8K empty seats: Kansas State Women fall to Stanford
By Stan Unruh
The Kansas State women’s basketball season ended Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats lost to Stanford 69-48.
Jeff Mittie’s team lost to one of the best teams in NCAA Division one history in their bid for a trip to the Sweet 16.
It’s unfortunate the Wildcats lost. They had a great season with 23 wins and a fourth-place finish in the tough Big 12 conference.
What is more disappointing, there were 8500 empty seats at Bramlage Coliseum.
The official attendance total for Monday night’s game between two of the best women’s basketball teams in the country 3,969.
There were just over 4000 in the stands for Saturday’s game.
As I recall, fans packed Bramlage for the UConn game back in December.
This was an NCAA tournament game with 8500 empty seats?
Kansas State is among the nation’s leaders in average attendance at over 5,000 a game. It’s embarrassing.
I suppose watching on line or ESPN hurt attendance. However, there is no excuse for the poor attendance. Every girls high school coach in the state should have had his team in the stands.
Kansas State had a tough night against a superior team. While the Wildcats started strong, the game got away from them in the second quarter.
The Wildcats had a very difficult time getting rebounds. When Stanford missed a shot, they usually got the offensive rebound. They had 17-2 edge in second chance points and outscored the Wildcats in points off turnovers 20-4.
The ‘Cats had a tough time scoring to start the second quarter and were down ten points quickly. They trailed by 18 at the half.
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When Stanford scored 8 of the first 9 points of the second half, it was obvious how this game would end.
Despite the loss, Jeff Mittie and Kansas State women’s basketball program can be proud of the tradition they are building as they look toward next season.