No. 9 Wildcats Look To Take Rivalry Series Sweep Of KU
Feb 11, 2004 | Women's Basketball
(#9/9) Kansas State (17-3, 8-1) vs. Kansas (9-11, 2-7)
Game #21
February 11, 2004 - 7 p.m. (CT)
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
at Lawrence, Kan.
Television: Metro Sports (Nate Bukaty, play-by-play, Patti Phillips, color analyst)
Radio: Mid America Sports Network (Steve Webster, play-by-play, Missy Decker Heidrick, color analyst)
Internet: Audio broadcast on www.k-statesports.com
Series History: K-State leads 46-40
Climbing up a spot to No. 9 in both national polls, the Kansas State women’s basketball team (17-3, 8-1) continues its three-game week in Big 12 Conference play with the season’s second installment of the Sunflower Showdown at instate rival Kansas (9-11, 2-7) on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. (CT) in Lawrence, Kan. The game will be televised on Metro Sports with Nate Bukaty (play-by-play) and Patti Phillips (color analyst) calling the action.
BIG 12 PART II
The Wildcats have beaten a top 25 opponent three times in their last four games. No. 11 Colorado became K-State’s first victim of the conference regular season series sweep on Feb. 8. In that time frame, the Wildcats have held opponents to a low 32.4 percent shooting from the floor and 26.2 percent shooting from three-point range. They have also outscored their opponents by 20.3 points per game. KU may become the team’s second victim of the series sweep, having lost their last two games in Big 12 play. The Wildcats currently own sole possession of second-place in the latest Big 12 standings with an 8-1 mark.
SCOUTING REPORT ON KANSAS
Since KU head coach Marian E. Washington took a medical leave of absence on Jan. 29, the Jayhawks have gone 1-2 under interim head coach Lynette Woodard. KU has yet to beat a ranked opponent this season (0-6) and in 22 straight meetings vs. a top 25 opponent. Last week, the Jayhawks lost a pair of Big 12 contests on the road at No. 9 Texas Tech (67-44) on Feb. 4 and at Nebraska (59-48) on Feb. 7. They are 3-6 this season against 2003-04 K-State common opponents.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
No. Name 2003-04 Stats
3 Blair Waltz (G/F, 6-0, Jr.) 4.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg
11 Aquanita Burras (G, 5-9, Jr.) 10.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg
13 Larisha Graves (G, 5-9, Jr.) 7.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg
22 Tamara Ransburg (F/C, 6-4, So.) 8.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg
40 Crystal Kemp (F, 6-2, So.) 14.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg
SERIES HISTORY
K-State leads 46-40 in the all-time series vs. KU However, the Jayhawks are 22-19 when the Sunflower Showdown is played in Lawrence. This will be the first Wildcat team to play against a non-Marian E. Washington-coached team since the 1972-73 season. The Wildcats have only taken the series sweep of KU twice in Big 12 play, which has occurred the last two seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03). K-State is 7-8 vs. KU in regular season league play and will look to even the series Wednesday.
LAST TIME OUT
Nicole Ohlde became the school’s all-time leading rebounder and Kendra Wecker recorded her 32nd career double-double with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Wildcats claimed their second-straight series sweep of Colorado (79-53) on Feb. 8. The Wildcats shot a season-high 61.5 percent (8-13) from three-point range and ended CU’s six-game win streak. Wecker also became the second fastest Wildcat to reach 1,500 career points. K-State’s 26-point victory was the largest in the series since defeating the Buffaloes 94-67 on Feb. 16, 1984.
THE BIG FOUR
Nicole Ohlde, Laurie Koehn, Megan Mahoney and Kendra Wecker continue to prove that they are Kansas State’s dynamic foursome. In 2002-03, they scored 81.1 percent of K-State’s points and grabbed 64.8 percent of the Wildcats’ rebounds. This year is no different, as the Big Four are accounting for 72.1 percent of the team’s scoring and 61.6 percent of the team’s rebounding. Ohlde leads the Wildcats in points (343) and blocks (31), Wecker in rebounds (173) and steals (39), Koehn in three-pointers (66) and Mahoney in assists (99).
K-STATE AND THE RPI
Kansas State moved up two spots to No. 7 in the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI Index, behind national powerhouses Tennessee, UConn, Penn State, Duke, Purdue and Texas. The Wildcats have the 30th strongest schedule in the nation and have gone 4-2 vs. top 25 opponents this season, including 2-2 versus three teams in the RPI Top 10 (Penn State, Purdue and Colorado). This week’s opponents: Kansas (105) and Nebraska (33).
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS ON THE BOARDS
The Wildcats have won the battle of the boards 16 times out of 19 games played this season, with the exception of a tie (37-37) at Iowa State on Feb. 4.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Junior Megan Mahoney currently ranks second all-time in school history with 420 career assists to date, behind all-time leader Mary Jo Miller (562). Mahoney has aided in 99 plays this season and is one assist away from recording her third consecutive 100+ assist season.
DUTMER ON FIRE
Since breaking into the starting lineup four games ago, senior Amy Dutmer has averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. In 16 games played prior to her four-straight starts, Dutmer was averaging 1.3 ppg and 0.7 rpg off the bench. Against No. 11 Colorado on Feb. 8, she scored a season-high 15 points, connecting on 6-of-7 (.857) from the floor.
