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Cats clinch share of Big 12 title

K-State 61, Kansas 50

Joel Jellison

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Published: Thursday, March 6, 2008

Updated: Monday, July 7, 2008

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Joslyn Brown

Freshman guard Shalin Spani and junior forward Marlies Gipson signify their position at the top of the Big 12 Conference standings following their 61-50 victory over Kansas. K-State clinched at least a share of the regular-season title with the win.

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Joslyn Brown

Senior guard Kimberly Dietz and junior guard Kelsey Nelson embrace following the victory.

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Joslyn Brown

Junior guard Shalee Lehning attempts a shot over KU sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs. Lehning scored a career-high 29 points and also added 17 rebounds to her effort.

LAWRENCE - With 4:09 left in the game and the K-State lead cut to 52-50 by KU sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs, the Wildcats' chance at a win and a regular-season Big 12 Conference title seemed to be fading.

Coming directly out of a timeout by K-State coach Deb Patterson, the Wildcats got a three-pointer from senior guard Kimberly Dietz with 3:57 left and held the Jayhawks scoreless for the remainder of the game to win 61-50 and clinch at least a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season crown. K-State last won the Big 12 title during the 2003-04 season.

If Baylor, which needs a win to tie the Wildcats for the crown, loses its final home game tonight against Oklahoma State, K-State will take sole possession of the regular season title. Patterson said she was proud of her team's run through Big 12 play.

"[K-State's] a team I think through Big 12 regular season was very tough minded, resilient and, regardless of the type of game they might have had to play, they found ways to adjust, to adapt, to make enough big plays and to find themselves in position to be Big 12 champs is extraordinary," Patterson said.

Depending on the Baylor result, K-State will be either the No. 1 seed, with a Bears loss, or the No. 2 seed, with a Baylor win, when the Wildcats play their first game in the Big 12 tournament during second-round action Wednesday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

K-State (21-8, 13-3 Big 12) led by as many as 13 points with 13:20 left in the game, but by the 6:18 mark of the second half the Jayhawks (15-14, 4-12 Big 12) had pulled within seven points with a three-point basket from sophomore guard Kelly Kohn.

After a basket and a free throw from Jacobs, KU closed within four points, and after the Jayhawks pulled within two points at 52-50, Patterson called a timeout.

Patterson later said the team wasn't playing at its best on offense.

"We weren't probably connecting on all cylinders on the offensive end as a team, but that's where [junior guard Shalee] Lehning felt like she was about 80 percent of the offense," Patterson said. "When we needed a big play, she was the big playmaker and then, down the stretch, Dietz steeped up and made a big three."

When Dietz launched a 9-0 run with a three-point basket, allowing K-State to ease its way to the win, Dietz said she was initially looking for sophomore guard Kari Kincaid to take a shot, but Kincaid found the senior for the shot.

"Me and my teammates, we just read each other so well," Dietz said. "I just looked for Kari, and I thought she was going to take a three, and then she just dribbled up and looked for me in the corner. It was a great pass and I ended up hitting it."

Lehning led the Wildcats in scoring with 29 points, a new career-high, and recorded a double-double by adding 17 rebounds. It was the second time in the past three games Lehning, who scores 10.5 points per game, scored more than 20 points.

"The opportunities have arose for me to score more, we haven't changed anything," Lehning said. "My mentality is just to contribute to my team whatever we need that night. Tonight, it was for me to do more offensively, other nights it's for me to do other things."

Dietz scored 16 points to aid the K-State win and junior forward Marlies Gipson added ten points. KU was led by sophomore guard Danielle McCray's 17 points while Jacobs added 14.

To win the Big 12 regular season title was a turnaround from the Wildcats' 4-12 Big 12 record from the 2006-07 season. One year ago, K-State struggled to get into the NIT. Now, the Wildcats are looking to be a top-four seeded team in the NCAA tournament. They are the first team in Big 12 history to finish in last place one year and win the conference the next. Lehning said the success and reward is something K-State doesn't take for granted.

"We've been on the other end, and we know what it's like to lose, but now when we have success and we have worked for everything we have gotten," she said. "That's something that separates us from others."