Kansas State center Ayoka Lee set the NCAA Division I women’s basketball single game scoring record with a 61-point game in her team’s win over No. 14 Oklahoma on Sunday.
Lee, a 6’6” Junior, nearly outscored the entire Oklahoma team in K-State’s 94-65 victory over the Sooners. The Wildcats began the game on a 15-0 run with Lee scoring 12 of those points herself. The previous NCAA single game record was 60pts, a feat accomplished by Cindy Brown (1987) and Rachel Banham (2016).
The Byron, MN native went 23/30 from the field and 15/17 from the free throw line en route to her record setting day. Lee also added 12 rebounds and 3 blocks for good measure.
With her offensive explosion, her season splits now sit at 25.5ppg/10.9rpg/59.7 FG%, putting her in the top 10 in each category nationwide. Already with games where she posted 38, 38, and 32pts this season, Lee hasn’t scored fewer than 12pts in any contest thus far.
For her part, Lee wasn’t looking to break any records on Sunday, but an undersized Oklahoma squad had no answers for her in the paint. “I’m just so thankful for the people around me,” Lee said. “For my teammates and my coaches trusting me. We came out and just took care of business. We still have so much season to play, so I’m just excited to see how the rest of it goes.”
Anytime a scoring record like this gets broken, thoughts immediately turn towards the player’s draft stock. And though Lee is technically eligible as a Junior (she redshirted one year due to injury, and will be turning 22 this year), she has yet to declare her intentions for after this season.
Should she decide to forgo her senior year, she would be tied for the 4th tallest active player in the WNBA. With a deft scoring touch, and size to boot, she would certainly make for an intriguing prospect on draft day.
The win moved Kansas State to 15-4 on the year, and tied for first with Oklahoma and Iowa State at 5-2 in conference play. The Wildcats are next in action on Wednesday January 26th against 15th ranked Texas.