6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2007
KANSAS 81, ST. LOUIS 55
Hawks tune up for tough opponents
Kansas forces poor shooting
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Sade Morris, sophomore guard, makes a lay-up early in the first half of last night game against St. Louis University. Morris, along with Danielle McCray, sophomore guard, led the team in scoring with a total of 16 points. The Jawhaves billiards the Billikens 81-55.
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
In the middle of a five-game home stand with Big East foe Marquette coming to town on Thursday, it would have been easy for Kansas to look past St. Louis Sunday afternoon.
The Jayhawks ended that thought quickly, opening up a 27-7 lead before gliding to an 81-55 victory.
Coach Bonnie Henrickson's team played a nearly perfect game in last Tuesday night's 91-56 win over Creighton, which made it easier to poke holes in Sunday's seemingly ideal win.
"We hit the gas pedal hard in the first half, but unfortunately, we didn't stay on the gas pedal like we did (Tuesday) night," Henrickson said. "I thought we played 30 minutes or 28 minutes, and we've got to be a team that understands how to play 40 minutes every night."
The Kansas offense shot a deadly 57 percent from the field in the first half and settled in at 51 percent for the game.
Sophomores Sade Morris and Danielle McCray were as consistent as ever, turning in a combined 32 points and 15 rebounds. Adding to that offensive output was freshman Nicollette Smith who poured in 13 points.
"We share the ball, we get uncontested shots, and we get high percentage shots," Henrickson said.
The Jayhaws' defense had an up-and-down afternoon.
"When her feet are set and she's in a rhythm, she's going to make most of those," said Hendrickson of Smith's 3-for-6 night from beyond the arc.
St. Louis shot only 27 percent from the field, including 0-for-7 from long range, but it still grabbed 17 offensive rebounds - a fact that didn't get past McCray.
"We do good in our half court defense, pressuring the ball and making them take bad shots, but we don't reward ourselves," McCray said.
She also noted that an opponent Kansas has down will try and get back into the game with second-chance points, making it even more important to secure defensive rebounds off the first miss.
Overall, the rebounding battle was a 52-38 blowout in favor of Kansas, yet Henrickson and her team understand that a squad like the Golden Eagles will probably take better advantage of almost 20 second-chance shots.
Krysten Boogaard, freshman center, fights off Billiken defenders while trying to shoot during last night's game at Alm Field house. Boogaard scored nine points in the 81-55 victory at St. Louis.
Keeping Marquette off the glass is the challenge for post players like
senior Taylor McIntosh, sophomore Porscha Weddington and freshman Krysten Boogaard
Keeping the ball in the Jayhawks' possession is the job waiting for junior Ivana Catic. If she continues to play up to her current level, though, that won't be much of a challenge.
On Sunday, Catic set new season highs with 32 minutes played, eight points and eight assists.
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
With all that has gone right for Kansas thus far this season, she still understands that her team has a long way to go.
"We know who we want to be, and I think that every night we're making baby steps towards becoming that team," Catic said.
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
Individual defensive statistics were hard to come by for Kansas on Sunday afternoon against St. Louis. The lajahays didn't steal the ball 17 times like they did on Tuesday against Creighton. They didn't even block a shot.
Despite the lack of individual accolades in the box score, Kansas used solid team defense to smother St. Louis and cruise to a second straight blowout victory. The lavhawks won 81-55.
Sophomore guard Sade Morris said the team was concentrating on keeping teams from getting good looks without sacrificing defensive aggressiveness.
"I just think we put a lot of pressure on people." Morris said. "If they can't get what they want, then that's when we force bad shots."
The Jayhawks stitched the Billikens' half-court offense using pressure defense that forced the Billikens to make costly errors. Coach Bonnie Henrickson said she was happy with her team's defensive play, but stressed the need to maintain focus for 40 minutes.
Part of sustaining that focus is sustaining defensive aggressiveness without fouling. Kansas sent St. Louis to the charity stripe 36 times.
"We've got to be able to pull our hands back, trust that our help is there and stop plowing at the rim," Henrickson said.
St. Louis shot only 27 percent from the field, and its leading scorer, Katie Paganelli, missed 15 of 19 shots. The Billikens made only 16 of 59 field goals, missing all seven three-point attempts. They also turned the ball over 17 times.
Sophomore guard Danielle McCray guarded the talented Paganelli for much of the game. She said Kansas
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
Nevertheless, Kansas showed it has the defensive potential to keep itself in games even if it struggles to score. Henrickson said the team would improve as they begin to become more confident in each other on the defensive end.
coaches told the team in practice to force the guard to put the ball on the floor and make decisions under pressure.
Even though she shot poorly, Paganelli finished with 17 points to lead St. Louis. She took advantage of Kansas' fouling tendencies by hitting nine of her 10 free throws.
They will have to. Both major-conference opponents who come next week to Allen Fieldhouse could threaten the Jayhawks' unblemished home record. Although St. Louis couldn't capitalize on a 13-shot free throw advantage, Marquette and Indiana easily could.
Edited by Chris Beattie
Lisa Linovac/KANSAN
Taylor Mintchot, senior forward, sinks a jump shot during last night's game against St. Louis University at Allen Field House. Last night's win put the Jayhawks at a 7-1 record so far this season.
Women's basketball notes
SHOOTING PERCENTAGE
SUPREMACY
Kansas won the field goal shooting percentage in all six games it played this season. The Jayhawks even led Southern Methodist 42-40 percent in their lone defeat this season on Nov. 24. Kansas is shooting 47 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range.
COLD FIRST HALF FOR PAGANELLI
The sophomore went to the locker room with only two free throw points after missing all eight shots she took in the first half. She also led the team with four turnovers. Kansas used the long and athletic combination of McCray and Morris to slow down the Billikens leading scorer.
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CONTROLLING THE ROCK
Junior Ivana Catic has handled her point guard duties this season better than even she had imagined.
"I wanted to be here for my teammates this year," Catic said. "I knew it was going to be expected of me to step up and be the point guard that's going to start everybody off."
On Sunday, Catic dished out eight assists and turned the ball over just twice, bumping her season assist-to-turnover ratio up to 3.625. That's the second best ratio in the Big 12, behind only Susie Powers of Colorado.
— Taylor Bern, Andrew Wiebe
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