Wildcats Travel To Oklahoma State, Host Instate Rival KU This Week
Jan 12, 2004 | Women's Basketball
(#11/12) Kansas State (11-2, 2-0) vs. Oklahoma State (6-7, 1-1)
Game #14
January 13, 2004 - 7 p.m. (CT)
Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611)
at Stillwater, Okla.
Television: None
Radio: Mid America Sports Network (Steve Webster, play-by-play, Missy Decker Heidrick, color analyst)
Internet: Audio broadcast and live webcast via Powercat Passport on www.k-statesports.com
Series History: OSU leads 24-23
The 11th-ranked Kansas State women’s basketball team (11-2, 2-0) will play their first Big 12 South opponent of the season in Oklahoma State (6-7, 1-1) on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. (CT) in Stillwater, Okla. The Wildcats will have played three conference games in seven days, but will later get a week layoff from competition after hosting instate rival Kansas on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. in Manhattan.
ON CLOUD NINE
Kansas State is off to a great start to the Big 12 Conference season extending its current win streak to nine games with a 76-69 win over 14th-ranked Colorado on Jan. 10. The Wildcats have won three in a row on the road (Iowa, UTSA and CU) and look to make it a fourth at OSU. In road games this season, K-State is shooting a combined 47 percent from the field, which is close to its season average of 48 percent. The team is also outscoring opponents by a margin of 12.3 points per game and outrebounding opponents by a margin of 9.3 rebounds per game when away from the friendly confines of Bramlage.
SCOUTING REPORT ON OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls most recently lost to the nation’s No. 1 team in Texas Tech, 106-43, on Jan. 10 to put their record at 1-1 against top 25 opponents this season. Oklahoma State previously upset 24th-ranked Michigan State (62-60) on Dec. 2 in Stillwater, making K-State its third top 25 matchup of the year thus far. Last season, OSU finished tied for ninth in the Big 12 with an 8-21 overall record under then first-year head coach Julie Goodenough. Senior forward Trisha Skibbe is currently the conference’s leading scorer and rebounder averaging 22.8 ppg and 9.0 rpg.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
No. Name 2003-04 Stats
2 Lori Allen (G, 5-10, So.) 4.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg
00 Nina Stone (G, 5-7, Jr.) 11.4 ppg, 4.2 apg
50 Eliz Gomes (C, 6-4, Jr.) 7.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg
55 Trisha Skibbe (F, 6-2, Sr.) 22.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg
5 Destanie Sykes (F, 6-0, Fr.) 2.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg
SCOUTING REPORT ON KANSAS
The Jayhawks (8-5, 1-1) had no luck with Big 12 scheduling this year, having to start the season off with four of the league powers (No. 3 Texas, No. 14 Colorado, No. 11 Kansas State and No. T24 Baylor) in just their first five games of the conference slate. Prior to the league opener, KU posted a 7-4 non-conference record even with its rather young starting lineup which includes sophomores Erica Hallman, Tamara Ransburg and Crystal Kemp, who is currently the team’s leading scorer averaging 13.8 points per game. Kansas defeated Missouri, 55-52, on Jan. 10 to pick up only their fourth conference victory in the last three seasons.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
No. Name 2003-04 Stats
13 Larisha Graves (G, 5-9, Jr.) 6.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg
23 Erica Hallman (G, 5-8, So.) 7.2 ppg, 2.9 apg
22 Tamara Ransburg (C, 6-4, So.) 9.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg
11 Aquanita Burras (G, 5-9, Jr.) 9.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg
40 Crystal Kemp (F, 6-2, So.) 13.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg
SERIES NOTES
K-State will look to even its all-time series record versus Oklahoma State as the Cowgirls lead 24-23. The Wildcats last won in Stillwater on Feb. 9, 2000 (a 71-64 victory), which marked only their seventh win ever at OSU. In the state rivalry series vs. KU, K-State leads 45-40. The Wildcats have won the last four consecutive meetings between both schools.
LAST TIME OUT
For the second consecutive year, Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker posted double-double performances at Colorado. Wecker finished the contest with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Ohlde turned in 17 points and 10 rebounds Last season, Ohlde, Wecker and Megan Mahoney each tallied double-doubles at CU. Like Wecker, Laurie Koehn played all 40 minutes vs. the 14th-ranked Buffs connecting on four three-pointers and ending the game with 19 points. It was the closest played game for the Wildcats since a Jan. 23, 2003 home matchup vs. Texas (W, 71-69) when K-State was ranked third in the nation and the Longhorns 18th. With the victory, the Wildcats won their first top 25 opponent battle of the season and snapped Colorado’s nine-game win streak.
OKLAHOMA HOMECOMINGS
Freshmen Twiggy McIntyre (Sapulpa), Shanda Murdoch (Oklahoma City) and Naytanda Smith (Enid) return to their home state for the first time in their young K-State careers. McIntyre and Murdoch are one-of-four freshmen to see significant minutes on the court this season and have played in all 13 games. McIntyre ended her career at Sapulpa High School as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,964 points. However, she is not the first Sapulpa grad to play for K-State. Former 5-foot-11 Wildcat forward Karen Franklin, who averaged 2.7 ppg and 1.9 rpg from 1982-84, was a member of two NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen teams in 1983 and 1984. Murdoch, who was one of the state’s highly recruited players out of Westmoore High School, finished her prep career with 1,647 career points. In 2002-03, she was named a McDonald’s High School All-American Top 100 Finalist and was crowned state tournament MVP in 2001-02 as a junior. Smith has played in six games this year off the bench.
LADIES, START YOUR ENGINES
Kansas State is off to its third consecutive Big 12 Conference 2-0 start. In the last two seasons, the Wildcats have won five-straight after winning the conference opener. K-State and No. 3 Texas were the only two Big 12 schools to survive the first week of conference play with a 2-0 record.
