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WOMEN'S GAME DAY
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008 PAGE 18
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A BUMPY ROAD
BY RUSTIN DODD
dodd@kansan.com
Kansas defied the odds last season.
Bill Self's Jayhawks nearly finished undefeated on the road in the Big 12 conference. Kansas finished 7-1 on the road - matching its 7-1 conference record at home — and won the Big 12 regular season championship outright.
"It's one of those things," Bill Self said about the difficulty of playing on the road. "If you go in there, and don't play well, you will get beat."
Texas gave Kansas a reality check on Monday, beating Kansas 72-69. In case the Jayhawks didn't remember, winning on the road is an arduous task.
It's happened to Kansas twice. Before Texas, Kansas was tripped up by Kansas State at Bramlage Coliseum - an opposing venue that's normally been a Jawhawk heaven.
But Kansas can take some solace in the fact that this season, every Big 12 team is taking its beatings on the road. Whether it's the
hostile crowd, the unfamiliar surroundings or those uncomfortable hotel mattresses. Big 12 teams have a combined conference road record of 16-36. This isn't a new trend either. Last season, teams finished a combined 33-6 on the road.
Texas A&M can empathize with Kansas. In Mark Turgeon's first season, the Aggies started 15-1 during the nonconference season. Texas A&M's only loss was — you guessed it — on the road against Arizona. Then the Big 12 season started, and Turgeon's team was run out of the gym in two consecutive Big 12 road games. Texas A&M lost 68-53 at Texas Tech, and 75-54 to K-State at the all-of-asudden hostile Bramplate Coliseum.
"It's a fine line between winning and losing," Turgeon said of his team's road struggles. "It's all the little things that add up—executing at the right time."
Texas A&M reversed its negative road trend by winning its next three away from home against Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Missouri.
"We've had some games on the road that we could win and we took advantage of it," Turgeon said.
The Aggies road resurgence has buoyed their big 12 title aspirations. After starting 1-3, Texas A&M is back to 6-3 in the conference and back in the title hunt.
But the tale of Texas A&M seems to be the norm in the Big 12. Win on the road, and you should find yourself in the top half of the Big 12, K-State — atop the Big 12 with a 7-1 record — also sports the conference's best road record at 2-1. On the other hand, the Big 12's bottom five teams — Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Colorado — are 1-21 on the road in the Big 12 combined.
Baylor head coach Scott Drew knows the importance of winning on the road. Last season, his Baylor team finished 0-8 on the road on its way to an 11th place finish in the Big 12. This season, the Bears are 1-3 away from home, and have parlayed that moderate success into a 5-3 Big 12 record. With road wins
at a premium, Drew has a new mantra.
"You have to win your home games if you want to be in the upper echelon of the Big 12," Drew said.
Winning at Allen Fieldhouse this conference season is one thing Kansas has been able to do. The Jayhawks are 5-0 at home in the conference, but its road woes are still a concern. Bill Self has one explanation for the road dip.
"I think this is a much, much more difficult road schedule than what we had last year," Self said. This year's slate included trips to Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Three teams Kansas played host to last season.
Kansas is once again looking up in the standings at K-State. Even if the Jayhawks stay perfect on their home court, they will most certainly need to pick up their play away from home if they want to win their fourth consecutive Big 12 regular season championship.
It's something Self knows, and Kansas' fifth year head coach said there is no secret
to road success.
"Teams have to be tough." Self said. "They have to focus."
Edited by Daniel Reyes
Big 12 standings
Team Big 12 Overall Road Record Record
Record Record
Kansas State 7-1 17-5 2-1
Kansas 8-2 23-2 3-2
Texas 7-2 20-4 3-2
Texas A&M 6-3 20-4 3-2
Baylor 5-3 17-5 2-2
Nebraska 3-5 14-7 1-3
Oklahoma 3-5 15-8 1-3
Texas Tech 3-5 12-10 0-5
Iowa State 3-6 13-11 0-4
Missouri 3-6 13-11 1-3
Oklahoma State 2-7 11-12 0-5
Colorado 2-7 10-13 0-4
》 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks learn from loss, remain hopeful for season
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
Sometimes there's nothing positive to learn from a loss. However, in Kansas' 64-58 loss to Kansas State on Saturday there was a plethora of positives to take away from the game and plenty of reasons for coach Bonnie Henrickson's team to have hope for the rest of the season.
For one thing, the Jayhawks hung close with the No. 17 team in the country on the road. Before Saturday, the closest Kansas had come to a Big 12 opponent on the road was a 16-point loss to Oklahoma.
"We would have rather won today, but we battled and competed. The entire game was a battle for us," senior forward Taylor McIntosh said. "Before, we played the first half and not the second, or we played the second half and not the first.
"Today we played both halves."
The Jayhawks weren't always sticking right with the Wildcats, in fact they fell 10 points back early in the second half. However, the fact that her team was able to erase the deficit was something Henrickson loved to see.
"Now we've been able to answer some runs and that's where you grow with some toughness and maturity," Henrickson said.
Complete or not, the layhawks' turnaround is impressive, and the only thing they have to be worried about is whether it's coming too late. There are seven regular season games left this year — four at home and three on the road — and they must win more than they lose to have a shot at postseason play.
The Jayhawks think they have turned a corner and, according to McNloth, this isn't the same team that suffered an 18-point loss to Colorado, tonight's opponent, less than a month ago.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
"Of course everyone wants to win, but at the same time if you look at this game then look at previous games that we were never in, it's hard not to find positives," McIntosh said. "It's a complete turnaround."
Still, Henrickson is happy to see her team grow and get better every day.
LaChelda Jacobs, sophomore guard, dribbles against K-State last Saturday. The Jawhacks got 64-58, but coach Bonnie Henrickson still thought the outcome was positive.
Kansas squares off with Colorado tonight at 7, then it receives Nebraska on Sunday with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. The Jayhawks will wear special pink uniforms for Sunday's game as part of Women's Basketball Coaches Association's "Think Pink" initiative to raise breast cancer awareness.
are excited about the opportunity to keep getting better and get on a little run here, and they should be. We've got two big games at home this week."
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
Big 12 standings
Team Conference Overall Record Record
Baylor 9-1 21-2
Kansas State 8-1 16-6
Oklahoma State 7-2 19-3
Oklahoma 7-2 17-4
Nebraska 6-4 17-7
Texas A&M 5-4 17-6
Iowa State 4-5 15-7
Texas 3-6 15-8
Texas Tech 2-7 14-9
Kansas 2-7 13-9
Colorado 2-8 13-10
Missouri 1-9 8-15
》CLUB SPORTS
Justin Jez, freshman defenseman, and Matt Zeliman, senior forward, fight for control of the puck in front of the Denver Metro State goal in a match last September. The team had a successful season, but said goodbye to two quadrading seniors, Nick Hantock and Ryn Tuneen, in the series against Iowa State last week.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Players hit ice for the last time
BY JOE PREINER
jpreiner@kansan.com
Two players on the KU club hockey team laced up their skates for the last time in last weekend's home series against Iowa State University.
Of the nine seniors listed on the official roster, Nick Hantge, Hutchinson, Minn., and Ryne Tusten, Olathe, are the only two graduating at the end of the spring semester. Both players took part in the majority of the season's games, contributing quality minutes for the team. Hantge was second on the team in points for the season, adding 15 goals to his 16 assists in just 25 games. Tusten did not record a goal all season, preferring to lead the team on defense instead. The two players helped the KU club hockey team to a 10-10-2 record against top-tier teams this season.
"I feel the team is headed nowhere but up," Hantge said. "They should have a great group of guys back on the ice next year and our program has really taken off."
In the last game of the season, KU took on Iowa State. The game was anything but close as the Jayhawks worked their way to a 9-2 victory. The bond between the players was apparent, as teammates laughed and smiled as everything went their way. The ease of the game allowed the players to relax and enjoy their last minutes on the ice. Team president Dan Guilfoil, Eden Prairie, Minn., senior graduates at the end of next fall. Guilfoil played all four years with the team, but is not sure he will be returning to the team next semester. The victory over Iowa State could very well have been his last as a Jav Hawk also.
"It was kind of a scary experience," Guilfoil said. "It still hasn't really soaked in yet that it was the last time on the ice with this team."
With the game in hand, ahead 9-1 before the end of the second period, the team continued to work hard. They played tough throughout the final period, only allowing a single goal. The team even threw in a crowd-pleasing fight. Coincidentally, it was the only time the team was beaten all day. When the final buzzer sounded, dropping the curtain on a hard-fought and rewarding season. the team skated onto the ice together for one more celebration.
"It means a lot to end it with such great friends," Hantge said. "And I couldn't have asked for anything better."
The team was noticeably drained from the efforts they put forth during the game. The mood of the players was a somber one.
"Everyone wanted to go out there and leave it all on the ice," Guilfoil said. "Especially being the last game of the year and for some of us the last game ever."
The future of the KU club hockey team is promising. Although potentially losing three talented players, the returning squad is very experienced, with six other seniors returning next year. In addition to the experience of the seniors, Guilfoil said the program would continue to develop in a positive way and maintain its winning tradition because of the talented youth.
As the graduating seniors look ahead to life after college hockey, they agree that they will never forget the experience.
"Hockey has really been more than just a game to me," Hantge said. "The friends I have made along the way are irreplaceable and I will cherish the memories forever."
Guilfoil agreed.
"I will miss every part of this team," Guilfoil said.
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Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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