Before Kansas State’s NCAA Tournament Second Round game against Kentucky, head coach Jeff Mittie spoke about needing their secondary players to step up.
As he saw it, the Wildcats wouldn’t beat Kentucky behind only point guard Serena Sundell and center Ayoka Lee. They would need the players around those two to step up and make winning plays.
“You have your assist leader, Serena [Sundell]. You’ve got your center back,” said head coach Jeff Mittie. “All those players around that, we needed moments.”
Among the possible players capable of making that impact was Temira Poindexter.
Although Poindexter has become a “secondary player,” Mittie knew Kentucky would get aggressive guarding Lee. As a result, he told the staff that Poindexter would have a chance to have her moment.
“I told the staff tomorrow is one that Temira is going to have opportunities,” Mittie said. “I believed that we would be able to put her on the backside of the help that was going to be needed to give to Lee.”
That strategy paid off for K-State, as Poindexter had her March moment.
For the entirety of the second half, Poindexter’s three-point shot was nothing short of automatic, making a game-high eight three-pointers to finish with 27 points. Two of those makes came in overtime, helping lead the Wildcats to an 80-79 win over Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16.
“Everyone on this team knows that she’s a great shooter,” senior guard Jaelyn Glenn said. “I hope she knows she’s a great shooter.”
Although Poindexter finished the game with one of the program's better performances in NCAA Tournament history, she had her fair share of struggles early on. Despite the game plan working as expected, Poindexter couldn’t connect on open looks from three-point range, missing her first five attempts from deep.
While poor shooting nights can tend to discourage a player from shooting, Poindexter kept shooting. And soon, those three-pointers began to hit.
“I kind of was irritated. I was mad; I was sad, all of that, because I wanted to do what I can for my team,” Poindexter said. “But my teammates definitely helped me, and they boosted my confidence. They told me to continue to shoot. So that's what I did.”
For most of the season, Mittie challenged Poindexter and others to keep shooting. It didn’t matter if they missed every one of the shots or made all of them; Mittie wanted them to maintain a shooter's mindset.
That mindset led to some bright moments, but it also led to some heartbreaking moments for Poindexter. None more significant than the Big 12 Championship Quarterfinal, when Poindexter saw a potential game-winning three-pointer hit off the rim and miss.
Although Poindexter finished that game with 16 points, that miss left a nasty taste in her mouth. But it also led to more confidence.
“Missing that shot, it was like a stab in my heart,” said Poindexter. “I definitely took that moment and was like, “I’m going to take it to the next game, and I’m going to use it because I’m going to make the shots in a big moment.”’
Poindexter’s big moment couldn’t have come at a better time, either.
With Ayoka Lee struggling with fouls, the Wildcats needed to find other sources of offense. Serena Sundell stepped up in the first half, finishing with 15 points on eight field goal attempts, but the Wildcats wouldn’t have won this game without another scorer stepping up.
Poindexter being the one to step up shouldn’t be a surprise, but it might be the most significant full-circle moment this season.
While Poindexter is the newest face in K-State’s locker room, she’s considerably impacted games on both sides of the ball. At times, it was her suffocating defense – Poindexter recorded four blocks on Sunday – and other times, it was a timely shot when the team desperately needed one.
However, throughout the entire season, Poindexter’s mission remained the same. She wanted to play in the NCAA Tournament and help K-State advance to the second weekend for the first time since 2002.
“This is what I transferred here to do,” Poindexter said. “This is what I came here to do. It's a blessing.”
However, that doesn’t mean Poindexter hasn’t exceeded people’s expectations.
“I knew that they were going to be a great asset,” Glenn said. “But I think they've exceeded all my expectations throughout the season, and especially today.”
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