10A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
KSU 69-KU 63
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2006
'Hawks bashed in the paint by'Cats
Megan True/KANSAN
Senior forward Crystal Kemp tries to put up a shot between K-State's Mariles G game and Shalie Lehning during Wednesday night's game in Manhattan.
"We gave them too many easy shots from the post, and they made them."
Bonnie Henrickson Kansas coach
Sharita Smith. Ivana Catic and Sopronia Salard look up in disappointment as they watch K-State make free throws during the second half.
Defensive troubles continue for Kansas
Megan True/KANSAN
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
MANHATTAN — Any defensive momentum the Kansas women's basketball team gained in its previous game vanished in a purple haze Wednesday night.
Kansas continued its defensive struggle in Big 12 Conference games this season in last night's loss at Kansas State.
Kansas State's freshman post players thrived scoring 22 points against a Kansas defense focused on leading scorer Claire Coggins.
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said she was disappointed her team was not able to defend Kansas State better one-on-one.
"We gave them too many easy shots from the post, and they made them," Henrickson said.
One of the most telling possessions came with the Jayhawks trailing by seven early in the second half. After a missed three-point shot, Wildcat forwards Jessica McFarland and Claire Coggins each snagged offensive rebounds. McFarland was able to get open in the paint and knocked down a short jumper.
Despite holding Coggins to 12 points, Kansas gave up 38 total points to Kansas State players in the paint.
As has been the case most of the season, the Jayhawks have struggled to defend in the middle of game, especially in the post. Kansas trailed by only two at halftime, but poor defense in the paint was key in Kansas State's second-half run.
The chance to go against an experienced player like Kemp excited several of the Wildcats young post players.
Senior forward Crystal Kemp said she was getting forced low in the paint, enabling the Wildcats to shoot their shots right over her head.
"I could have defended better," Kemp said. "That's poor defense on my part."
calls young post-grad students, “In a way I was fired up,” freshman forward Marlies Gipson said. "Our focus was to go in there and try to stop her together."
Instead, the Jayhawks were unable to stop the Wildcats in the post and continued to struggle defensively.
Comeback
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- Edited by Meghan Miller
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
In the end, Kansas was left to wonder what might have been had it opened the second half stronger.
carr have snips. Gipson and her teammates left the court to thunderous aplause, likely the same kind Wecker and Koehn received as freshmen when they started the streak.
sturges.
"I think we just pick about four or five minutes where we decide not to play," Henrickson said. "We can't have laps like that."
Maybe those legend shoes will fit after all.
Women's basketball notebook;
Sophomore forward Jamie Boyd returned to the lineup after missing Sunday's game due to injury. She re-entered the game midway through the second half.
A large crowd of 7,128 was on-hand to watch the game. The crowd filled up both sides of the arena and a small portion of the seats behind the baskets, and the student section was full with the exception of the top two rows. The students were positioned right behind the KU bench and yelled during time-outs when Henrickson attempted to coach the players.
Kansas wore red uniforms for the first time in decades. The uniforms are identical to the red uniforms the Kansas men's team wore. Henrickson said the team was going to wear them during a home game before Christmas, but got superstitious. The team was undefeated at the time.
"I don't think you rattle those young kids," the coach said. "We recruit them tough."
After converting all three free-throw attempts in the first half, Kansas struggled at the line in the second half, going only 6-of-15. Freshman guard Ivana Catic missed all four of her attempts.
Kansas has yet to pick up a victory on the road and will have a tough time this weekend. On Saturday the team visits defending national champion Baylor at 3 p.m. in a game televised on CSTV.
Edited by Timon Veach
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