Kansas State women's basketball could be without senior center Ayoka Lee for a while.

After playing 13 minutes in the first half of K-State's 81-69 win against Arizona State on Saturday afternoon, Lee missed the entire second half and was not seen on the bench.

Following the game, head coach Jeff Mittie offered an initial update on Lee's health.

"It's not good," he said. "I don't have a definitive update, but it's not going to be a week or two."

Despite not remaining on the bench, Mittie said that Lee remained in the stadium until the end of the game.

"I talked to her ten minutes ago, and I have not talked to the doctors, have not talked to the trainers," Mittie continued. "It's probably not good."

Lee missed time in the first half of K-State's game against Arizona earlier this week after aggravating an ankle injury, but started the game on Saturday, scoring 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting before exiting the contest.

In the second half, K-State turned to a combination of Gisela Sanchez and Eliza Maupin. The pair combined for 7 points and 2 rebounds in the second half. While their box score didn't showcase flashy numbers, Mittie praised the pair for the spark they provided in the second half.

Kennedy Taylor did not play in the second half, but she'll likely earn a larger role in Lee's absence. According to Mittie, Taylor did not play in the second half because he wanted to get an extended look at Sanchez and Maupin.

"I just decided to see what it was like," Mittie said. "Quite honestly, it wasn't anything. It was kind of a gut feeling that maybe we should small-ball them and see how they reacted to it. And we were able to get some layups and transition and kind of get the floor more open."

Lee's absence will be a major one for K-State, as they don't have an out-and-out replacement for her ability. This season, Lee is averaging 16.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game on 65.2 percent shooting.

"Nobody has a backup player like Lee. ... Nobody across the country," said Mittie. "If you were to take Paige Bueckers out, UConn doesn't have a backup to her. ... Notre Dame doesn't have a backup like Hidalgo.

"It's a significant change for us at both ends of the floor. Defensively, she patrols the paint so well that it allows you to get beat off the bounce. You saw it in the second half. We didn't have the rim protection that we normally have, and those guards were pretty free in there once they broke about the 10-foot mark."

K-State will be off five days before going on the road for a game against Colorado on Jan. 26.

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