout crowd at Bramlage Coliseum in their season-ending 63-50 loss to Colorado.
Lee, from Byron, Minnesota, ranks third in school history in scoring with 2,194 points, and is No. 1 in career scoring average with 19.2 points per game, holds the career records with 1,118 rebounds and 310 blocked shots.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's basketball star Ayoka Lee back for one more year
