Manhattan ? Kansas State coach Deb Patterson is just glad her team didn’t panic.

Ball State had Patterson and the rest of the fifth-ranked Wildcats worried Friday night, after the Cardinals outhustled Kansas State to lead by as many as eight points in the first half. But Kansas State rallied for a 71-61 victory in the first round of the preseason WNIT.

Patterson attributed the win to maturity and resiliency. Of course, having three players reach double figures in scoring and rebounding didn’t hurt.

Kendra Wecker had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Nicole Ohlde had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Brie Madden added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (1-0).

“I felt it was difficult all night long for us to get into a rhythm offensively,” Patterson said. “It took a lot of growth for our team to not panic. Ball State had nothing to lose. I bet our players were sensing that, ‘Boy, we have a lot to lose.’ I was proud of them.”

Johna Goff hit five three-pointers and scored 23 to lead Ball State (0-1). Tamara Bowie had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Kate Endress scored 15.

In Sunday’s second round, Kansas State will play Georgia Tech, which defeated UNC-Charlotte 67-57.

Bowie scored seven points during a 14-0 run in the first half to give the Cardinals an eight-point lead with 3:24 left in the game.

Kansas State's Kendra Wecker, left, battles Ball State's Kate Endress for a possession. The Wildcats won, 71-61, on Friday in Manhattan.

“We were all just too excited,” Ohlde said. “We just kind of had to get the kinks out, and we were doing that the whole game.”

Kansas State used a late flurry to get to 34-31 at halftime.

“I was extremely proud of our team’s execution,” Ball State coach Tracy Roller sai. “They’re a darned good team, and we had to execute our game plan down to the wire. I thought we handled it very well.”

Ball State shot just 32 percent in the first half but forced 11 turnovers by the Wildcats. Kansas state outrebounded the Cardinals 57-39.