Wildcats attempt to remain undefeated in home tournament

The undefeated women’s basketball team returns home Friday as they play host to the annual Commerce Bank Wildcat Classic.
Coming off their second road trip of the season, the Wildcats (5-0) will face Alcorn State (0-7) at 6 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats have fared well in the past at the Wildcat Classic, having won nine tournament titles in the 12-year history of the event and they have won the previous two tournaments.
“This tournament is something that we take pride in because it is the one tournament that our fans get to watch, so we are really excited for this,” said senior guard Shalee Lehning.
With a perfect 5-0 record heading into the Wildcat Classic, the Wildcats recently were ranked 23rd by the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. The Wildcats will look to improve on their record as they face a struggling Alcorn State team led by first-year head coach Tonya Edwards.
“I think that first-round game we can’t take anyone lightly,” associate head coach Kamie Ethridge said. “We have to be better ourselves, and we have to work on our stuff - we’re going to make sure we’re ready for Alcorn State.”
Both Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State come to Manhattan representing the Southwest Athletic Conference. Historically, K-State is 13-0 when facing members of the SWAC and head coach Deb Patterson is 8-0 against the conference in her 13 years at the helm of the Wildcats.
In their previous meeting on Dec. 2, 2006, the Wildcats defeated Alcorn State 81-41.
However, despite what history shows, Ethridge is determined that the Alcorn State Braves remain focused.
“You can’t think too much about your opponent, you’ve got to really concentrate on what you do to be successful,” Ethridge said.
The University of Arkansas, representing the SEC in the Wildcats Classic, provides a possible matchup that could serve as an early test for the Wildcats. The Razorbacks come into the tournament with a 6-1 record after knocking off Memphis (5-2) at Memphis on Wednesday.
“The chance to play Arkansas — those are the types of players that we are going to play in the Big 12 night in and night out,” Ethridge said. “Everything in a preseason schedule [gives you a chance] to see different types of styles and different types of players and different types of teams and prepare yourself for what you are going to see in your league.”
The Wildcats will look to use their home court advantage this weekend to continue and build momentum heading into Big 12 Conference play which begins Jan. 10 against Kansas.
“It’s going to be a constant upward hill for us,” Lehning said. “There is going to be no pinnacle, hopefully. We can’t look at the polls, and we can’t look at our 5-0 record, because it takes one game to knock us off. So we have to make sure we maintain our focus and our competitive spirit.”