SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1994
SECTION B
Women's squad wants full house
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
The number 13,532 will stick with Kansas women's basketball coach Marian Washington for a long time.
"To have so many people come out, it was an unbelievable experience." Washington said.
That number represented the fans who watched the Kansas women's basketball team defeat Colorado, 59-57, last year during its special promotion, "Fill the Field House."
The team is hoping for a repeat performance this year with "Fill The Field House II." The Jayhawks game against the Northwestern Wildcats at noon on Dec. 18, is one of many non-conference and Big Eight Conference games they have scheduled between the fall and spring semesters.
Last year's crowd set Kansas and Big Eight Conference records for single game attendance. Playing in front of that many people had a lasting effect on team members, senior forward Angela Aycock said.
"It gave us a lot of momentum going into the season." Avcock said, "It's a great experience."
"It feels great to have them on your side this time," she said.
"The Fill the Field House" events are made possible by a corporate sponsorship from Payless ShoeSource. The company is providing and distributing free tickets for this year's game at area Payless outlets. Kansas students, as always, will be admitted free with a KUID. The sponsorship is one of the few of its kind. Washington said.
"It means a lot to Kansas women's basketball and women's basketball across the nation," she said.
Washington said one of the main reasons for "Fill The Field House II" was to expose people to the game of women's basketball. It is important that people become aware of it.
"We've got to get more people to see us, to hear about us." Washington said
Kansas is preparing to play six non-conference games by Jan. 2. The Jayhawks will face Creighton Saturday in Allen Field House with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
Then after "Fill The Field House II," Kansas will play its final home game of 1994. DePaul is slated to face the Jayhawks Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.
The remainder of Kansas' games over break will be played in Texas. On Dec. 29 and 30 Kansas will join Texas-Pan American, Southern Mississippi and Baylor, a future member of the Big 12 Conference, in the Baylor Tournament. The tournament is in Waco, Texas.
Houston, Texas is the Jayhawks last stop, where they will face the Houston Cougars on Jan. 2.
Holiday basketball schedule
Date Opponent Time
WOMEN
Dec. 10 CREIGHTON 7 p.m.
Dec. 18 NORTHWESTERN (Jayhawk Net.)12 p.m.
Dec. 21 DePAUL 7 p.m.
Dec. 29 Southern Mississippi (at Baylor) 6 p.m.
Dec. 30 Baylor Tournament
Jan. 2 at Houston 7 p.m.
Jan. 6 at Iowa State 7 p.m.
Jan. 8 at Nebraska 2 p.m.
MEN
Dec. 10 at North Carolina State 6:30 p.m.
Dec. 17 at Indiana (CBS) 2:45 p.m.
Dec. 20 SANTA CLARA 7 p.m.
Dec. 22 RICE 7 p.m.
Dec. 31 FORT HAYS STATE 7 p.m.
Jan. 3 EAST TENNESSEE STATE 7 p.m.
Jan. 7 at Southern Methodist (ESPN2) 9 p.m.
Jan. 9 at Missouri (ESPN) 8:30 p.m.
Kansas football coach Glen Mason has yet to hire any coaches to fill the vacant defensive coordinator and defensive secondary coach positions.
Mason looking to fill coaching vacancies
Former Kansas defensive coordinator Bob Fello and Kansas defensive secondary coach Mark Dantonio were fired Nov. 20.
Home games are in ALL CAPS
Kansas assistant head coach Golden Pat Ruel said that Mason had been talking to coaches to fill the vacant positions while he was visiting recruits.
BRIEFS
Mason was unavailable for comment and did not return phone calls yesterday.
Swimmers rule the pool
The Kansas swimming and diving team ruled the pool.
The Jayhawks won both the men's and the women's Big Eight Conference swimmer of the month awards for November. Junior diver Michelle Rojohn and sophomore freestyle and backstroker Eric Burton claimed their first swimmer of the month honors.
Rojahn won the first six three-meter diving competitions this year and five of six one-meter competitions. Earlier this season, she established a new one-meter Kansas record at Colorado State with 276,290 points.
Burton set a school record of his own last weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C. Burton's time of 1:47.89 in the 200-yard backstroke broke his own record.
Compiled from Kansan staff reports.
Jayhawks remain undefeated
Kansas prevails against Gators
By Chesley Dohl Kansas sportswriter
Kansas started off its five day rampage with a victory against Massachusetts. The Jayhawks defeated Coppin State on Monday—and last night the "Hawks put a No. 6 ranked Florida Gator team out of commission." 69-63.
That's three victories in five days against teams from last season's NCAA Tournament. Granted it's only the fourth game of the season, but 4-0 Kansas still is making it's point on the basketball court early.
Kansas is the No. 4 team in the nation right now, and as long as the defensive game keeps developing, Kansas might be in a real NCAA Tournament atmosphere come March. But the only way the Jayhawks will continue to win is if the players play aggressive defense for a full 40 minutes like they did in last night's game against the 3-1 Gators, Kansas coach Roy Williams said.
"We can be a fantastic basketball team but we have to play defense like that everynight," Williams said. "But it's hard to get on kids when their throwing their bodies into scoring tables to save the ball."
Kansas
sophomore
guard Jerod
Haase dives
while Florida
forward LeRon
Williams
attempts to get
the ball. Haase
was named
Kansas player
of the game by
ESPN.
Paul Kotz /
One of those kids Williams was talking about was Kansas sophomore guard Jerd Haase. Haase went into the locker room at half with Kansas leading by only four points, 29-25 and the transfer only having two points and one assist.
But Haase lost himself in the game in the second half, and finished the night leading all scorers with 23 points and hit three of six three-point attempts.
sophomore forward Scot Pollard said. Pollard played aggressive defense, maybe too aggressive at times collecting three fouls early in the second half.
"There was a real battle going on in there," Pollard said about the inside game. "They had some big guys inside, even these subs were big. I used my body maybe even a little too much to retaliate." he said.
"I wasn't taking good shots in the first half," Haase said. "When somebody's hands are in your face that's not a good shot. I came out playing smarter and the shots started falling for me."
While Hase worked the perimeter, inside, Kansas senior center Greg Ostertag controlled the Florida inside game. Ostertag matched a school record rejecting eight shots and pulled down 11 rebounds. He held Florida senior forward Damire Hill to nine points.
Paul Kotz /
KANSAN
"The young man loves to block shots," Williams said. "It's something he goes out and does and takes it on himself. He took this game as a personal challenge."
the second half with 10:49 left in the game, but the Jayhawks lost some intensity in the last four minutes of play and let a healthy lead dwindle down to only a three point advantage.
It was a physical game inside the lane and outside. But that's what happens when two teams that make a living on defense get on the same court. Kansas
"We played pretty doggone good defense, but I was not pleased with our execution down the stretch." Williams said. "It's a heck of a win for Dec. 7 and these games are adding up in the right column, but we're not going to make a big
Kansas had as much as a 12 point lead in
deal out of it."
Kansas played aggressive defense throughout the game. Even the last shot of the game, with Kansas up by six, was blocked by Kansas freshmen forward Raef LaFrentz.
"It was a good game for us," LaFrentz said. "Something like this gives us a lot of confidence. We proved to ourselves that we can compete with the rest of the teams up there (in the rankings)."
Kansas center Greg Ostertag attempts a block.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Haase, Vaughn lead Kansas in frontcourt
By Matt Irwin
"He came over to me and said that I had carried him in the first half, and he said he was going to carry me in the second half." Vaughn said. "He definitely did that."
Vaughn said that Haase told him he would play better in the second half.
Kansas' backcourt may be two of the most intense players in the nation, but the key to Kansas 69-63 defeat of Florida last night was when one lost himself and followed the lead of the other.
Jerod Haase, sophomore off guard, said that the key to his 21 second half points was when he lost himself in the game. Haase ended the game with 23 points.
"I was able to lose my self in the game," Haase said about his play in the second half. "I was very intense, but I also was very relaxed at the same time."
Kansan sportswriter
"I knew at halftime it was going to be now or never, and I really wanted to go out focused."
Vaughn found Haase on fast breaks, and his backcourt mate made five of nine shots in the second half, including three of four three-pointers and eight out of ten free throws.
"In the second half things started clicking a little bit more," Haase said. "It was kind of like a snowball effect. It's starts out small and then it just kept going and going."
"Any game he's in, he makes such a huge impact — defensively, offensively, setting the tone," Haase said. "I really feel comfortable when he's in there."
Vaughn led the team in the first half with six points and four assists. But even more telling was the 6-0 run Florida went on in the first half with Vaughn out of the game to tie the game at 18. Kansas outscored the Gators 29-17 in the first half while Vaughn was plaving.
Both players said that they felt very comfortable playing with each other and that they both like the other's intensity.
But Hasea wasn't the only player to dominate a half.
Kansas 67, Florida 63
NO.4 KANSAS/4.0)
Player fgm/tga ftm/fta tp
Pearson 2-6 2-2 10
LaFrentz 2-6 2-2 6
Ostertag 1-7 0-0 2
Vaughn 3-6 4-7 11
Haase 6-15 8-10 23
Pollard 1-1 3-4 5
Williams 1-5 0-0 6
Thomas 2-4 0-0 6
Gurley 0-1 0-0 0
McGrath 0-0 0-0 0
Totals 22-53 17-24 69
4
NO. 5 FLORIDA (3-1)
Thompson 1-6 0-0 2
DeClercq 7-16 6-7 20
Hill 4-9 0-9 9
Anderson 0-0 0-0 0
Cross 7-20 6-6 25
G. Williams 0-5 0-0 0
Dyrkolbotn 1-1 0-0 2
L. Williams 0-0 0-0 0
Mickens 2-4 0-0 4
Griffiths 0-4 1-1 1
D. Williams 0-1 1-1 0
Totals 22-65 13-14 63
NO. 5 FLORIDA (3-1)
Halftime Kansas 29, Florida 25, 3-point
goals Kansas 8-17 (Bears 4, Vaughn
1, Hasee 6, Williams 0, Thomas 23,
Gurley 0) Florida 6-18 (Thompson 0,
Hill 1, Cross 5-1, G. Williams 0, Mick
11), Florida 42 (Declareon 14).
Kansas 15 (Vaughn 7), Florida 12 (Cross
4) Total Fouls Kansas 61, Florida 21.
Vaughn's injuries will not keep him on the bench
Asevidence
from last night's gutsy performance by the Kansas
sopnomore guard, he has no concern about his abdominal strain.
By Chesley Dohl
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn has been sleeping pretty well lately. But that wasn't so after the San Diego game.
"He's at the stage today where it's more of a dull aching pain," said Kansas basketball trainer Mark Cairns of the abdominal strain Vaughn suffered at the end of the first half of the game. "After the San Diego game though, he couldn't turn over in bed without experiencing sharp
The abdominal strain is something that could be with the jayhawk point guard all season. But Cainis said it also was something that could heal up without any further problem if Vaughn didn't overextend himself.
In addition to Vaughn's abdominal strain — a result of overexertion and body contortion — the point guard also injured a joint in his pelvis.
pains."
And Kansas coach Roy Williams agreed, saying that Vaughn knew such an admittance would put him on the bench.
Vaughn, who has continued to play consistent basketball since the injury, prefers not to mention the injury. After the Massachusetts game, Vaughn said he was fine. But he followed that by saying, "Let's put this into perspective. Even if I wasn't okay, I wouldn't tell you that."
Vaughn has been playing without any kind of support or protection. Cairns said a pressure pad and wrap probably would hinder his game style
But Cairns said he doubted that
and cut off his ability to take deep breaths.
Vaughn's injury would end Vaughn's season. He said it would take very unusual circumstances for the injury to put Vaughn on the bench.
---
Meanwhile, Vaughn keeps leading Kansas at the point guard position, and Williams tries to give Vaughn as much rest as possible, cutting his practice time in half.
"It's something that's going to bother him all year," Williams said. "I was fully prepared to give him three weeks off. But Jacque wasn't fully prepared to do that."
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