In what is becoming an annual pilgrimage for Kansas State women’s basketball fans, thousands of people sporting purple packed Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
And what is becoming even more unfortunate for Kansas University fans, the Wildcats again dominated the Sunflower State showdown. K-State won for the third straight time with an 88-49 runaway rout, handing the Jayhawks their worst-ever home loss.
“Our fans are so loyal to us, and we just want to give them thanks,” said Wildcat Kendra Wecker, praising the nearly 4,000 purple-clad fans that more than made themselves noticed with noise and signs, one of which read: “Bramlage East.”
“They did their job again going on the road,” she said.
So did fourth-ranked Kansas State, mostly behind the effort of their in-state talents. Starters Laurie Koehn of Moundridge, Nicole Ohlde of Clay Center and Marysville’s Wecker outscored the Jayhawks by themselves, 50-49.
The trio connected on 18 of 35 shots — including nine three-pointers — grabbed 19 rebounds and dished out nine assists.
“They’ve got three players who’ve been playing together since the seventh grade that play in the offseason together and know each other very well,” Kansas coach Marian Washington said. “There’s nothing we can do to be able to overcome that kind of advantage.”
Early on, it certainly showed.
Kansas State opened the game with a 13-4 run, with Wecker hitting two threes and a free throw, Ohlde adding a basket along with a free throw and Koehn swishing another three.
“It’s their home court and they want to come out and be aggressive,” Wecker said of KU, adding she didn’t realize how successful her own squad’s start was until the first media time out.
KSU coach Deb Patterson lit into her players at halftime, saying it wasn’t the margin of the score (41-30) that had her disappointed, but that her team wasn’t playing to its potential.
The Wildcats responded in the final 20 minutes.
K-State opened the half with a 10-2 run and closed out things with a 35-10 spurt during the last 14 minutes.
Wecker scored 11 points in the second half, Ohlde added 10 and Koehn scored eight more, despite leaving midway through the half after re-aggravating an ankle injury.
Add in Derby’s Jessica McFarland’s six points off the KSU bench and the Wildcats’ Sunflower State players outscored KU’s in-state products — Leawood’s Blair Waltz, McPherson’s Stacey Becke and Topeka’s Crystal Kemp — 56-14.
Despite the worst loss in the series since 1975, Patterson said playing just East on I-70 wasn’t quite like being at home at Bramlage.
But it wasn’t hostile either.
“It feels like a road game in the sense that we’re on the road in a hostile environment,” she said, “but the support we get from our fans made it feel anything but threatening.”