UW Womens Basketball | Shalee Lehning hurts Huskies

If not for Kansas State guard Shalee Lehning ripping athletic wrapping off her waist, you wouldn't believe she was injured.

The senior shook off a hip pointer to set Big 12 and school records with her fourth career triple-double, diving for loose balls and pinging passes, guiding the No. 22 Wildcats to a 73-60 women's basketball victory over Washington at Edmundson Pavilion before 2,831 fans.

"I can't conceive of another thing she could do," Patterson said. "She might be able to clean up the arena afterward."

But forget picking up popcorn: Lehning, injured in Sunday's 74-58 win at Washington State, probably couldn't bend to untie her shoe following the game. She missed Monday's practice and suffered through spasms throughout the game, according to her coach, and played all but the final 47.1 seconds against the Huskies with a constricting wrap.

Lehning finished with 19 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds — grabbing her last board with 19 seconds remaining for her second triple-double of the season.

The win was Kansas State's 12th consecutive to open the season, surpassing a school record set in the team's inaugural 1968-69 season.

Trying to rebound from a 1-2 showing in the Caribbean Classic this month, the Huskies (4-6) got schooled by Lehning and her cohorts inside the paint, Ashley Sweat and Marlies Gipson. But Washington, with new starters Christina Rozier and Lydia Young in the lineup, trailed just 31-28 at halftime.

Rozier made back-to-back baskets while Young grabbed key defensive rebounds to help close the gap. Rozier, a junior-college transfer, held Lehning to five points in the half but couldn't stop the nation's assist leader, who had seven going into the break.

"We were feeling pretty confident and positive," UW junior Sami Whitcomb said of her team's mood during the break. "I felt like we had a little bit of a momentum swing and we could come out the first four minutes of the second half and really make plays. But it didn't work out like that."

In the second half, Lehning made 6 of 9 free throws and found Sweat (22 points) and Gipson (17 points, six blocked shots) to help the Wildcats pull away. Sweat scored 12 of her team's points in a 24-11 run that morphed a 37-35 lead into a 61-46 advantage with 5:41 remaining.

It was enough to keep the Huskies down, despite a late flurry in the waning minutes when senior guard Michelle Augustavo hit back-to-back three-pointers.

The loss concludes Washington's nonconference play. The Huskies open the Pac-10 season Saturday, hosting rival Washington State (7-4).

"One of the things we did well is preseason scheduling," Washington coach Tia Jackson said. "I don't think there are going to be any surprises from playing against All-Americans to [potential] Players of the Year — we've played them all. We are extremely prepared going into the conference."

NOTE

• Freshman recruit Liz Lay made her debut after undergoing microfracture surgery on her right knee in February. She played eight minutes and was 2 of 4 from the field for five points and two rebounds. Lay, who plays with a brace, said the experience was "refreshing" but she's still far from completely healthy.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com

Percentages: FG .364, FT .438. Three-point goals: 5-16, (Kingma 1-4, Rozier 0-1, Whitcomb 1-2, Augustavo 3-9). Team rebounds: 7. Blocked shots: 4, (Morton, Augustavo 2, Williams). Turnovers: 15, (McLellan, Young 3, Kingma 2, Rozier 4, Whitcomb, McNeill 2, Lay 2). Steals: 8, (McLellan 2, Young, Kingma, Rozier 2, Whitcomb, McNeill).

Attendance: 2,831. Officials: Marianne Karp, Jeneane Pence, Rick Showers. Technical fouls: Kansas State-None. Washington-None.