In addition, according to the ESPN Programming Guide, there will be extended coverage of the tournament in the hour following the selection show, only on ESPNU.

Marlies had a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds, leaving her with 45 points for the week. Ashley added 13 points, and Kari had nine. One other thing: Shalee shot 70% from the field.

Our women's basketball program has had so many exceptional young women during the Patterson era. Shalee is always quick to recognize her teammates. Now the time has come for the university to thank Shalee for what by any measure I can think of has been the finest example of leadership and team play ever witnessed in this program.

The largest lead of the game may have been the nine-point margin of victory. The Cats weren't playing as loose as usual. They clearly wanted this victory, and I felt they played somewhat lower-risk ball than is usually the case. Once again, we saw the confidence gained from the conference championship keeping them composed when the Yellow-Shoed Bluebirds would make a run at them.

Let's not go any farther without a tip of the hat to Marlies Gipson. She hit several critical jump shots to keep us in the lead. Marlies finished with 23 points, shot 66% and was perfect from the line. She also had four blocks — sufficient to keep her in third place in NCAA Division I — and let's not overlook her eight rebounds. Ashley Sweat was big-time for us, as well. She went 7 of 11 in field goals for 64%, and hit 4 of 5 free throws, some of them very valuable for keeping our momentum. Shalee Lehning had 13 points, and hit 4 of 5 on free throws. Her six assists moved her into third place in the Big 12 career assist list, as you can see in the table above.

K-State fans did a nice job of showing up for this early call in Larry. Once again we outnumbered KU fans, but we didn't fill the building, so let's work on that for next year.

It was fascinating to watch Coach P in time outs. I sat behind the team for a number of years, and today I saw a different approach. She virtually never drew up a play. Instead, she was extremely animated, acting out things she had seen on the court. With this veteran team, she doesn't need to teach the game. She seemed to be demonstrating maneuvers that she didn't want to see any more. She was intense, seeming to be telling the Cats that they could handle whatever was put before them, if they would focus on it. I thought it was an amazing job of coaching, well-suited to this group of players.

As this is written, there are three teams in the AP Top 25 that are undefeated. Only five ranked teams have a better record. Our Cats are taking us on an exceptional ride. I hope we will all deliver the kind of support and home court advantage that this amazing team deserves.

Whoops! I'm back in here to add this tidbit: K-State has defeated KU in 16 of the last 17 meetings. The Squawks' millionaire coach, Bonnie Henrickson, now holds a rather modest 1-10 record against the K-State Cats.

About the Cats... Ashley Sweat, a strong candidate for Big 12 Player of the Week, scored at a clip of .68/minute, so had she played 40 minutes, there's 27 points for her. Marlies Gipson had similar numbers, with 14 points in 23 minutes, plus three sweet blocks. Captain Lehning had 12 assists in 26 minutes (.46/minute), which extrapolates to 18½ assists for a 40-minute game! Shalee is comfortably leading NCAA Division I in assists at this time. Kelsey Nelson had three beautiful three-pointers, adding 11 points. Shalin Spani added seven points, and Branshea Brown had eight. Finally, Kari Kincaid tossed in three three-pointers, finishing with 10 points.

Note: KU is reportedly bringing buses of fans next Saturday. Come on, Cat fans. Let's keep the blue out!

Anyway, it appears that it's not uncommon to have two career triple-doubles, but going beyond that is rare. Here's what the NCAA records show:

• 7  Suzie McConnell, Penn St.  1985-88
• 6  Nicole Powell, Stanford  2000-04
• 5  Cheryl Taylor, Tennessee Tech  1984-87
• 3  Sheryl Swoopes, Texas Tech  1992-93

Ashley Sweat added 22 points to her 30 from Sunday, and she has another game on Saturday. I see a Big 12 Player of the Week in her immediate future. Marlies Gipson had another fine outing, with 17 points on 8 of 12 shooting. She had six blocks in the game. Marlies and Olga have the K-State record, which is seven. The Big 12 record for blocked shots in a game is 10.

I almost failed to mention that Shalee broke 1,000 career points tonight!

Alright fans: KU is coming to town on Jan. 10, and the students won't be back yet. The word on the message boards is that KU is tired of us coming over to Frog Allen Field House and messing with them, so they have booked a few buses for their game here in January. Let's squish this effort on their part.

K-State equaled the all-time best start for women's basketball, namely the first 11 games won. That record has stood for 40 years. Good luck against 4-5 Washington on Tuesday, Cats!

Oh, and one more thing: Marlies became K-State's leading career shot blocker this afternoon with her six blocks. This put her total at 209, surpassing First Team All-American Nicole Ohlde's 204. Keep in mind that Marlies missed an entire conference season when she hurt her knee. That is, Marlies broke the record in 92 games played, vs. the 126 that Ohlde took to set her record. What a tremendous senior season Ms. Gipson is having!

That said, let's not overlook Ashley Sweat's outstanding night. She went 7-10 from the field and 4-4 from the line for 18 points, leading all scorers. Congratulations to Ashley, Shalee and all the Cats for fine night in Arkansas.

• Entries #1 & 2 — June 23 & 25
• Entries #3 & 4 — June 26 & 27
• Entries #5 & 6 — June 28 & 29
• Entries #7 & 8 — June 30 & July 1

There's also a photo gallery along with it.