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B KU 76 - HU 72
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2007
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
WOMEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
stripe, and Smith was a perfect for-7.
"I had to take a deep breath and calm myself down", Smith said. "Free throws have been a point of emphaasis the past couple of days."
Sophomores Danielle McCray and Sade Morris teamed up to shoot 5-of-6 on three-pointers and scored 30 points for Kansas.
Edited by Rachael Gray
"Some games it happens, other times it won't," said Morris of the team's three-pointers. "We did a good job tonight."
Game notes
SCORING OPTIONS
Sophomore Danielle McCray, who led the team in points in the two exhibition games, scored 13 first-half points in Sunday's win.
She was then shut out in the second half, but freshman Nicolelette Smith, who had only three first-half points, picked up the slack to lead the team with 19 points.
Sophomore Sade Morris also scored 17 points.
"We need balance," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "It's good for us to be able to have three people you can count on, then a fourth can still emerge and they can all rotate."
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
GREEN LIGHT
Freshman forward Nicollette Smith drives to the basket during the game against Hartford Sunday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse. Smith finished the game with 19 points, a game-high for her.
After Smith lit up the scoreboard with her 4-for-7 effort from beyond the arc, Henrickson joked that her freshman sharpshooter was given the green light as soon as she crossed the half-court line.
Smith had proved that theory in the first half when she pulled up and drained a shot from the beak of the jayhawk logo at half-court, which is about four feet longer than the three-point line.
BONNIE ON IMPROVING DEFENSIVELY:
"Once everyone in the program embraces the idea of turning up the heat defensively, and realizes that it is not that much harder to play quality defense, then we are going to be in good shape. If we run and run,
then somebody is going to have to bleeding." eventually call a timeout to stop the
— Taylor Bern
Freshman collects first double-double
BY ANDREW WIEBE
wiebe@kansan.com
awiebe@kansan.com
After five minutes of uninspired play to begin the game, Smith set the tone
"She is as good a shooter as I've ever coached," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
Nicollette Smith arrived at Kansas after fending off interest from Missouri, Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee State among others.
Sunday afternoon against the Hartford Hawks, Kansas fans got their first glimpse of the 62" freshman forward's potential. Smith scored 19 points and gathered 10 rebounds to register her first collegiate double-double and lead Kansas to victory in her first official game as a lajyawk.
smith did most of her damage from behind the arc. A highly touted shooter coming out of high school in Tulsa, Okla, she lived up to her reputation by draining 4-of-7 three pointers and seven free throws in as many attempts.
for Kansas when she hit a deep three from the right wing. The shot gave the layhawks their first lead of the game and ignited a 23-6 run to give the team its largest lead of the game.
Like many shooters, Smith's confidence is contagious. Smith and 'sophmore guardes Danielle McCray and Sade Morris fed off one another as Kansas shot 69 percent from three-point range on 11 of 16 shooting.
"If she misses three in a row I think the next one is going in, so does she and so does everybody on the bench," Henrickson said.
For now, Smith has instructions to keep shooting. Her quick release, seemingly unlimited range and size make her a mismatch for almost any team. Though still only a true freshman, Smith's role on this year's Kansas squad seems assured.
"If I get the ball, I'm open and I'm feeling it, coach tells me I have the green light," she said.
Edited by Rachael Gray
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
Sade Morris, sophomore guard, defends a Hartford player Sunday. Morris scored 17 points against the Hawks.