Wecker, Ohlde Lift Wildcats to WNIT Semifinal Win
Nov 20, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2002
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kendra Wecker and Nicole Ohlde each hit double figures in points and rebounds, as No. 4 Kansas State defeated Southern California, 73-61, on Wednesday in a semifinal game of the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament played before 4,689 at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats, now 3-0, will host Penn State on Sunday afternoon in the tournament championship at 4 p.m. CST. The 14th-ranked Nittany Lions won at home over Mississippi State, 82-66, in Wednesday's other semifinal.
Wecker finished with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats, tying a career-high in scoring. Ohlde added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State, which also got 17 points from Laurie Koehn.
The victory was the 100th at Kansas State for Wildcat head coach Deb Patterson.Rachel Woodward had 13 points to lead four USC scorers in double figures. Meghan Gnekow had 12 points and Aisha Hollans added 11 off the bench for the Women of Troy, while Ebony Hoffman finished with 10 points.
Brie Madden had a career-high 14 rebounds to lead K-State to a 51-32 edge on the boards.
Kansas State never trailed in the game, and mounted a 21-8 lead in the first eight minutes. The lead grew as high as 36-19 with 3:15 left in the first half before USC cut the lead to 37-25 at halftime.
Ohlde had 14 of her points in the first half, while Koehn added a dozen before the break. USC was held to just 28 percent shooting from the floor in the opening half, including a 1-for-10 mark from three-point range.
K-State led 47-37 midway through the second half before going on a decisive run. Five different Wildcats scored in an 11-1 run that pushed the edge to 20 points with 10:03 to play.
Southern California rallied late in the half, though, as Hoffman scored four points to key a 12-2 run that pulled USC within 64-52 with 4:22 left. K-State was able to keep the edge above 10 points down the stretch to preserve the win.
USC's pressure defense created 17 steals and forced 29 Wildcat turnovers, with Jessica Cheeks getting six steals. K-State shot 46 percent from the field in the game, while USC finished with a 31-percent shooting mark.
?We're so appreciative of our fans who came to this basketball game tonight and gave us the opportunity to have this environment,? said Patterson. ?It was a night where we were sporadic in what we brought to the floor on offense, and many times we needed a good boost. I thought we had the environment that provided it, and we beat a very athletic and physical USC team.?
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