24 March 2024
MANHATTAN (KSNT) – K-State women’s basketball has sold out tickets for round two of the NCAA tournament against Colorado.
Junior guard Serena Sundell tells 27 News that head coach Jeff Mittie surprised the team with the news after Saturday’s practice. Sundell says the team knew it was close to a sellout going into practice, but wasn’t sure if it was going to happen or not.
“Just the support we’re going to have from this town and this university is super special,” Sundell said. “I’m so glad that we’re hosting. It’s such a privilege and an advantage. We’re going to take advantage of it and I’m excited to run out of the tunnel tomorrow.”
“We were so close to a sell out yesterday, so just getting a feel of what that environment was going to be like and just having so many people to play in front of,” Sundell said. “We still kind of get nervous yourself and that’s a lot of attention on you, but having that experience is going to be super helpful.”
After Friday’s round-one win over Portland, senior center Ayoka Lee encouraged fans to buy tickets to Sunday’s game if that hadn’t already. Meanwhile, senior guard Gabby Gregory pushed for a sellout on social media.
There were less than 900 tickets left early Saturday morning, and just a couple hundred, the players say, heading in afternoon practice.
“I’m just really excited to be sold out already and not have like walk-up tickets is just amazing,” Lee said. “So I’m really thankful and just excited to play in Bram tomorrow.”
In her time at K-State, the senior Wildcat says she’s never played in front of a sold out crowd in Bramlage.
There were 9,642 fans packed in Bramlage Coliseum, but the arena holds over 11,000. The largest crowd for a K-State women’s basketball game was 13,466 in 2002.
No. 4 K-State and No. 5 Colorado play at 1 p.m. central time on Sunday, March, 24.