Nov. 6, 2001

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Excitement has been swirling around Bramlage Coliseum as the Kansas State women's basketball team launches play in its 34th campaign. The Wildcats host the Houston Jaguars in the team's first preseason exhibition game Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. K-State will follow that up with its final exhibition game versus Spartak Moscow of Russia on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2:00 p.m. CT.

The excitement surrounding the team stems from the return of a veteran squad and a crop of talented newcomers. Kansas State returns three starters, including its top scorer, three-point shooter and assist leader from a squad that finished 12-16 last season.

K-State In Exhibition Games
The Wildcats are 10-8 in exhibition games all-time. During head coach Deb Patterson's five seasons at Kansas State, the Wildcats have a 6-3 mark, including 4-0 records the last three seasons. K-State beat KSC Szekszard, 49-46, and Club Volna, 88-67, last year.

About Houston Jaguars
Houston Jaguars are on an eight-game, five-state tour across the Midwest from Nov. 3 to Nov. 13.

The 10-member squad features former Division I and II college athletes and several of the team members have either played or currently play professional basketball.

Robin Threatt-Elliott, an All-American at Wisconsin, played one year for the WNBA's Seattle Storm and she closed out her collegiate career as the Badgers' second-leading career scorer (1,901) and led Wisconsin to its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1992.

Amanda Lassiter returns to Bramlage Coliseum with one season of professional basketball experience under her belt. The 2001 first-team all-Big 12 performer at Missouri was drafted by the Houston Comets. She averaged 4.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Coments last year.

Tasha Pointer was an All-American at Rutgers and was a fourth-round WNBA draft pick by the Portland Fire, but did not make the final roster.

Former Texas A&M guard Brandy Jones, who finished her career ranked 10th on the school's career scoring list (1,039), will return to Manhattan for the third time in her career. Jones earned a tryout with the WNBA's Utah Starzz, but did not make the final roster.

Four-year WNBA veteran Vanessa Nygaard plays for the Portland Fire. She was an All-American at Stanford. She averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game for the Fire a season ago.

Jamie Redd played in 58 games for the Seattle Storm over the last two seasons and was a three-time, first-team all-Pac 10 selection for Washington, finishing her career as the school's all-time leading scorer (2,027). She averaged 7.2 ppg and 2.6 rpg last year for the Storm.

Rasheeda Clark, the 2000 WCC Player of the Year and two-time all-conference performer for Pepperdine, was a third-round WNBA selection by the Portland Fire that did not make the final roster.

Two players from the National Women's Basketball League (NWBL) are also listed on the Jaguar roster. Denique Graves, who plays for the NWBL's Atlanta Justice, was drafted by the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs in 1997 after finishing among the top five career scorers (1,512) and rebounders (928) at Howard. She played one year at Sacramento and then played for the Orlando Miracle in 2000.

Anitra Davis was a two-time, first-team all-Southland Conference performer for Stephen F. Austin and Tanisha Johnson was a two-time all-league performer for Arkansas State, earning 1999 Sunbelt Conference Newcomer of the Year honors. Johnson was invited to the Houston Comets' camp last spring, but did not make the final roster.

The Houston Jaguars brings a 0-2 exhibition record into tonight's game. The team lost to Minnesota, 83-75, and to Iowa State, 84-72. Redd is the Jaguar's leading scorer, averaging 18.5 points per game. Lassiter is the top rebounder, grabbing 7.0 per outing.

Freshman Starters?
With six freshman on a team of 13 one to three could be in the starting rotation this year. Looking back over K-State's 34 seasons, there have been only two seasons where three Wildcats have been in the starting lineup.

Rookies Jennifer Jones, Cassandra Jones and Karen Franklin became the first freshman trio to start a game when they lined up against Wichita State on Dec. 18, 1982.

In 1987-88, head coach Matilda Mossman started freshmen Diana Miller, Kristie Bahner and Nadira Hazim. The trio made their debut on Nov. 29, 1987 in a win 82-65 over Rockhurst. After that game Miller, Bahner and Hazim didn't play together again until Jan. 8, 1988 and then started five consecutive games with the last being an 84-58 loss to Colorado on Jan. 23.

What's Back
The Wildcats return seven letterwinners and three starters from the 2000-2001 team, including Big 12 Freshman of the Year in sophomore Nicole Ohlde and one of the league's top three-point and free throw shooters in senior Kristin Rethman. Senior point guard Shalondra Booker is K-State's other returning starter.

Other letterwinners include junior Danielle Hutton and sophomores Andrea Armstrong, Amy Dutmer and Kimmery Newsom. Redshirt freshman Laurie Koehn also returns for the Wildcats.

What's New
Five freshmen comprise the new faces at Kansas State in 2001-2002. The most highly recruited was in-state product Kendra Wecker. The 5-foot-11 forward from Marysville, Kan., was a WBCA High School All-America, the USA Today Kansas Player of the Year, Miss Kansas Basketball, Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Player of the Year. She averaged 24.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game during her prep career.

Also recruited for the frontcourt was 6-foot-3 center Brie Madden from Arlington, Texas. Madden, who played at high school powerhouse Mansfield, was a first team all-state and co-player of the year by the Texas Sports Writers Association and first team all-region by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Madden averaged 13.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game as a senior.

Freshman Megan Mahoney will follow in the footsteps of Rethman as a guard/forward for the Wildcats. The 6-foot, Black Hawk, S.D., native was named the USA Today and Gatorade South Dakota Player of the Year and Miss Basketball South Dakota. She finished her prep career averaging 18.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 4.5 steals per game.

In the backcourt, the duo of Kari Hanson and Chelsea Domenico will understudy Booker. Both played for the same AAU team in Colorado.

Hanson, who moved to North Dakota following her sophomore season at Ft. Collins High School in Colorado, was named the USA Today and Gatorade North Dakota Player of the Year and Miss North Dakota. The 5-foot-8 point guard averaged 15.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.6 steals per game in her senior year at Mandan (N.D.) High School.

Domenico picked up fourth team Parade All-American honors and was a finalist for the the USA Today Colorado Player of the Year. The 5-foot-6 Thornton, Colo., native averaged 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 5.4 steals per game at Horizon (Colo.) High School.

Looking Ahead To The Season Opener
Kansas State will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 16 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. Tip off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in the McDonald's Center.

The Wildcats are 26-7 all-time in season openers, winning the eight of the past nine. Last year, Kansas State beat UMKC, 62-49, in the year's first game.

Kansas State is 10-2 in season openers at Bramlage Coliseum, including wins in eight of the last nine. The Wildcats also have a 22-9 mark in home openers.

Head coach Deb Patterson is 4-1 in season openers at Kansas State with her only loss coming in 1998 versus Ohio State.

One other interesting note is that the Wildcats have reached 100 points in four season openers, including back-to-back games in 1980-81 and 1981-82.

Charting The Upsets
Kansas State will have ample opportunities in 2001-2002 to extend its list of wins over ranked teams. With Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech all in the Top 25 rankings, the Wildcats look to increase their number of upsets. Here is a list of Kansas State's 10 upsets over ranked opponents and the four over teams receiving votes in the Associated Press poll in the last five years:

Date-AP Ranking-Score
1-11-97 Texas (No. 12) 68-67 (home)
2-12-97 Nebraska (No. 23) 47-45 (home)
2-19-97 Colorado (rec. votes) 68-62 (home)
3-5-97 Texas Tech (No. 15)* 76-68 (neutral)
3-6-97 Kansas (No. 9)* 73-58 (neutral)
11-25-97 Drake (rec. votes) 82-76 (home)
1-7-98 Kansas (rec. votes) 53-47 (home)
1-21-98 Colorado (rec. votes) 64-52 (home)
12-30-98 Santa Clara (No. 24) 66-64 (away)
1-13-99 Nebraska (No. 24) 79-67 (home)
2-6-99 Colorado (rec. votes) 59-57 (away)
2-10-99 Iowa State (No. 16) 70-63 (home)
2-27-99 Kansas (No. 22) 69-58 (home)
2-13-00 Iowa State (No. 8) 69-63 (home)
1-17-01 Texas (No. 17) 72-63 (home)
* - Big 12 Tournament

All-Time Record
Kansas State brings an all-time record of 545 wins and 348 losses into the 2001-2002 season, the 34th in the school's basketball history.

Peak At The Polls Reveals...
...Kansas State will play six teams in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and five in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll. Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Colorado and Baylor appear in both polls, while Arizona State is 22nd in the AP poll.

Other K-State opponents receiving votes are Texas in both polls, and Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Oregon State and Oklahoma State in the coaches poll.

Sophomore Sensation?
Sophomore Nicole Ohlde will look to repeat and improve on her fabulous freshman campaign.

Ohlde, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and third team all-conference selection, collected 10 postseason and/or preseason honors, claimed seven freshman records and led K-State in scoring and rebounding by averaging 17.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Patterson Climbing Kansas State Coaching Charts
Head coach Deb Patterson ranks fourth on K-State's all-time wins list but needs only 13 to move into third place. Entering her sixth season at Kansas State, Patterson is 71-76, including a 12-16 mark in 2000-2001.

Another Big 12 Freshman Of The Year For Kansas State?
Not to put too much pressure on the Kansas State freshman class, but the Wildcats have been lucky in the freshman of the year department.

Ohlde garnered the top freshman honor last season and redshirt freshman Laurie Koehn picked up the preseason honor. Could one of the five Wildcat rookies - Domenico, Hanson, Madden, Mahoney or Wecker - add their name to the list? Only time will tell.

Rewriting The Record Book
Kansas State once again rewrote the school record book for three-point shooting. The 2000-2001 Wildcats sank 189 three-pointers on 494 attempts for a 38.3 shooting percentage. The shooting percentage bettered the school record of 37.2 set in 1999-2000. The 189 treys and 494 attempts were also second in the team season records. With the return of Rethman and the start of Koehn's career, the Wildcats will be primed to increase last year's mark.

Chart Mover
Kristin Rethman has no where to go but up when it comes to career three-point records. Rethman is second in makes (197), in attempts (464) and first in percentage (42.4) in the Kansas State record book. She needs 88 treys and 218 attempts to overtake Kim Woodlee in both categories.

More On Rethman
Not only will Kristin Rethman be climbing the three-point charts in 2001-2002 but also the career scoring list. The senior begins the season with 836 career points and with an average of 278 points per season, the guard is expected to join the ranks of the 1,000 Point Club.

Shooting For 100
Senior Kristin Rethman is expected to play her 100th career game this season. The guard would join 37 other Wildcats in Kansas State history who have reached the 100 games-played plateau.

Taking On The Champions
In addition to taking on nine NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, the Wildcats have a 2001-2002 nonconference schedule with two teams that played in the NCAA Tournament, four in the WNIT tourney and two squads that won their conference championships last year. Here's a rundown of what K-State's non-conference opponents accomplished last year:

- Georgia Tech (Nov. 16) reached the WNIT Tournament after posting a 14-12 record. The Yellow Jackets lost to Mississippi State, 77-73.
- Arizona State (St. Thomas Tourney) captured a share of the PAC-10 title and made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils lost to LSU, 88-66, in the first round.
- Idaho State (Wildcat Classic) took home its first Big Sky Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Bengals fell to Vanderbilt, 83-57, in the first round.
- UW-Green Bay (Dec. 6) captured the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular-season crown and advanced to the WNIT. The Phoenix lost to Illinois, 96-79.
- Oregon State (Dec. 9) made its appearance in the WNIT and third overall but fell to Brigham Young, 78-63.
- Middle Tennessee (Dec. 16) made an appearance in the WNIT, but lost to Indiana, 66-63, in Bloomington, Ind.

Home Cookin'
After a 7-6 home record last season, including a 5-0 non-conference mark, the Wildcats enter the 2001-2002 season with a 114-60 (65.5) all-time record at Bramlage Coliseum. In non-conference contests, K-State has won 83.3 percent of its games (70-14 record) in the friendly confines of the Purple Palace. Since Deb Patterson took over as head coach, the Wildcats have posted a 43-22 mark at home, including an 11-1 campaign in 1996-97, the fourth best home record in school history. Kansas State posted its eighth straight winning record at home in 2000-2001 and the 29th in 33 seasons of Wildcat women's basketball.

Fan-tastic Numbers
Kansas State will try to make it six years in a row in the top 30 after it ranked 28th in the official home attendances compiled by the NCAA.

Signing Period
The fall early signing period begins Wednesday, Nov. 14, and runs through Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Wildcats Picked Seventh in Preseason Coaches' and Media
The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 in the preseason coaches' and media polls while Oklahoma is predicted to win the Big 12 title.

Last year, the Wildcats were picked to finish in the lower half of the Big 12 (9th).

2001-2002 Big 12 Coaches' Preseason Poll
1. Oklahoma (8) 117
2. Texas Tech (3) 112
3. Iowa State (1) 99
4. Colorado 92
5. Texas 79
6. Baylor 76
7. Kansas State 57
8. Nebraska 47
9. Oklahoma State 41
10. Missouri 34
11. Kansas 27
12. Texas A&M 11
() denotes first place votes

2000-2001 Big 12 Media Preseason Poll
1. Oklahoma (17) 212
2. Texas Tech 186
3. Iowa State (1) 178
4. Baylor 157
5. Colorado 147
6. Texas 139
7. Kansas State 89
T8. Nebraska 74
T8. Oklahoma State 74
10. Missouri 72
11. Kansas 53
12. Texas A&M 23
() denotes first place votes

Tidbits
- Deb Patterson ranks fourth all-time at K-State with 71 wins.
- The last time Kansas State failed to sink a three-pointer was Feb. 26, 1997 in a 64-60 win over Missouri. The Wildcats were 0-6.
- Kansas State has an all-time record of 575-380.

TV Time
The Wildcats are making four regular season appearances on television this season. Kansas State will play on FOX Sports Net on Jan. 27 vs. Texas Tech and Feb. 10 at Nebraska.

K-State will also have its games with Kansas on Jan. 23 and Oklahoma on Feb. 13 on Metro Sports. The games will be taped delayed and broadcast on Metro Sports and WIBW Ch. 13 in Topeka.

WIBW to Broadcast All Games
WIBW Radio (580 AM) is scheduled to air every Kansas State game, including all road games, on either a live or tape-delayed basis. The Topeka, Kan., station enters its 19th season of broadcasting Kansas State women's basketball. The pregame show will air about 30 minutes before tipoff and feature Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson.

Ed O'Donnell, executive producer and engineer of the Wildcat Sports Network, is in his 40th year with WIBW and 19th season as the voice of Kansas State women's basketball. Joining the crew this year will be Erick Harper. Harper, Kansas State's Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance, will call the color for WIBW at all the home games and selected road contests.

The Wildcat Radio Network consists of 40 affiliates and is the largest collegiate sports network in the state of Kansas. The network is the property of Morris Communications of Topeka and is flagshipped by WIBW (580 AM, Topeka).

Up Next
Kansas State will have its last chance to prepare for the Nov. 16 season opener versus Georgia Tech when it meets Spartak Moscow Sunday, Nov. 11 in Bramlage Coliseum.

Spartak Moscow is on a nine-game, five-state tour across the Midwest from Nov. 2 to Nov. 12.

The 16-member squad plays in the Russian Super League, the top league in Russia, and has finished between ninth and 10th in the league of 17 teams the past few years.

Sergei Yerofeev is in his first year coaching the team, but has been affiliated with the team since he was 19 when his father coached the team.

Three members of Spartak Moscow, Lyudmila Sapova, Svetlana Maksimenko and Tatyana Sergeeva were members of the Russia Junior National Team that recently finished second in the 2001 FIBA Junior World Championships in Brno, Czech Republic, July 14-22. Sapova averaged 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in the championships, while averaged 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds.

Eleven athletes for Spartak Moscow are over 6-foot and 14 that are college-aged. The tallest member of Spartak Moscow is 18 year old Tatyana Sergeeva who is 6-foot-6. Spartak Moscow has four 17 year olds in Lyudmila Sapova, Julia Hobjayan, Karpunina Marina and Maria Nikkar. The eldest on the team is 28 year old Ekaterina Lebedva, who played in the World University Games in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1993.

Thus far in their tour, Spartak Moscow has a 0-3 record with losses to Colorado State, 114-54, Colorado, 119-73 and Tulsa, 79-56.

Marina Karpunina is Spartak's leading scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game. Galina Guseva is the team's top rebounder, grabbing 7.3 per outing.