6/04/07  Coggins takes on Ohlde
Time flies. I haven't even looked at this page in two months. I'm delighted that Claire has her chance in the WNBA. I hope to see her play sometime.

3/31/07  Ashley Sweat named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team
I got this info off a message board, but I certainly have no reason to doubt it! After all, how could they possibly overlook her after that 31-point performance in the Wyoming robbery, 21 points vs. Auburn and 15 points vs. Southern Illinois? By the way, I'm still fuming over the injustice the Cats faced in Laramie, where the U of W beat the U of W by 16 points today. If not for crooked referees, the Cats would have another trophy tonight.

3/28/07  My take on the WNIT semifinal game
I want to begin by saying I am extremely proud of the Cats' performance, effort and character in the triple-overtime Wyoming game tonight. Ashley Sweat, who played 50 minutes, logged a career-high 31 points. What a great finish to an excellent freshman season! Shalee Lehning recorded her second triple-double, with 15 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds. This is the fifth triple-double in the history of the program, and Shalee has two of 'em. Shana Wheeler, who eventually fouled out, was 5 of 11 from the field, had 12 points and four blocked shots. Kimberly Dietz was also 5 of 11 from the field, 2 of 4 from three-point range, and both Dietz and Wheeler played huge roles in the game. Kari Kincaid made two of three three-pointers. All this came in front of a hostile crowd of 12,225, on the highest-elevation basketball court in the United States.

I just know that this team is going to have a tremendous 2007-2008 season. Do we seriously have to wait until November?

If the Big 12 conference office doesn't demand that the NCAA investigate the inept and biased officiating that occurred in Laramie tonight... well, Kevin Weiberg should be ashamed of himself. This was the most obviously biased and incompetent officiating of any basketball game I have ever known of. How about the Cats' 18 free throws awarded, vs. 52 for Wyoming? That's close to three times the free throws for Wyoming. How about repeatedly falling for the Wyoming players' taking a dive for the floor anytime a Cat got near them? John Fullilove, Michol Murray and Paula Ross should never officiate a sports contest again in their lives.

Finally... this loss would not have occurred had the game been played in Manhattan. I'm calling out the K-Staters who failed to appear at the earlier WNIT games, thereby allowing Wyoming to become the host school. If the earlier games had been sellouts (as Cat fans managed for the final NIT game), our Cats would have certainly been playing in the championship game on Saturday.

3/25/07  Last team standing!
The Cats will play in Wyoming on Wednesday, March 28, and yes, they are the last team, men's or women's, in the Big 12 still playing basketball. Go Cats (and thanks for a brilliant game on Sunday)!

3/23/07  Let's fill the Coliseum for the Auburn WNIT quarterfinal game.
After a 21-point win over Southern Illinois and a 15-point win over Illinois, our 18-14 Cats now will face Auburn (21-12) at 2 P.M. on Sunday. Attendance was only 1,714 for the Illinois game, compared to the 13,340 sellout for the NIT two days earlier. The Cats had a fine defensive game and shot about 46%. It should be an exciting game. The Auburn Tigers came in 9th in the SEC at 6-8, but in their conference they have to contend with the likes of Tennessee, Georgia and Vanderbilt. Tickets are only $10 for general admission, and can be bought online. Click on Post Season Basketball.

3/17/07  Were you there for that awesome win?
There wasn't much green in Bramlage Coliseum tonight. The Cats are back in the WNIT, and we got to put on our purple one more time, as K-State demolished the Missouri Valley champions, Southern Illinois, by 26 points.

Coach P had a great game plan. She must have seen something on tape, and she had the Cats focus on aggressive plays in the lane. Dietz, Coggins, Kincaid and Sweat had double-figure scoring, with Ashley leading the way with 15 points. K-State easily survived to play again on Thursday evening, vs. an unknown opponent.

Remember the sellout we had for the WNIT championship on March 31, 2006? That's what we need on Thursday. We have a great bunch of players. If anyone gave up on them because February didn't go well, you might want to rethink that. I haven't seen the Cats more upbeat and ready to play than they were tonight. Be there!

3/12/07  Cats return to the WNIT
The Kansas State Cats will play the winner of the first-round game between Stephen F. Austin and Southern Illinois in a WNIT second-round game. The game will reportedly be at Bramlage Coliseum between Mar. 16-19. Stephen F. Austin will play at Southern Illinois on Thursday.

Look for further information on the WNIT's crummy Web site. Before long they will hopefully post the bracket. Good luck, Cats! Let's all get out to support them as they defend their title.

1/13/07  A nice win over Missouri / RPI's headed the right direction!
I hadn't been paying any attention to Missouri (13-4) this season, so I didn't know what to expect, but they gave us plenty to keep us occupied. Coggins' shot is back (with 16 points). That's exciting. What would this team do without Marlies Gipson? How about 18 points, nine rebounds, an 80% field goal percentage, and 100% from the free throw line? I love it when Shalee drives the basket. She's an outstanding ball handler, and I just think driving the basket is a play she's born for. Her 14 points were critical. Since she plays 37 minutes a game, she needs to score. This is good. The Cats were 5 of 20 on three-pointers. Most of their misses were about ½" off. Dietz barely missed some from 20+ feet. They'll fall for her most nights. Zanotti didn't score, but that's not her primary mission. I love her defense, and no doubt Coach P does, too. Finally, I'm delighted to see Carolyn McCullough getting more minutes. She is so smart, you just know she'll make good decisions, and her effort will be great. What an awesome team player and Wildcat she is.

Oops... almost forgot to mention that as of early Sunday morning, the Cats' RPI is 20. They are certain to be ranked on Monday!

1/08/07  Cats almost ranked!
The Cats are in 26th place in the AP poll... just that far from being ranked, after defeating then-#17 Texas A&M.

1/06/07  Coggins leads the Cats in defeating #17 Texas A&M
Claire Coggins logged her 1,000th point this afternoon, and 20 points total, to lead the Cats to a 48 - 45 victory over a ranked A&M team. Of her, Coach P said, "That production... 8-for-11 and 3-for-4 from the three-point line, was very, very big and very needed against this Texas A&M team." Our not-so-secret weapons from McPherson, Ashley Sweat and Marlies Gipson, each contributed 11 points.

Coach Ethridge explained in postgame that it was very hard in a practice setting to simulate the defense of A&M, even with their guy practice players. The Aggies play very hard, and Coach said they would be different from any other team they will play.

12/30/06  How about that Dietz?!
It was a no-brainer that K-State's own Kimberly Dietz would win the Florida International Fun & Sun Classic MVP honors today. Dietz had 23 points against Rice on Friday, and then 21 against Florida International tonight. Claire Coggins was also named to the tournament team. Oklahoma's up next, on Wednesday. The Cats beat a bigger team that was on a winning streak, on their own court. Oops... I almost forgot to give the score: Cats 59 — FIU 52.

12/29/06  A nice win over Rice
Our 11-1 Cats didn't have much rust to brush off from their 12-day hiatus in an 83 - 54 win over Rice. Kimberly Dietz had a tremendous night, with 23 points (in only 31 minutes). She hit six of eight (yes, that's right, 75%) from three-point range. Kari Kincaid saw her first 10 minutes as a Wildcat. Coggins added 17 points. Shana Wheeler added six more blocks to her impressive collection. Marlies Gipson contributed 14 points, and Carolyn McCullough recorded a career-high 10 points. Zanotti and Sweat had quiet nights, as they only played about 15 minutes.

The Cats' RPI is 37 as of late Friday night. Tomorrow night at 6:30 CST they'll face their hosts, Florida International (7-3) (RPI 82). One might expect an easy win after tonight's success, but Florida International has a bunch of big players, so there will be some mismatches. I'm not worried. I think Coach was saving Zanotti and Sweat for Saturday night.