Kansas State women's basketball's Serena Sundell breaks assist record in March Madness win

Kansas State women's basketball guard Serena Sundell needed less than three quarters of Sunday's NCAA Tournament game against Kentucky to break the school career record with her ninth assist.

Fortunately for Sundell and her K-State teammates, she didn't stop there.

It turns out the fifth-seeded Wildcats (28-7) needed every one of her 14 assists — she also had 19 points and a pair of steals — to hold off No. 4 Kentucky, 80-79, in a second-round overtime thriller at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.

It was assist No. 14 that set up the game winner on a Temira Poindexter 3-pointer with 58.6 seconds left in the extra period, sending the Wildcats to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2002. The Wildcats will face either No. 1 seed Southern California or No. 9 Mississippi in a regional semifinal in Spokane, Washington.

Asked which meant more, breaking Shalee Lehning's career record of 800 assists, set in 2009, or advancing to the Sweet 16, Sundell didn't hesitate.

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - MARCH 23: Serena Sundell #4 of the Kansas State Wildcats and Dazia Lawrence #10 of the Kentucky Wildcats fight for possession of the ball during the second quarter of a game in the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament at Memorial Coliseum on March 23, 2025 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

"It doesn't compare. I would choose the Sweet 16 every single day over getting that record," said Sundell, who now has 806 assists in her four seasons as K-State's starting point guard. "A really cool record, and once again, credit to my teammates for being able to make shots.

"To be honest, at the beginning of this year I really didn't see that record being something that I would reach, but I've been able to play with a bunch of really good shooters, and obviously having Yokie (center Ayoka Lee, the school's career scoring leader) gives me a lot of different options. (But) definitely way more excited about being able to advance."

Funny thing was, Sundell was nowhere near on pace for the record early in the game when she was the only Wildcat knocking down any shots. She had all three of K-State's 3-pointers in the first quarter and had 15 points but just three assists at halftime.

"I was kind of just taking what the defense was giving me in the first half," said Sundell, who made 6 of 8 shots, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range before the break. "I found myself open, and I was confident. I was ready to go.

"I was hitting shots. That always helps, when you make a few shots in the game, you want to keep shooting."

It all began to change toward the end of the half when Poindexter hit a pair of 3-pointers after a 0-for-6 start, helping K-State to a 33-31 lead at intermission. By the time it was all said and done, Poindexter had eight 3-pointers and Jaelyn Glenn three.

"I was telling my shooters the whole game, 'Keep shooting, keep shooting, they have to fall. Jaelyn, keep shooting, Taryn (Sides), TP,'" Sundell said. "Once they got going and I could use the gravity of Yokie, we're hard to stop because the defense has to make a decision. I don't know what switched, but I think my teammates just came alive a little bit."

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 X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.

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This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's Serena Sundell breaks school assist record in win

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