Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball
The Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball program is the intercollegiate basketball program of the Kansas State Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference.
The team has been invited to 22 NCAA and AIAW tournaments, and was crowned champion of the 2006 Women's National Invitation Tournament. Kansas State is in the top 20 all-time for wins among Division I programs.
The team's head coach is Jeff Mittie. He was hired before the 2014–2015 season, after spending the prior fifteen seasons at TCU.
History
Kansas State began offering women's basketball as an organized intercollegiate sport in the 1968–1969 school year, under head coach Judy Akers. Because the NCAA did not sponsor women's sports until 1982, the governing bodies for women's basketball in the earliest years were the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the AIAW.The Big Eight Conference likewise did not sponsor women's basketball in its earliest years, so Kansas State competed against the University of Kansas, Wichita State, and other state schools for the "Kansas State Conference" championship. Kansas State won eight straight Kansas Conference titles, from 1972 to 1979. The Big Eight Conference began offering a mid-season basketball tournament in the 1975–1976 season, and then began sponsoring a regular season competition in 1982–1983. Kansas State won the first two Big Eight tournament titles, in 1976 and 1977, and then won the first two Big Eight regular season titles, in 1983 and 1984.
The longest-tenured and winningest head coach in team history is Deb Patterson. Patterson spent eighteen years at Kansas State and compiled a 350–226 record. She won two Big 12 Conference titles and a WNIT title. Before Patterson, the winningest coach at Kansas State was Judy Akers, the first coach in program history, who compiled a 206–94 record. Akers also captured eight Kansas State Conference titles and the first two titles in the Big Eight Conference after it began sponsoring women's basketball.
Postseason history
AIAW tournament results
The Wildcats appeared in six AIAW tournaments prior to the creation of the NCAA tournament. In 1971, Kansas State also appeared in the even earlier tournament sponsored by the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, advancing to the Elite Eight.| Year | Result |
| 1973 | Fifth in Tournament |
| 1974 | First Round |
| 1975 | Sixth in Tournament |
| 1977 | Elite Eight |
| 1979 | First Round |
| 1980 | Sweet Sixteen |
NCAA tournament results
The first tournament the NCAA sponsored was the 1982 edition. Kansas State has appeared in 16 NCAA tournaments since that time.| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Results |
| 1982 | #4 | First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #5 Stephen F. Austin
| W 78-75W 76-67 L 93-71 |
| 1983 | #3 | First Round Sweet Sixteen | #6 Illinois State
| W 91-72L 73-70 OT |
| 1984 | #3 | First Round | #6 Northeast Louisiana | L 78-73 |
| 1987 | #9 | First Round | #8 Northwestern | L 62-61 |
| 1997 | #10 | First Round | #7 Saint Joseph's | L 70-52 |
| 2002 | #3 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #14 Kent State
| W 93-65W 82-68 L 82-62 |
| 2003 | #3 | First Round Second Round | #14 Harvard
| W 79-69L 59-53 |
| 2004 | #2 | First Round Second Round | #15 Valparaiso
| W 71-63L 80-61 |
| 2005 | #4 | First Round Second Round | #13 Bowling Green
| W 70-60L 63-60 |
| 2008 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 Chattanooga
| W 69-59L 80-63 |
| 2009 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12 Drexel
| W 68-44L 74-61 |
| 2011 | #8 | First Round | #9 Purdue | L 53-45 |
| 2012 | #8 | First Round Second Round | #9 Princeton
| W 67-64L 72-26 |
| 2016 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8 George Washington #1 South Carolina | W 56-51 L 73-47 |
| 2017 | #7 | First Round Second Round | #10 Drake
| W 67-54L 69-48 |
| 2019 | #9 | First Round | #8 Michigan | L 84-54 |
NCAA Tournament seeding history
| Years → | '82 | '83 | '84 | '87 | '97 | '02 | '03 | '04 | '05 | '08 | '09 | '11 | '12 | '16 | '17 | '19 |
| Seeds→ | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
WNIT results
Kansas State has appeared in the Women's National Invitation Tournament eight times, including the first tournament held, in 1969. Kansas State won the tournament in 2006 and reached the semifinals again in 2007 and 2013.| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1969 | First Round | Wayland Baptist | L 76-21 |
| 1970 | First Round | Wayland Baptist | L 61-43 |
| 1999 | First Round Second Round | Creighton Arkansas State | W 71-60 L 83-70 |
| 2006 | Second Round Third Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship | Idaho State Fresno State Nebraska Western Kentucky Marquette | W 88-68 W 64-61 W 77-63 W 57-56 OT W 77-65 |
| 2007 | Second Round Third Round Quarterfinals Semifinals | Southern Illinois Illinois Auburn Wyoming | W 72-46 W 66-51 W 67-54 L 89-79 3OT |
| 2013 | First Round Second Round Third Round Fourth Round Semifinals | Texas Southern Illinois State Ball State Illinois Utah | W 72-44 W 57-48 W 60-48 W 66-48 L 54-46 OT |
| 2015 | First Round Second Round | Akron Missouri | W 86-68 L 67-48 |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round Third Round | Saint Louis Utah UC Davis | W 75-61 W 74-57 L 69-71 |
Notable Wildcat players and coaches
- Judy Akers – 2003 KSU Hall of Fame Inductee
- Brittany Chambers
- Kamie Ethridge – KSU assistant coach, now head coach at Washington State
- Olga Firsova
- Priscilla Gary-Sweeney – 1998 KSU Hall of Fame Inductee
- Marlies Gipson
- Lynn Hickey – 2004 KSU Hall of Fame Inductee
- Lynn Holzman — West Coast Conference commissioner, 2014–present
- Laurie Koehn
- Shalee Lehning
- Breanna Lewis
- Megan Mahoney
- Nicole Ohlde
- Shanele Stires
- Kendra Wecker
Draft history
Head coaches
- Judy Akers
- Lynn Hickey
- Matilda Mossman
- Gaye Griffin
- Susan Yow
- Brian Agler
- Jack Hartman
- Deb Patterson
- Jeff Mittie
Year by year results
- The Big Eight Conference began sponsoring a mid-season tournament in the 1975–1976 season, but no regular season competition until 1982–1983. Kansas State competed for "Kansas State Conference" regular season titles in the years before the Big Eight began offering regular season competition.
Series records