Koehn Paces K-State Past Middle Tennessee, 54-53
Dec 17, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2001
Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Freshman guard Laurie Koehn connected on the last of her game-high 17 points with a three-point basket with 36 seconds left in the second half to give Kansas State a come-from-behind 54-53 victory over Middle Tennessee State in a women's basketball game played before 586 fans at the Murphy Center.
Kansas State improved to 9-1 overall with its sixth straight win, while Middle Tennessee fell to 5-4. K-State shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the field and posted 11 steals and seven blocks to earn the tight victory. The Lady Raiders forced 23 turnovers and grabbed a 39-35 advantage in rebounds, including 15 offensive boards, in the loss.
Koehn led three Kansas State players in double figures with 17 points, while sophomore center Nicole Ohlde and freshman forward Kendra Wecker added 14 and 12 points, respectively. All three players tallied a team-tying six rebounds, while Ohlde collected the third-most blocked shots in school history with a career-high five on the night.
Jamie Thomatis paced three Middle Tennessee players in double figures with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Keisha McClinic and Patrice Holmes tossed in 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The two teams remained tight in the opening moments of the second half before Kansas State posted an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 41-32 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining in the game. The Wildcats pushed that lead to a game-high 10 points on a jumper by Ohlde with 11:01 left. However, the resilient Raiders scored 16 of the next 20 points to take their first lead in more than 13 minutes at 53-51 with 3:14 remaining in the contest. Both teams missed shots over the next few minutes until Koehn connected on her third three-pointer with 36 seconds left to give K-State the lead. Ohlde blocked Thomatis' shot with 19 seconds left followed by a Wecker rebound, but senior Kristin Rethman missed the front end of a one-and-one that gave MTSU one final opportunity. Paula Penttila missed a three-point basket with one second remaining.
Middle Tennessee State held Kansas State to a season-low 37 percent (10-of-27) shooting from the field in the first half en route to taking a 28-24 halftime advantage. The Lady Raiders forced 10 turnovers and collected a 22-19 advantage in rebounds in the opening half, but shot just 31.4 percent (11-of-35) from the floor. MTSU broke a 6-all tie with five straight points at the 15:25 mark and then held a slim lead for a majority of the first half until K-State took just its fourth lead at 22-21 with 4:03 left. The Lady Raiders then scored seven of the next nine points to close out the half.
Kansas State returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 20, when the Wildcats travel to Flagstaff, Ariz. to face Northern Arizona at the Walkup Skydome at 8 p.m. CST.
