Rice University
Kansas State
Kansas State Deals Owls 83-54 Loss at Sun & Fun
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2006
Miami, Fla. -
Kimberly Dietz scored a game-high 23 points, including six three-pointers, and Kansas State shot a sizzling 61.9 percent from long distance to hand Rice an 83-54 loss Friday in the first round of the Florida International Sun & Fun Classic at Pharmed Arena. The Wildcats (11-1) will take on host FIU, a 73-59 winner in the opener, in the championship game Saturday, while Rice (7-5) faces George Mason in the consolation game at 4:30 pm.
Kansas State was 13-21 from three-point distance, the second most treys ever allowed by Rice, and four Wildcats scored in double figures.
Senior forward Lauren Neaves set a Rice career record for total rebounds with her second board of the game at the 8:05 mark in the first half, surpassing the 24-year-old record of 991 set by Goya Qualls from 1979-82.
Maudess Fulton matched her season high with 16 points for the Owls, and Whitney McCauley notched a career-best 13 points, including three three-pointers, before going down with an injury midway through the second half. Rice had a dreadful night shooting, hitting only 31.3 percent from the field and 47.4 percent from the free throw line.
The Wildcats rolled to an early lead, going up 12-4 with 14:44 to go before Kadie Riverin hit a jumper and McCauley canned her second three to knot the score at 14-14 four minutes later. Rice took its first lead on a Neaves free throw with 9:33 remaining, and a Krystal Frazier basket made it 18-17 Rice with 6:50 on the clock. Marlies Gipson scored and Claire Coggins hit a three-pointer two minutes later to give Kansas State a 25-20 lead, and the Wildcats increased the margin by two to head into the half with a 34-27 lead.
Coggins keyed an early Wildcat run to open the second half, putting her team up by 13 at 42-29 with 17:16 left. A layup and free throw by Valeriya Berezhynska cut Kansas State's lead to nine with 14:36 to go, but missed shots and a porous defense allowed the Wildcats to go up by 17 four minutes later on a Dietz trey. Riverin's jumper with 6:55 on the clock dropped the margin to 16 at 64-48, but the Owls would never get closer as Kansas State went wild from long distance in the closing minutes.
Shalee Lehning had a game-high nine rebounds and seven assists for Kansas State, while Shana Wheeler blocked six shots for the Wildcats. Berezhynska had a team-high eight boards for Rice.
