The Manhattan Mercury from Manhattan, Kansas • 11

THE MANHATTAN MERCURY SPORTS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 6, 2005 No. 5 KSU Wildcats open season today against Purdue Academic All-District sec-" ond team; Big 12 Commis-, sioner's honor rolL Heading into her senior season, Ohlde has been tabbed again as a candidate for both the Wade Trophy and Naismith awards, selected to the inaugural John Wooden Women's Award preseason All-American, team and named to several other preseason can squads. with Dave O'Brien calling. the play-by-play and Ana Meyers providing the color commentary. Game will be preceded by No.

2 Duke and No. 3 Texas. 1 America Sports' Network with Steve Webster the play-by-play, Missy erHeldrick, Ohlde among ESPN.com's best: The pre-, season honors continue to roll in for Ohlde, On Friday Keener Tippin Sports Writer The 6-5 senior is poised to ESPN.com tabbed the 6-5 earn yet another item for her i senior center from Clay Cen iropny case una atiernoon ai ter bne 0f nation's too Purdue's Mackey Arena fiveplayers. -i" Ohlde was named to the 4 fourth-annual preseason All-America team selected by ESPN.com columnists for the first time in her career. Ohlde is just seven points shy of becoming K-State's all-time leading scorer with 1,699 career points heading into today's nationally-tele vised contest on ESPN2.The Cha was tintst itn ia foam significance of the accora- r.nn.

My, how time flies when you're having fun. To Deb Patterson it seems like just yesterday when Nicole Ohlde first stepped on the Bramlage Coliseum as the No. 5 Kansas State women's bas- ketball team's regular sea-: son commences at 4 p.m. this afternoon against Purdue in West in the, 11th annual State Farm Tip- Off Classic, so too is it the dawn of the final season of. Ohlde's brilliant career in a Wildcat uniform.

s' "Can we go back," Patter- son asks with a laugh. "It's very difficult to conceive of; Nicole Ohlde not being here forever. 1 guess that's just a part of the maturation and growth as a coaching staff you need to go through when you have a young person of her caliber and a player of her quality. I think Nicole i has exemplified everything. 4 that you've wanted your program to exemplify." -Indeed she has.

A Fri 4 -v ftI jr tt I plishment, perhaps coming in one of the premiere events in women's college basket-' ball, is not lost on Patterson. "How appropriate would necticut's Diana Taurasl, Stanford's Nicole Powell and Minnesota's Lindsay I Whalen. 1 According to ESPN ana-' lyst Nancy Lieberman; Ohlde is a "great post who also has a Magic Johnson-like skill of delivering the, it be for Nicole to go into a game like the one we're about to play at Purdue and to achieve that milestone," r' Patterson said. "I think she's been an absolutely phenom-, enal factor in the evolution of not just this team but this balL" i 1 Junior All-American 6 Kendra Wecker was one of. nine players also considered for the.

All-America program and it's history. Ohlde is poised to shatter mi the 12-yea-old scoring She received honorable mention status. V'- record currently held by Since coming to, K-State four years ago as a gangly 1 Diana Miller, who played for frohmn from r.lflv renter the Wildcats from 1987-91 Best of the best: Not only is Ohlde one of tb top five cen ters in the country and on the Staff photo by Rod Mikinski Kansas State guard Tim Ellis scored 15 points against Global Sports. Newcomers lift 'Cats "cusp of shattering the-; school's all-time leading 'women's scorer, she is also currently the fifth best scor- and amassed 1,705 points over four seasons, Patterson said it is "very special" to see that Ohlde has put herself in position to break the record so early in her senior campaign, 7 v' "I don't think that anyone' would argue that she's made who primarily played point guard on her high school team, Ohlde has blossomed into one of the top centers in the nation. She has accumulated quite a substantial basketball portfolio, en route to becoming a building block in the Wildcats rise to national er in school history men or women.

Ohlde trails only Tom Fontana Sports Writer Mike Evans Rolando Ell's career No. 1, From Page B1 ond half is how his day should be defined. "Ell did some things from a leadership standpoint during the past two or three days that I havent seen said KSU coach Bill Snyder. "He really stepped up in that respect." Snyder then listed how his QB got up and visited with our football team, spent more time watching tape, and his demeanor on the practice field was at a heightened level on how hp took control of things," Snyder said. And then he took those things to the Memorial Stadium Field turf dismantling the famed Blackshirt defense of the Corn-h'uskers for 561 yards.

"His leadership was just great such command on the field," sajd Wildcat receiver Antoine Polite. "Being a senior in his final game here, I was really proud of him." In true Roberson-fashion, he said, "The guys just made plays for me. I take my hat off to them. Myline protected me all day. I was never hurried." Roberson said that all the Wildcats hear is how Nebraska ism another class.

On this day, they were second class. Roberson was totally first class, and admitted, "I really wanted to get this one to be remembered in history." Oh, Roberson has had a number of great games, which included defeating Nebraska last year, 49-13, when he rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns, and passed for 92. But that was against a mediocre 7-7 Nebraska team; that game was at KSU Stadium. This game was different. Oh, Roberson had scored 19 victories in his 28 previous starts as the Wildcat quarterback; he had wins over No.

11 USC and No. 21 Iowa State to his credit; and, he had a win in the Holiday Bowl, as well. -But nowhere was that as they say one shining moment. That defining game to a record-breaking career. Until now.

Now, he's like the Wildcat greats that preceded him: Lynn Dickey: K-State 59, No. 11 Oklahoma 21, in 1969. Clad in white shoes, Dickey completed 28 passes to eight receivers for 380 yards. The 59 points were the most ever given up by a Sooner football team; it was K-State's first win over OU since 1934. "Lynn was so cocky and confident, he thought he could beat anyone," reflected coach Vince Gibson.

"That day he would have defeated anyone." Michael Bishop: K-Sate 40, No. 11 Nebraska 30 in 1998. It ended a 29-game losing streak to the Cornhuskers and earned K-State its first Big 12 North Division title. Bishop passed for 306 yards, rushed for 140 and accounted for four touchdowns. Afterward, offensive coordinator Ron Hudson said, "I've never coached a guy like that and I don't think many people in the stands have ever seen a guy like that." Jonathan Beasley: K-State 29, No.

4 Nebraska 28 in 2000. Not in the history of Wildcat football had the Purples won against a team ranked that high. Beasley hit on just a dozen passes, but for 234 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Coming from behind, Beasley rifled a snowball pass for a 12-yard score to Quincy Morgan in the game's final three minutes. For Beasley, a part of 22 Wildcat wins in just two years and the only two-game winning Wildcat quarterback in bowl games it was his defining game.

Now, Roberson, deservingly so, has his one shining moment. prominence. aujwuc The reigning Big 12 Con- vef nas i Kansas State ference Player.of the Year 'women's basketball. histo- Blackman Askla -Jottes. (1,834) and Miller Probable Starters Kansas State has come of aee.

bein2i.rJ auerson saia. I exciied for her, excited for our "program." It's surely ai real fitting accomplishment; for her to be recognized for 1 Game Notes Television: ESPN2 (Manhattan channel 33) named to the Associated Press First Team All-America squad; USBWA All-Amer- all-conference; Naismith and Wade Trophy player of the year finalist; Preseason WNTT all-tournament team; Verizon iC 0 Laurie Koeho, 5-8, Jr I Purdue i rShereka Wright, 5-10. Sr Emily Heikes, fr0t Jr Beth Jones, 541 Sr KSU earns two top-10 finishes at regionals But the Wildcats failed to pull away from Global Sports, leading 37-33 at halftime. Global Sports was led by Jason Blair, who finished with 18 points, but scored nine points in the first half, five of which came in the last 3:13. K-State led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but saw that lead quickly dwindle, making only three buckets in the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Jermaine Lewis nailed a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining in the game, giving Global Sports its first lead since the 12:51 mark of the first half. Following a Wildcat time out, Martin sunk a spinning layup with 40 seconds remaining, giving the 'Cats the lead for good. "I told the guys after the game that it's a good learning experience for us," Wooldridge said. "Fortunately we came out on the winning side of it. We had to do some different things own the stretch to win.

"We made some winning plays," he said. "We made some negative plays that we will be able to teach these guys not to do. So it was a good experience playing in a close game, and coming out with a win." K-State begins regular season play next Friday at 8:30 p.m. against Birmingham-Southern at Bramlage Coliseum. Oklahoma State took home the team title on the men's side with a total of 78.

On the women's side, Culbertson had a career best at the annual meet, finishing ninth with a time of 21:36. Missouri's Amanda Bales won the meet in a time of 21:18. Kansas State finished 21st overall with 499 points. Big 12 opponents Nebraska (60) and Missouri (63) finished first and second, respectively, and will represent Region at the NCAA National Championships on Nov. 25 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

The regional championships marked the end of the team season for the Wildcats, however K-State will likely have individuals at the NCAA Championships when the field is announced later this week. STILLWATER, Okla. The Kansas State cross country teams concluded their season Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Region Cross Championships in Stillwater, with a pair of top-ten finishes. Mathew Chesang finsihed third on the men's side while Trisha Culbertson finished ninth in the women's race. Chesang earned his second consecutive top ten finish at the meet when his time of 31:02 placed him third behind his brother, Kansas' Benson Chesang (30:41) and Mindaugas Pukstas of Oklahoma State Overall, the Kansas State men finished in 13th place with 342 points.

Rogers Kipchumba also had a strong showing, finishing in 14th place (3136), followed by Joe Moore in 70th Hiral Bhakta, 119th and Ben Owen, 136th The several new faces on the K-State men's basketball team are quickly becoming household names. For the second straight game, it was the K-State newcomers that put on a show, as the Wildcats defeated Global Sports 70-68 Saturday night at Bramlage Coliseum. Junior college transfer Jeremiah Massey led K-State in both rebounds and scoring, falling one rebound short of a double-double. Massey pulled down nine boards and tied for the team lead in points with Tim Ellis with 15 points. "I was just trying to get to the basket more," Massey said.

"Last week I was just nonchalant, just playing a role. This week coach was telling me all week in practice just to go harder. That was my intentions." With six new players seeing action in only their second game in a Wildcat uniform, coach Jim Wooldridge said growing pains are to be expected. "We're learning a lot about this team," he said. "Every day's a new day.

We've got a lot of new guys playing. I don't know that anything really surprises us right now." Freshman Cartier Martin and Dez Willingham each finished with 10 points, the second straight double-digit game for Martin. After getting the opening-game jitters over with last week in a 79-67 loss to EA Sports, Willingham said the second game went a bit smoother. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "I wasn't as nervous today.

I just went out there and played, and we got the win." Both teams got off to a slow start with the first basket scored 1:44 into the first half. After Tim Kisner of Global sports knocked down a three-pointer at the 9:39 mark, the 'Cats went on an 8-0 run, capped off by back-to-back buckets by Ellis, giving K-State an eight-point lead. Wildcat fans go crazy over historic win A TO GLOBAL SPORTS (68) Name Mln KG FT Peterson 20 3-8 0-0 5 1 2 35 4-1010-11 12 2-5 3-3 3 0 3 1 21 2-8 31 5-13 9 0-0 0 4 0 Blair Adams Baker Riley Curry Kisner Lewis Broxsie Bacon Harris Totals 1-2 0-0 0-0 04 04 0-0 04 1 21 19 14 0 0 2-3 4-5 2-2 0- 2 1- 3 0 1 ZOO 25-59 14-1 33 14 1319 KANSAS STATE (70) A TO Nam Mln FG 31 7-14 31 4-12 23 1-2 marching band. "Wabash, that way! Wabash, that way!" yelled band leader Frank Tracz, pointing upward and behind the band. The band turned around and played Wabash Cannonball again, and again for the happy K-Staters.

There were still two minutes left in the game. Nearby, where some of the parents of the players were seated, Jay and Sherry Lowe, parents of redshirt freshman linebacker Sean Lowe, from Arlington, Texas, and soon-to-be parents-in-law of senior defensive end Andrew Shull (Shull is marrying the Lowe's daughter, Shay, in March of next year) just soaked it all in. "Oh, my gosh," Sherry said, laughing and having difficulty describing how she was feeling. "The post-game party right down there," Jay said.pointing to the corner of the field where the players would gather just minutes later after the game to high-five and salute the K-State fans, "will be a dream come true, I'm telling you." And, for many fans, like Lynn, the Wrights, the that's exactly what it was when the game was finally over. High-fives and hugs were liberally exchanged.

There was no hurry to go home, or to Aggieville, or to Wyoming. People stayed, and the band played. No. 3, From Page B1 to 1955 or 1956, they weren't sure of the year, except that K-State had won that year, too. This one felt "wonderful," Jackie said, her smile saying the rest.

Hervey noted that it was quite a sight, unprecedented in K-State's history here, that "with 10 minutes left, a big mass of red (Nebraska fans) walked out of here." As the Husker fans departed in earnest, that left a solid throng of several thousand purple-clad members of Wagner Field North in the southwest corner of the stadium. Near field level at the bottom of that mass was a downsized version of the K-State FT 1-2 1-2 1- 2 2- 2 3- 4 04 04 Massey Martin Hayden Ellis Richards Harris Willingham Williams Hughes 33 23 15 17 20 6-10 1-8 1-5 4-7 1-4 0 3 3-4 0-0 6 2-2 0 3 10 15 Totals 200 27-C2 11-1 3617 35. Global Sports K-State 37 33 70 3-point goals Global Sports 4-11 (Peterson 0-1, Blair 0-2, Baker 0-1, Riley 1-3, Kisner 2-3, Lewis 1-1); KSU 5-17 (Martin 1-4, Ellis 1-4, Harris 1-5, Willingham 2-4). Officials Hall, Jackson, Groom. Attendance 5,777.

Ell of a victory: Kansas State 58, Nebraksa 'Cats make (recent) history Huskers Humbled K-Slate Nebraska 7 16 21 38 6 7 6 269 first Quarter KSU 31, NU 7 "-55 Terry, 37-yard past from Robertoa Seven plays, 56 yards with the TD coming on a 3rd and 18 play. PAT: Rbeem, kick. KSU SI. NU 6 NU. safety KSU Punter Jared Brite runs outof the end zone giving NU its only points of the half.

KSU 38, NU 6 1 ai HSU'S Ayo Saba, 6-yard run After a Josh Buhl recovered fumble, K-State goes 51 yards on three plays, which included a 41-yard run by Sproles. PAT: Rbeem, kick. Attendance: 78,614 (Sodium capacity: rushing for a season-high of 561 yards. Sproles rushed for 140, which included 76 in the second half. Roberson added another 90.

Roberson hit 15-of-28 passes for 313 yards with six of those passes caught by Terry for a career-high 175 yards. "They just outplayed us today," said NU linebacker Demorrio Williams fter seeing his team fall to 4-3 in the Big 12 and 8-3 overall. "That's all I can say." Kansas State is now 5-2 in the Big 12 and 9-3 overall heading into a final regular-season game Saturday at 6 p.m. at KSU Stadium against Missouri. "We're not where we want to be, yet," said KSU strong safety Rashad Washington.

"We have one more victory to go." scoring on a 6-yard run with 1:31 remaining. The only KSKU first-half score came on a 22-yard run by the 5-8, 188-pound Sproles, who carried the 6-0, 220-pound TJ. Holowell the final five yards into the end zone. Nebraska's lone score of the game was on a 6-yard Lord to Mark LeFlore pass, with that drive started by an interception in the end zone and 41-yard return by Josh Bullock. The pick was the first thrown by Roberson in 106 attempts, dating back to the Oklahoma State game.

Of the low-scoring first half, Snyder said, "We had a sparring match going on until we got things figured out K-State had a whopping 313 yards passing and another 248 No. 2, From Page B1 yard touchdown. "That's a play I dreamed about last night I sat up in bed deaming about it," Roberson said. "I left the field thinking, "My dream came Terry also said he dreamed of cjatching a touchdown, but was surprised that his quarterback 4id as well. "He dreamed about me?" quipped Terry.

After a James McGill pass interception, Roberson and Terry were dream-like again, this time from 37 yards out, upping the count to 31-7 just one play into the fourth quarter. "The third quarter was disastrous and the fourth quarter dldnt get any better," said NU coach, Frank Solich. "Once you get down and you have some big plays against you and you fail to make some big plays, the score separates." At the time K-State had totaled 182 second-half yards on 26 plays, compared to Nebraska's 41 yards on 10 plays. "They're a good team, but not a great team," defensive coordinator Bob Elliott said of the Wildcats' defensive play. But when quizzed about giving up just 77 second-half yards, he said, "I'm not sure if I expected that.

Now I'm not sure what we're capable of." Snyder added of the second-half defense, "Obviously, not to give up a score means we played awfully well." K-State did all the scoringthe rest of the way taking an intentional safety and then Ayo Saba KSU Nek 28 18 53-248 41-195 313 98 18-28-3 8-26-2 45 60 0-0 2-2 743 1-5 33:22 26:38 Firstdowns Rushes-yards Passing Comp-Att-Int ReturnYardt Puntt-Avg Fumblet-Lost Penalties-Yards TlmeofPossession liuniviniui KSU7.NU0 1:35 KSU'! Sproles, 22-yard run A five-play, 74-yard drive highlighted by a 40-yard pass to James Terry. PAT: Joe Rbeem, kick- Second Quarter KSU 7, NU 7 7:11 NlTs Mark Leflore, (-yard pass from Jammal Lord An eight-play, 50-yard drive following an interception return of 41-yards by Josh Bullocks. Key play: 26-yard pass on third-down to Cory Ross to the KSU-12. PAT: David Dycbes. Uct Third Quarter KSU 14.

NU 66 KSlTs Ell Robertoa, 11-yard ma KSU takes advantage of an Andrew Shull fumble recovery caused by a Bryan Hickman hit on Lord. The Wildcats use four plays to go 23 yards. PAT: Rbeem, kick. KSU 17. NU 7 6-J6 Joe Rbeem, 27-yard field goal KSU drive's to the NU-10 before settling for the field goal capping a 15-play, 70-yard drive Fourth Quarter KSU 24, NU 7 14:36 Janes Terry, 63-yards from Robertoa A reverse from Sproles to Joe Lawson resu lted in a 29-yard punt return.

On the next play, Roberson hits Terry. PAT: Raeen, kick. RUSHING Kansas St, Sproles 25-140 Roberson 22-00, Wilson 2-14, Saba 2-10, Moi era 1-5, team Hmlnut 11X Nebraska, Lord 21-88, Ross lfr87, Fluellen 1-13, Davis 1-10 Kriewald 1-3, Dalley 1-Unlnus 6). PASSING-Kanta St, Roberson 15-28-3-313. Nebraska.

Lord 8-26-2-W. RECEIVING Kansas St, Terry S-175. Polite 5-54, Casey 247, Dennis 2-17. Nebraska, Fluellen 2-25, Hertan 2-21, Pilkinaton 2-20, Ross 1-26, LeFlore 1-S..