Wildcats Win SPC Holiday Classic Title
Dec 30, 2005 | Women's Basketball
JERSEY CITY, N.J. Freshman Marlies Gipson led four Wildcats in double figures with 16 points and Kansas State remained perfect on the road with a 72-64 win over host Saint Peter's in the championship game of the Aeropostale SPC Holiday Classic Friday night at the Yanitelli Center.
Jessica McFarland added 15 points and tournament MVP Claire Coggins chipped in 14 for the Wildcats (10-1), who were deadlocked at 33-33 with the Peahens at intermission, before catching fire in the second half to pull out their fifth-straight win away from Bramlage Coliseum this season.
Kimberly Dietz, who was also named to the all-tournament team, was the fourth Wildcat to tally double-digit points and finished with 11, including three 3-pointers.
Khalisha Lewis and Johnell Burts each scored 14 points to pace Saint Peter's (4-6), who trailed by just three with 15 minutes to go.
But Kansas State, which shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half and 47 percent for the game, got a three-pointer from Dietz and a pair of buckets from Coggins during a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to forge a 52-40 lead.
K-State's advantage would grow to as many as 16 on a layup by McFarland with six minutes to play, but Saint Peter's refused to go away and battled back behind a 12-2 spurt of its own, to close the game to 68-62 with just under two minutes on the clock.
The Peahens were unable to get any close, however, as Gipson hit two buckets in the final 20 seconds to seal the victory for the Wildcats.
K-State returns home for its Big 12 Conference opener against Texas Tech (5-6) on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.
