Kansas State's Ayoka Lee out indefinitely with fracture in foot

Kansas State forward Ayoka Lee will be sidelined indefinitely after an X-ray and MRI exam revealed the All-American fractured a bone in her foot in the second quarter of the No. 10 Wildcats' win over Arizona State.

The school called it “probable” that Lee will return before the end of the season, but more will be known in the coming weeks.

“It's not good,” Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie said after the 81-69 win Sunday over Arizona State. “It’s not going to be a week or two.”

Lee only played 13 minutes in the game, leaving for good with 4:21 left in the first half.

The Wildcats, who do not play again until visiting Colorado on Saturday, entered the week 19-1 and 7-0 in the Big 12, and they are riding a 14-game win streak, the fourth-longest in Division I women's basketball. The Wildcats' only loss came against No. 13 Duke in the Ball Dawgs Classic in late November.

Lee is a big reason for their success. The 6-foot-6 forward from Byron, Minnesota, is averaging 16 points on 65.4% shooting, even though she's played limited minutes because of a number of blowouts. She also is averaging 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

Lee set the women's Division I scoring record when she had 61 points against Oklahoma in January 2022. She is already Kansas State's career scoring leader with 2,482 points, and she holds school records for rebounds, blocks and field goals.

Lee also has had a history of injuries, though. She redshirted as a freshman while recovering from a knee injury, and she missed the entire 2022-23 season because of surgery on the other knee. She also sat out several conference games a year ago after she hurt her ankle, and Mittie has limited her minutes at times this season in an effort to keep her healthy.

The Wildcats will lean more heavily on Missouri State transfer Kennedy Taylor, Imani Lester and Eliza Maupin while Lee is out.

"I think it’s just the next-man-up mentality, and I think Eliza came in and played really well for us,” Kansas State guard Taryn Sides said after the win over the Sun Devils. “We don’t really know a whole lot about Yokie. Hopefully she’s OK.”

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball