THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
▼ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 66-46
Defense helps Jayhawks get 13th victory
PAGE 1B
Big 12 record improves for Kansas women
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSAN SCREEN WRITER
After winning its first 12 games with offense, the women's basketball team went a different direction yesterday and won a game with dominating defense.
having testes
The Jayhawks claimed their 13th victory by defeating Oklahoma State 66-46. The 46 points allowed were the
fewest Kansas has allowed all season.
"It's very important that we play well on the defensive end, because there's going to be nights we can't score," senior guard Erica Hallman said.
The impressive numbers also included a 35-6 scoring run by the Jayhawks, during which the Cowgirls were unable to score a basket for 11 straight minutes.
"We were an awfully good defensive team last year, and we need to get back to that," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
The Cowgirls entered the game averaging 63.8 points
per game, the worst in the conference.
"We have got to be the easiest team to defend in the Big 12," Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke said.
For Hallman, the game against Oklahoma State was an opportunity to break out of a slump.
"I've been struggling the last three games, but I had a really good week of practice," she said. "I just tried to play a complete game."
complete game
Hallman did that well, adding six rebounds and seven assists to her 14 points.
SEE DEFENSE ON PAGE 8B
Senior guard Erica Hallman covers Cowgirl Brisa Silva in the first half of Sundays game. Hallman took three defensive rebounds during the 66-46 win against Oklahoma State at Allen Field-
house.
Kemp leads way with 25 points against OSU
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRIVER
She regained her balance and called for the ball. After getting the ball in the paint, all it took was a simple turnaround to find open space.
Crystal Kemp was bumped out of the lane and nearly knocked down as she tried to fight off a pesky double team.
She scored at will in the second half, consistently finding an open seam in Oklahoma State's zone defense. She had nearly半分 of the Jayhawks' points during a 35-6 run in an 18-minute stretch of play late in the first half and early in the second half.
Kemp, senior forward, scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds in Kansas' victory against Oklahoma State yesterday.
Once open, Crystal Kemp is nearly impossible to stop.
"I thought Crystal was fantastic in the paint," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "There was a lot of contact and traffic in the lane, but she handled it very well."
Kemp continued her domination in the paint, personally outscoring all of Oklahoma State's post players.
"I knew they'd do that," Kemp said of the zone defense. "It's just a matter of taking my time and not rushing anything."
SEE KEMP ON PAGE 8B
Crystal Kemp goes up for a shot against Oklahoma State defenders during Sunday's game in Allen Fieldhouse. Kemp led the Jayhawks with 25 points and 13 rebounds in their 66-46 win.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hawkins rains three-pointers on Nebraska
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
By the time Jeff Hawkins hit his second three-point shot during Kansas' 96-54 victory against Nebraska Saturday, he had already surpassed his point total from his previous four games.
Hawkins made up for his low point production Saturday when he scored 17 points in 18 minutes and was a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point distance.
The senior guard came into the game scoring only four points in his previous four games. He didn't register a point against Kentucky, Colorado or Kansas State.
"Once I hit my first shot, it gives me more confidence to shoot the second one," Hawkins said. "Once I hit my first couple shots, I just got the mind set I could make any shot I take."
hit his first three-pointer. He came off a screen and the ball rattled around the cylinder before dropping in. It was Hawkins' first three-point shot since Jan. 4.
It didn't take long for Hawkins' presence to be felt. Kansas was leading 10-7 early in the first half when Hawkins
Rechel Seymour/KANSAN
Hawkins hit his second shot minutes later after he received a pass from freshman guard Brandon Rush. This time, the ball didn't have to touch the rim
"I was starting Jeff when he wasn't scoring a point," Self said. "When a guy comes in and plays well, naturally he stays out there longer, but he is in our rotation. He will stay in our rotation."
Jeff Hawkins, senior guard, races to a loose ball during the first half of Saturday's game against Nebraska. Hawkins scored 14 points by the end of the first half. Kansas defeated Nebraska 96-56.
Kansas coach Bill Self said he never thought of reducing Hawkins' playing time before the Nebraska game because his scoring production was down.
Hawkins started the first 11 games for Kansas this season, but he was moved to the bench in favor of freshman guard Mario Chalmers. Since then, Hawkins has still played frequently in the past six games.
Hawkins did most of his damage in the first half when he scored 14 of his 17 points.
His third three-pointer would come off a fast break when sophomore guard Jeremy Case passed the ball to Hawkins, who set his feet and launched another three-pointer.
Besides his three-point
shooting display, Hawkins was also bothering the Nebraska guards all game forcing turnovers and creating fast break opportunities for Kansas.
SEE HAWKINS ON PAGE 4B
JUST WIN, BABY
Editors pledge to improve sports page
As sports editors, we want to establish an identity that you, the reader, can relate to this semester.
reader, can read.
The Gameday page was new during football season that provided readers with important players and statistics to watch for. This semester we will continue with that format for basketball. The Gameday page will include men's basketball games and big games for the women's basketball team as well
In keeping the Gameday page, we'd like to bring change to the sports page.
We're working on game stories being more personal. We want you to read the stories and learn something new, whether you attended the games or not. We'd like to take you beyond the box scores and convey the actions and emotions of the games.
We hope our columns make you think about the topic presented and formulate your own opinions.
Columns will be done differently this semester. For the first time in recent memory, the reader will know who will write columns on four days of the week.
Everything in the sports section will be well-researched, from the opinion columns to the sports feature stories. Our aim is to deliver news to the students with all the proper facts. We're not perfect, though. To that effect, we encourage you to tell us what's working
ERICK R. SCHMITT & ERIK SORRENTINO
sports@tansan.com
and what's not.
We'd also like to deliver sports action at the University in ways other than columns and game stories. This can be achieved with spotlights on athletes away from their game, from the most well-known faces to pickup game superheroes.
The renovation of Kansan.com will also add a new element to our sports coverage. Blogs, breaking stories and extended coverage will be featured on the new-and-improved Web site.
We hope that you will get involved and establish an identity with us, whether it's by picking up the paper or checking out our content online. To let us know how we're doing, feel free to stop by and talk to us or utilize the new online comments posting system for each article we publish. Either way, you'll be helping us provide you with better sports coverage.
♦ Sorentino is a Plano, Texas,
senior in journalism. Schmidt
is a Liberal junior in journalism.
V