University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

Tickets prices include $8.00 for adults, $5.00 for youth and senior citizens and $2.00 for UW-La Crosse students and staff.  A group of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $4.00 each.  Group reservations may be made by contacting UWL Head Women's Basketball Coach Karen Middleton at kmiddleton@uwlax.edu or (608) 785-8618.

The game will feature five student-athletes from Wisconsin and Minnesota and an associate head coach who graduated from UW-La Crosse.  Arizona State, a member of the PAC-12, finished 22-13 overall and 10-8 in the conference in 2017-18.  The Sun Devils earned a 73-62 victory over the University of Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 85-65 at eighth-ranked University of Texas in the second round.  

Jamie Ruden of Rochester, Minnesota and John Marshall High School and Kiara Russell of Minneapolis, Minnesota and Osseo High School both completed their sophomore seasons in 2017-18.  Ruden played in 33 games for Arizona State while averaging 8.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.  Russell appeared in 34 contests, including four starts, averaging 4.9 points and 2.2 rebounds.

Kansas State, a member of the Big 12, finished 18-16 overall and 7-11 in the conference last season. The Wildcats earned a pair of wins in the 2018 Postseason WNIT, defeating Saint Louis University, Mo. (75-61) and the University of Utah (74-57) before falling in the Round of 16 to the University of California Davis (71-69).  

Kayla Goth of DeForest, Wisconsin (H.S.) completed her junior year in 2017-18 while Rachel Ranke of Burnsville, Minnesota and Eastview High School finished her freshman season.  Goth earned All-Big 12 Second Team accolades in 2017-18, leading Kansas State with 17.5 points, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game.  The Wildcats' MVP last season, Goth started all 34 games while also earning Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.  Ranke also played in 34 games in 2017-18 and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team. She averaged 11.5 points (third on the team) and 3.6 rebounds per game. Ayoka Lee of Bryon, Minnesota (H.S.) joins Kansas Sate in 2018-19.  She earned all-state honors in Class 2A while scoring over 2,000 career points.  Lee owns the school record for points in a season and game (54).

Kansas State Associate Head Coach Brian Ostermann earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from UW-La Crosse in 1988.  He completed his fourth season at Kansas State in 2017-18 and his 29th overall.  Ostermann started his coaching career at La Crosse Central High School under legendary coach Ken Barrett.  He coached 19 years as a men's college coach spanning every level.  Ostermann completed his 10th season as an Associate Head Coach in women's basketball. Along with his coaching duties, Ostermann is responsible for scheduling, academic mentoring, recruiting evaluation and game plan preparation and development for the Wildcats. 

A native of Good Thunder, Minnesota, Ostermann has also coached at Northwest Missouri State University (1989-91), Mercyhurst (Pa.) University (1991-92), Missouri Western University (1992-96), University of Missouri Kansas City (1996-99), Colby (Kan.) Community College (1999-2004), Missouri State – West Plains (2004-08) and Texas Christian University (2008-14).