After missing close to a month of action with a foot injury, Kansas State center Ayoka Lee is nearing a return, head coach Jeff Mittie told the media on Saturday.
Following K-State’s big win over UCF on Saturday afternoon, Mittie told the media that the program is circling the Wildcats’ game against Kansas on Feb. 22 for Lee’s return to game action, barring any late setbacks.
“We still think the KU game. There’s been nothing that would indicate anything differently than that,” said Mittie. “But as you progress on this, you hope that we’re doing it the right way so there’s no stepbacks.”
Lee, who suffered a foot fracture on Jan. 20, has begun to work her way back onto the court, doing an individual workout before the Wildcats’ game against Cincinnati earlier this week.
Mittie said she’s progressed to other activities, including basketball-related ones.
“We have progressed her to running and [agility] and all that stuff,” he said. “That’s where we would think jumping, all that stuff, and it’s been pretty good.”
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A return against Kansas would give Lee three regular season games to get back into game shape. According to Mittie, having Lee return during the regular season is important for the Wildcats, but they won’t rush her back if she isn’t ready.
“I think it’s important for her because she wants to play, and we’re a better team with her, and we all know that,” Mittie said. “We’re fighting for a Big 12 Championship, we’re fighting for a top 6 seed. Those are things that are goals at the start of the year that you put on the back shelf, and now we’re at the time of the year where we’re in a position to do that.”
So far, Lee has missed the last seven games, but the Wildcats have hardly suffered. K-State is 5-2 in that stretch, including a win over nationally-ranked TCU.
Although K-State has lost sole possession of the Big 12, they control their own destiny for a Big 12 Conference Championship. The Wildcats are tied with Baylor at 12-2, with TCU behind them at 11-2. K-State, who hold the tiebreaker over TCU, will play Baylor later this month.
In 18 games this season, Lee is averaging 16 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game in only 19.1 minutes. She was named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watchlist earlier this month.
