Brittany Chambers continued her outstanding play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament leading three teammates in double figures as the Kansas State Women’s Basketball team continued its magical run with a 66-48 victory over Illinois in a Quarterfinal game before 1,717 Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum.
The two teams traded baskets early before K-State went on a 15-0 run to extend their lead to 22-8 with 9:51 left in the first half. Illinois however was not going to roll over for the Cats as they responded with a 9-0 surge of their own to cut the lead to 22-17 in a 2:19 span. Chambers then knocked down a three-point basket and the Wildcats were able to regain their momentum on their way to a 34-24 halftime lead.
From there K-State was able to maintain a relatively comfortable margin as the Illini never got closer than nine points the rest of the way. Chambers was the leading scorer with 21 points, Chantay Caron had her best game of the tournament so far with 19 points and Haley Texada added 16. Karisma Penn led Illinois with 20 points as the Illni finished their season with a record of 19-14.
Kansas State (19-17) with its 11th winning season in the last 12 years now secured, will host Utah in a semifinal showdown on Wednesday, April 3. The Runnin’ Utes outlasted St. Mary’s of California on Saturday 58-55. This marks K-State’s third trip to the WNIT Final Four, they won the tournament in 2006 and advanced to the semifinals in 2007. The Wildcats are now 13-0 all-time in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament in games played in the Octagon of Doom.
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