Kansas State University
Marquette
Champions! Wildcats Capture WNIT Crown
Apr 01, 2006 | Women's Basketball
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Shalee Lehning had a triple-double and Kimberly Dietz had 21 points, leading Kansas State to a 77-65 victory over Marquette in the WNIT championship Friday night.
The Wildcats overcame a one-point halftime deficit and Marquette's hot 3-point shooting to win their first postseason championship, all of it coming in front of a sellout crowd of 13,340 - the second largest in WNIT history.
The 5-foot-9 Lehning, one of three freshmen starters for Kansas State (24-10), had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and helped lead a quick, aggressive defense which forced 19 turnovers.
Twiggy McIntyre scored 16 points for Kansas State, which finished tied for sixth in the Big 12 Conference.
Danielle Kamm had 16 points for Marquette (22-11), which tied for sixth in its first season in the expanded 16-team Big East. Jasmine McCullough had 13 and Carolyn Kieger 10.
Krystal Ellis, who led the Golden Eagles with 17.5 points per game, had only four points on 1-for-6 shooting against Kansas State's swarming defense.
The Golden Eagles hit six of eight 3-pointers in their first half and wound up 7-for-16 from behind the arc. But the Wildcats constantly got their hands in the passing lanes and kept the Golden Eagles off balance with 15 steals.
Dietz hit her fifth 3-pointer with 7:23 to go to give the Wildcats a 61-58 lead and ignite a 9-0 run that ended with JoAnn Hamlin's layup for a 67-58 lead.
Hamlin also had a steal and a driving layup in the spurt. Lehning, taking a nifty pass underneath from Claire Coggins, made it 63-58 and then Dietz' layup made it 65-58 and the Golden Eagles never caught up.
The quicker Wildcats had 10 steals in the first half while Marquette had only one.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Danielle Kamm and Erin Monfre gave Marquette a quick five-point lead, then Dietz and McIntyre knocked down 3s on consecutive Kansas State possessions.
