THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2008
SPORTS
7B
COUNTDOWN TO TIP-OFF
KU
TIP-OFF
ATAGLANCE
Texas A&M has the same conference record (1-4) as Kansas, yet the team is ranked No. 21 in the AP poll. The Aggies had Big 12 Conference title hopes at the beginning of the season and now they're just fighting to stay out of last place, which makes them a very dangerous team. The Jayhawks are to the point in Big 12 play where they can't afford to lose any more games at home, even when the opponent is probably better than them.
QUESTION MARK
Can Kansas find some Field house magic?
In its Big 12 opener at home against Oklahoma State, Kansas held a 12-point lead in the first half and fought to tooth and nail trying to win before falling, 59-54. The Cowgirls are a deeper and more talented team than the Jayhawks, but the home court advantage kept Kansas close and nearly helped it get a win. Kansas must win its conference home games to have any chance at a successful postseason, and it may need a little extra help from the home crowd to get it done on Saturday.
KU TAKES ON TEXAS A&M Jayhawks, Aggies play for redemption
KANSAS AT HOME 7 p.m. Saturday, Allen Fieldhouse, ESPN360
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Danielle McCray, 5-foot-11 sophomore guard
14. 9 ppq, 7.4 rpg
McCray's foul trouble has been the Achilles' heel for Kansas. Every time she exits the game because of fouls, the opposition goes on a big run to put the game out of reach (as Colorado did on Tuesday with a 21-4 run). In order to have any chance to win, McCray must stay on the court.
Krysten Boogaard,
6-foot-5 freshman
center
8. 2 ppg, 4.3 rpg
In the last week we saw just how good Boogaard can be — 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in Missouri win—and how much she still has to learn — two fouls in the first four minutes of Colorado loss. Boogaard has a size advantage over everyone on the Texas A&M roster, but her impact—like McCray's—will rest on staying out of foul trouble.
Ivana Catic, 5-foot-8 junior guard
4.8 pp, 3.8 ap
A&M 13-6
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Takla Starks, 5-foot-8 junior guard
17.3 ppg, 38 percent 3PT
Catic is the floor general for Kansas, and when she's clicking everyone else falls into place. However, when Catic is off — like she has been in conference play — the team appears out of sync. Catic's floor leadership has a calming effect on the rest of the team and that's something they need hard.
Starks may be the best off-guard in the Big 12. She is efficient offensively and has the surprising ability to mix it up in the paint with the trees at only 5-8. The 2007 All-Big 12 guard has pulled down more than six rebounds per game in Big 12 Conference play this year despite the disappointing start.
-Taylor Bern
Danielle Gant, 5-foot-11 junior guard/forward
14.3 ppm, 7.1 ng
The Aggies will rely on Gant to limit talented sophomore Danielle McCray's impact offensively. She should be up to the task. Gant's weakness in Big 12 Conference play has been a propensity to turn the ball over. She will have to cut down on those mistakes to keep Kansas from scoring points in transition.
A'Quonesi Franklin, 5-foot-3
8.2 ppg, 4.6 apg
Another 2007 All-Big 12 guard, Franklin
must keep the Aggies offense from succumbing to the turn over problems that
over problems that have plagued them throughout their 1-4 start in the Big 12. If she can keep things simple and get Texas A&M into their offensive sets early in
the shot clock, look for a big night from Starks and Gant.
A&M TIP-OFF AT A GLANCE
This game is prime opportunity for the Aggies to turn around their floundering season. After being picked to win the conference during the preseason, Texas A&M needs wins now to have any chance of finishing in the top four. A victory on the road against a struggling Kansas team could help jumpstart their season.
QUESTION MARK
Can the Aggies force Danielle McCray and Kristen Boogaard into early foul trouble?
So far, the blueprint to defeating the Jayhawks has been to keep the talented duo off the court. Their tendency to commit silly fouls in the first half will only be exacerbated by the bevy of offensive talent for the Aggies. Gant should pose a difficult matchup for McCray and whichever player comes out on top could decide the contest for her team.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jayhawks strive for victory
BY ANDREW WIEBE awiebe@kansan.com
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Danielle McCray drives to the basket against Missouri's Jessra Johnson. McCray finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and landing 12 rebounds.
Despite losing four of their first five conference games, the Jayhawks aren't panicking. The schedule won't get any easier, but on Saturday the Hawks will face a Texas & AM squad stuck at the bottom of the Big 12 Conference standings as well.
Fast starts for both teams have faded from memory, and coach Bonnie Henrickson knows the only way to bounce back is to win.
"Both of us are in the same boat right now," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "I don't know if desperate is the right word, but in need of a win."
After an 11-2 start against teams outside the Big 12, Henrickson's team has found the rigors of conference play more challenging. Most discerning is sophomore guard Danielle McCray and freshman center Krysten Boogaard's tendency to spend significant time on the bench in foul trouble.
Against Colorado on Tuesday, Boogaard collected four fouls in only 11 minutes of playing time. McCray played 31 minutes, but her absence during a key stretch of the first half after picking up her second foul helped the Buffaloes turn a 10-point deficit into a 7-point halftime advantage.
It's a trend that is beginning to become all too common for Kansas.
"We aren't getting to the free throw line and we aren't scoring in transition". Henrickson said. "That puts a lot of pressure on your half court offense and half court defense. You just don't have any wiggle room."
floor," Henrickson said. "Danielle right now has been good on the perimeter and Krysten is really evolving into the best low post offensive threat that we have. When those two go out it hurts our team."
Without consistent minutes from the talented duo, Kansas struggled to find the same scoring touch that served it well during the nonconference season. After scoring 67 points per contest against nonconferenceoes, the Jayhawks have scored an
"You need your best kids on the
average of 49 points in their five Big 12 games, making wins hard to come by so far.
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
GOLF
Woods trails by two strokes heading into final round
Despite playing from the sand, rough and behind a few trees early in his round, Woods began a much-anticipated season Thursday with a 5-under 67 on the toughest South Course at Torre Pines. That left him two shots behind Troy Matteson, and gave him a strong presence on the leaderboard as he goes for his fourth straight title in the Buick
SAN DIEGO — Tiger Woods delivered the score he expected in his 2008 debut, just not the game.
Matteson ran off five birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, then finished his round with consecutive birdies to become the first player since Davis Love ill in 2000 to have the first-round lead while playing the South.
Matteson was 11 shots better than his last trip around the South Course. That was the final round a year ago, when he played alongside Woods and watched the world's No. 1 player turn an ordinary round into a winner
Invitational.
Woods wasn't the only person returning to work.
Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman was back in the booth after a two-week suspension for jokingly suggesting young players wanting to take on Woods should "lynch him in a back alley." She recorded an apology that opened the telecast.
That seemed to end a month's worth of troublesome news in golf outside the ropes — Tilghman's suspension, the firing of a magazine editor for putting a noose on the cover, and the death of popular caddie Steve Dupliantis in Del Mar early Tuesday.
Associated Press
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