K-State Continues Homestand Against Red Wolves
Courtesy: Kansas State University  |  Release: 11/15/2009

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MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State will look for its first win of the 2009-10 season, after dropping a season-opener for the first time since the 2003-04 season, with a Monday night matchup against Arkansas State in Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m. This is the second of a three-game homestand for the Wildcats.

The contest can be found on the K-State Sports Network as the award-winning Brian Smoller provides the play-by-play and former Wildcat Missy Heidrick gives the color analysis.

K-State dropped its first home opener in 11 seasons with a 77-73 set back to Indiana State on Saturday evening. The loss ended a 29-game home court winning streak against non-conference opponents.

The Wildcats fell behind by as many as 22 points midway through the second half, but a 20-7 run brought K-State to within seven with 1:23 to play. The Sycamores were able to keep K-State from completing the comeback with four free throws in the final 27 seconds after K-State trimmed the lead to four.

K-State was led by seniors Kari Kincaid and Ashley Sweat with 16 points apiece. Also in double figures were junior guard Shalin Spani with 15 points, including a career-high tying 3 three-point field goals made, and sophomore Jalana Childs tied her career-high with 14 points. Sweat and Childs led K-State on the boards with eight apiece, while Childs dished out a team-high and career-best four assists.

Wildcats Among Preseason Rankings
Despite the loss of four seniors from last season's squad which finished with a 25-8 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Kansas State has received votes in both preseason polls entering the season.

The Wildcats will enter the 2009-10 season receiving 33 votes in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll released on Oct. 30. K-State finished the 2008-09 campaign ranked No. 21 in the AP poll. The Wildcats were ranked for 13 weeks in the AP poll, including 12 straight weeks. In the history of the AP poll, K-State has appeared in the ranking 159 times.

K-State is also receiving votes (39) in the first USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released on Nov. 4. The Wildcats ended last season ranked at No. 20. A season ago, the Wildcats were ranked in the coaches' poll for 16 straight weeks. In the history of the poll, K-State has been ranked 90 times.

Sweat a Wooden Award, Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate
Kansas State senior forward Ashley Sweat has been named to the 2009-10 Preseason Wooden Award watch list and a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

In late-December, the Wooden Award Committee will release the Midseason Top 20 list, followed in March by the National Ballot, consisting of approximately 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA. The Women's Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round during the NCAA Tournament.

The 34th annual Wooden Award ceremony, which will include the announcement of the Men's and Women's Wooden Award, and the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American Teams and the Legends of Coaching Award, will take place the weekend of April 9-11, 2010.

For the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the list of 30 candidates will be trimmed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season. The award winner will be determined by a voting system utilizing media, coaches and fan votes. The award winner will be announced at the Women's Final Four in San Antonio in April.

Sweat, a 2009 All-Big 12 first team selection, enters her senior year with the opportunity to climb the ranks of the Kansas State career scoring and rebounding lists. The product of McPherson, Kan., has tallied 1,291 points her in career to rank 15th and hauled in 441 rebounds to rank 28th.

Following a 2009 season which saw Sweat average a career-high 16.5 points per game and 5.1 rebounds, she was recognized by the league's coaches with her first career All-Big 12 honor. She also garnered All-Big 12 second team honors from the Dallas Morning News. Sweat was also exceptional in the classroom as she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team and to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII second team.

Streaks, Trends, Milestones, Etc.
K-State has made at least one 3-point field goal in 76 consecutive games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2007...  Senior forward and Wooden Award candidate Ashley Sweat is tied for 14th in school history with Megan Mahoney (2001-05) for career points with 1,307... Ranks 28th in school history for career rebounds with 449... Moved into 10th in school history on the career blocks list with 54... Sweat is the sixth player in school history to record over 1,000 points and 50 blocked shots for her career... Sweat ranks eighth in school history for career free throws made with 294... Sweat scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games in the 2008-09 season, including a current streak of 18 straight... Sweat has scored in 100 consecutive games, every game of her career, and is the only Wildcat on the current roster to achieve this feat... Sweat has started 80 straight games and has started 85 games in her career... Kari Kincaid moved into a tie for 10th on the K-State career 3-point field goals attempted list with Diana Miller (1987-91) with 309 attempts... Kincaid needs just eight 3-point field goals made to tie for 10th in school history... Kincaid has started 56 staright games, dating back to her first career start on Dec. 28, 2007... Kincaid has made two or more 3-point field goals in 29 career games... Freshman guard Brittany Chambers was the first freshman to start the season-opner since Ashley Sweat on Nov. 10, 2006... Freshman guard Taelor Karr tallied nine points in her K-State debut, which is the highest point total by a freshman in a career debut since Sweat scored 10 points against Wisconsin-Green Bay on Nov. 10, 2006.

Patterson in 14th Season at K-State
Deb Patterson, the all-time winningest women's basketball coach and the longest tenured women's basketball coach in Kansas State history, has a career record of 265-147 (.643) and a record of 114-94 (.548) in the Big 12, including Big 12 regular season titles during the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons.

Following the 2007-08 season, Patterson was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the league's coaches and a number of media outlets. She also garnered national consideration, finishing as the Russell Athletic/WBCA Region V Coach of the Year and a finalist for the WBCA and Associated Press National Coach of the Year honors.

Patterson has steered the Wildcats to eight consecutive postseason appearances, including a trip to the NCAA Mideast Regional Semifinals in 2002, the 2006 WNIT Postseason crown and a second round trip during the 2008 NCAA Tournament. She is the only current head coach at K-State to guide his/her team to eight straight postseason appearances.

While guiding the Wildcats to eight straight postseason appearances, Patterson has defended the floor in Bramlage Coliseum successfully during this time, posting a 151-41 (.786) record at home including an 80-7 (.920) record against non-conference opponents.

Cats Protect the House Against Non-Con Foes
Entering the 21st season of action inside Bramlage Coliseum, Kansas State has protected its home floor with determination against non-conference foes with a record of 117-20 (.854) record.

In the Deb Patterson era, the Wildcats have been even better with a record of 79-7 (.919).

Wildcats in the Purple Palace
K-State has enjoyed the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum entering its 22nd season of existence with a record of 221-80 (.734). During the last 10 seasons, K-State is 122-31 (.797) in Bramlage Coliseum including a 13-1 record in 2008-09. In Big 12 home contests, the Wildcats are 70-34 (.673). K-State's 13-1 home record in 2008-09 was the best home mark since the 2003-04 season when K-State registered an undefeated mark of 13-0.

Remember, Remember the Month of November
Entering the 42nd year of women's basketball at K-State, the Wildcats have accumulated a record of 94-37 (.718) in the month of November. In the Patterson era, the Wildcats are 45-17 (.726) in the 11th-month.

Roster Size Does Not determine Win Total
Kansas State will enter the 2009-10 season with 10 players on its roster (two seniors). This is the fourth time since the 1979-80 season that K-State will enter a season with 10 or fewer players on the roster. In the previous three seasons, K-State reached the postseason, including two NCAA Tournament appearances.

This is the smallest roster for the Wildcats since the 2006-07 season, when K-State had 10 players on the roster.

The smallest roster for the Wildcats was nine players in the 2002-03 season (zero seniors) and the 1996-97 season. The 2002-03 squad finished the season with a 29-5 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Halftime Lead = K-State 'W' Since 1999-00
Having the edge after the first 20 minutes of action has proven to be prophetic since the 1999-00 season, as K-State is 178-24 (.881) when leading at the break.

During the last two seasons, K-State owns a 46-3 (.939) record when leading with five minutes to play.

K-State Leads Big 12 in 1,000-Point Scorers
Entering its 42nd season of women's basketball, K-State leads all Big 12 schools in 1,000-point scorers with 36. Senior forward Ashley Sweat is the only current Wildcat to surpass the 1,000-point barrier for her career with 1,207, which ranks 14th in school history.

Sweat, Kincaid Among Top Big 12 Returners
Seniors Ashley Sweat and Kari Kincaid enter their final seasons in Manhattan among the Big 12's returning career leaders in a number of statistical categories.

Sweat ranks fourth among the league's seven 1,000-point scorers with 1,291 career points. With her 441 career rebounds, Sweat is seventh among the  nine players in the league with 400 or more rebounds. She is also among the top 15 in steals with 100 for her career.

Kincaid ranks seventh among the nine returning players in the Big 12 with 100 or more 3-point field goals made with 102.

Sweat is Offensive and Defensive
Ashley Sweat opened the 2009-10 season by improving her place on the K-State career scoring with 16 points against Indiana State. Sweat's career total now stands at 1,307 points to rank tied for 14th in school history.

The 16-point effort by Sweat marked the 100th career game the McPherson, Kan., native has tallied at least a point and the 73rd game she has registered 10-or more points in a game.

To go along with her 16 points, Sweat tallied a pair of blocked shots to move into 10th on K-State's career blocked shots list with 54.

No Sweat for Sweat at the Line 
Ashley Sweat continued her strong performance from the charity stripe, as she was 8-of-9 from the line against Indiana State.

Last season, Sweat made and attempted a team-high 132-of-158 (.835). She was the first player to make 100 free throws in a season since Nicole Ohlde made 136 during the 2003-04 season. Her total of 132 made free throws this season ranks fourth in school history. Sweat finished the season ranked fourth in the Big 12 and 39th in the nation in free throw percentage this season. She also set the school record for consecutive free throws made with 33.

For her career, Sweat is 294-of-385 (.764) from the free throw line. Her career total of free throws made ranks eighth in school history. She also ranks ninth in school history for free throw percentage and needs four attempts to move into the top-10 in school history.

Sweat Climbs Career Rebounding List 
Ashley Sweat improved her career rebounding total in the season-opener, as she snared eight rebounds. Sweat's career rebounding total ranks 28th in school history with 449 boards. The eight rebounds were her highest total since Feb. 21, 2009 against Colorado when she grabbed nine.

The product of McPherson, Kan., averaged a career-high 5.1 rebounds per contest and had 20 games with five or more rebounds in the 2008-09 season.

Last season, Sweat became the 25th player in school history to register 1,000 points (1,307) and 400 rebounds (449) in her career.

Kincaid Kaboom
Kari Kincaid was able to provide the Wildcats with a solid scoring option from the perimeter in the season-opener, as she finished with 16 points. This was her highest point total since Nov. 23, 2008 against UTSA when she tallied 17 points.

The product of Andover, Kan., was 2-of-6 from beyond the arc and moved into a tie for 10th in school history for career 3-point field goals attempted with 309. She needs just eight 3-point field goals made to tie for 10th in that category.

With the two makes from distance, Kincaid now has 29 games with two or more made three-point field goals.

Last season, Kincaid was K-State top 3-point shooter, as she made a career-high 59 and was ranked fifth in the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage at .371.

Sweet Childs of Mine 
Jalana Childs was able to provide K-State with an inside presence against the Sycamores in the opener. The product of Orlando, Fla., carded a career-high-tying 14 points and also tied her career-best for field goals made with six. She also attempted a career-high 16 field goals. The double digit effort was the fourth of her career. She also set a career-high and led the Wildcats on Saturday with four assists.

Shalin's Show 
Shalin Spani provided a boost to the K-State offense in her first career start in the season-opener against Indiana State. The native of Lee's Summit, Mo., turned in a career-high 38 minutes of action which resulted in 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. The three 3-point field goals made tied her career-high.

In the last two season-openers, Spani is averaging 14.0 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 form beyond the arc. In the 2008-09 season-opener at UTEP, Spani recorded 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Last season, Spani's season was cut short due to a knee injury but she averaged 3.9 points in 25 games played.

Karr Races to Solid Debut 
Taelor Karr was able to jump start the K-State offense off the bench, as she made her K-State debut against Indiana State on Saturday.

The 5-8 guard from Paola, Kan., recorded nine points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Karr's point total was the highest by a K-State freshman since Ashley Sweat tallied 10 points in her K-State debut on Nov. 10, 2006.

To download a PDF of the complete version of K-State’s weekly game notes please click the link at the top of the page.