Apr 1, 2006 3 min read

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Shalee Lehning had no idea she was on the verge of a triple-double in the biggest game and in front of the biggest crowd of her life. Lehning had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Kansas State took charge in the final 7 minutes to beat Marquette 77-65 Friday night in the WNIT championship.

“I just was out there trying to help my team,” said Lehning, a 5-foot-9 point guard and one of three freshmen starters for Kansas State (24-10). “I didn’t really know what the stats were.”

Lehning helped lead a quick, aggressive defense which forced 19 turnovers.

Kimberly Dietz had 21 points and Twiggy McIntyre 16 points for Kansas State, which finished tied for sixth in the Big 12 Conference but has now won its first postseason tournament as an NCAA program.

Everyone was so excited about the sellout at Bramlage Coliseum, there was initial confusion as to how many people were really in the building. Kansas State first said it was 13,500. Then it changed the official tally to 13,340, full capacity and the second-largest crowd in the history of the WNIT.

“Our crowds were awesome. Earlier today when we found out it was sold out, we thought, ‘Man, that is so great,”‘ said Claire Coggins, who scored in double figures in all but one of the five WNIT games and was named tournament MVP.

“We were just so excited. I have never been somewhere where the fans are that awesome.”

Danielle Kamm had 16 points for Marquette (22-11). Jasmine McCullough had 13 and Carolyn Kieger 10.

“Any time you go anywhere on the road it is going to be tough,” McCullough said. “You can’t let the other team’s fans get to you. We came into tonight’s game knowing there was going to be a big crowd. But we just tried to focus on the game and playing like we know how to play.”

Krystal Ellis, who was averaging 17.5 points in the postseason before Friday, had only four points on 1-for-6 shooting against Kansas State’s swarming defense. She played with one wrist wrapped.

“She’s had it wrapped the last couple of weeks,” Marquette coach Terri Mitchell said. “She’s had a fantastic tournament until today and the other players really came out and stepped it up.”

Marquette 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 Coggins, made it 63-58 and then Dietz’ layup made it 65-58 and the Golden Eagles never caught up.

“I can’t say enough about how rare it is to see a packed house anywhere in the womens’ game,” Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said. “To have an opportunity to compete for a championship in front of a sellout is something I hope these players remember for their lifetime.”