PAGE 10
MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
BRENT BURFORD/KANSAN
Embiid's injury contributes to Kansas' loss to the Cowboys
Freshman center Joel Embiid struggles against an Oklahoma State defender in Saturday's game. Embiid suffered a back injury during the game.
sports@kansan.com
STILLWATER, Okla. - For the majority of Kansas' 72-65 loss to Oklahoma State University, freshman center Joel Embiid played with hustle and aggression. At the end he was hobbling up and down the court on Saturday.
IBLAIR SHEADE
The 7-footer looked to be at full health in the beginning on the game, but slowly broke down as the game progressed.
The nagging back was the same injury that forced Self to sit Embiid against TCU on Feb. 15.
Embiid seemed to return to his progressing form in the first half. He grabbed 12 rebounds, scored eight points and forced three turnovers. He was able to steal a pass, dribble the ball the whole length of the floor and finish the layup. That play showed Embiid's health was not a problem early.
"He tweaked his back," coach Bill Self said.
Meanwhile, he was diving on the floor for loose balls and taking charges to show hard worker mentality.
The effectiveness of Embind on the defensive end was visible in Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart's first half stat line. Smart was 0-7 for one point. Embid contested every layup that Smart and the Cowboys took. Smart was getting frustrated.
Those roles switched for Smart and Embid in the second half.
At the 10-minute mark in the second frame, the Jayhawks had a 10-point lead. Then, Embid drove to the basket on the baseline and got fouled to the floor. Embiid's fall left him on the ground for longer than usual. To get Embid upright, freshman guard Wayne Selden Jr. and sophomore forward Jamari Traylor both had to help.
That fall was the turning point for Embiid's health. After that foul, he was limping up the floor and not hustling back on defense. The second half Embiid was a shell of what he was in the beginning.
Smart took advantage of Embiid's inability to play at full strength.
"First of all, I can understand why guys think Embiid
is an incredible shot blocker," Smart said. "That's what he does and he's great at it. I was always taught you have to attack the shot blocker. I had to attack his body and chop him down a little bit, take his legs out from under him."
Smart scored 20 points in the second half and a reason for Smart's turn around could have been Embiid's lack of paint presence.
Even though Embiid was sighted hobbling off the floor, he still managed a 13-point. 13-rebound game, which was his eighth double-double this season. Five of those 13 points and one of those rebounds occurred in the second half, showing how ineffective Embiid was after he reinjured his back.
With Texas and Iowa State losing, the Jayhawks won the outright Big 12 Conference championship honors, but without Embiid, this team wouldn't be in this position. The team will need Embiid to stay healthy if the Jayhawks want a shot at making a run at the NCAA tournament.
Edited by Amber Kasselman
SWIMMING
Jayhawks break records at Big 12 Championships
AMIE JUST sports@kansan.com
This weekend was one for the record books. From the 800-yard free relay to sophomore Chelsie Miller's performances, to senior Alison Lusk's swim in the 200-yard breaststroke, to the team's performance overall, the Kansas swimmers rewrote Jayhawk swimming history.
The team of senior Morgan Sharp, sophomore Haley Molden, Miller and freshman Allison Merecka smashed the five-year-old University alltime record of 7:13.86 when they clocked in at 7:11.99. The team finished in second place, beating Iowa State, the third place finisher by seven seconds (7:18.24).
"We achieved our goals...in the 800 free relay," said coach Clark Campbell.
After the first day of competition, the Jayhawks were sitting in second place.
"Chelsie's race was well put together", Campbell said. "Every stroke within that race was strong. She struggles more with the 200 IM than the 400 IM, so for her to swim that time was impressive. She will now also be able to swim that race again at nationals, in addition to the 400 IM. I'm proud of her new-best time and new school record."
In the second day of the championships, Miller shattered the seven-year-old University all-time record in the 200-yard individual medley relay (2:00.21) in the prelims, touching the wall with a time of 1:58.98. Miller swam slightly slower in the finals (1:59.25) finishing third.
The meet only got better for the Jayhawks. On the third day of competition, Miller gave Kansas something it had been waiting for since 1999: its first individual conference champion. Not only did she win the conference in the 400-yard IM, she bested her time from last year by seven seconds and broke another school record.
"It was a big night for Chelsie and for KU swimming," said
"Tonight was the most scoring swims we have ever had in a session at the Big 12 Championships."
CLARK CAMPBELL Coach
Campbell. "Her time was faster than what she swam at U.S. Nationals, which will just improve her seed for the NCAA Championships. She swan an awesome race and kicked off a really good night for us, probably one of the best nights we have had at the Big 12 Championships in recent history."
As the day concluded, six different swimmers chalked up seven different place finishes, adding points to the Jayhawk total. Kansas recorded at least two top-eight finishes in every individual swimming event on the third day of competition.
"Tonight was the most scoring swims we have ever had in a session at the Big 12 Championships," Campbell said. "You get the opportunity to do that by swimming very well in the morning. We had a really good morning swim and
got a bunch of lanes for finals and put a lot of points on the board"
With the solid performances by the Jayhawks through the meet, Kansas was sitting in second place, only behind Texas with one day of competition to go.
The final day of competition brought another record breaking performance from the Jayhawks, this time from Lusk. She set the school's all-time record in the 200-yard breast-stroke earlier in the season, but re-broke it with a fourth place finish in the event. Lusk wasn't the only one walking away with an award.
Both Miller and Campbell received meet honors. Miller was presented with Swimmer of the Meet and Campbell was voted Coach of the Meet. The team had a reason to celebrate, as well. With the swims from everyone on the team, Kansas clinched second place.
"I'm happy for our whole team, especially the seniors and returners, because we started the process of setting and achieving this goal a year ago," said Campbell. "It sets the bar higher. We want to keep going the direction we are going. A lot of this is more than just competitive excellence. We wanted to change the culture of the program and we are on the way to doing that. Now we can say we are a top-two team in a major conference."
Next up for the Jayhawks are the NCAA Championships that takes place March 20 through 22 in Minneapolis, Minn.
Edited by Chelsea Mies
SOFTBALL
sports@kansan.com
The Jayhawks (11-6) had nothing but hard fought battles this weekend in Chattanooga, Tenn. Kansas won their first three contests, extending their winning streak to five, but fell in their last game against Murray State.
In the first game of the Coach B Classic, Kansas took on Southern Illinois (6-7). Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Kessler (7-3) posted eight strikeouts in the shutout, not allowing a single run in the contest. This was Kessler's second straight shutout of the season.
Jayhawks lose their five-game winning streak
AMIE JUST
On the offensive side of things, sophomore infielder
allowing six hits and two runs. Kessler came in to relieve and recorded the win. Kessler added two strikeouts to Pille's 10.
In the first game of the sec-
Chaley Brickey slammed her second home run of the season, added another hit and chalked up two RBI. Senior infielder Ashley Newman had two hits in the contest as well. Junior utility Maddie Stein also pulled in two RBI in the contest.
italize... we're getting runners on, we're getting runners in scoring position, but we're not executing every time. We need to do a better job with that. I
In the night game of the day, Kansas took on Murray State (8-7), the ball rarely left the infield until the seventh inning when Kansas loaded the bases and Newman cracked just enough of the bat to bring home a win.
"It was a good day, obviously if you can win two, it's a great day," said coach Megan Smith. "I think we still have some work to do offensively to cap-
"I think our pitching and defense was stellar, so I'm excited about two wins."
MEGAN SMITH
Coach
+
Junior pitcher Alicia Pille and Kessler shared the mound. Pille recorded 10 strikeouts, while committing an error and
think our pitching and defense was stellar, so I'm excited about two wins"
ond day of the Classic, Kansas faced Miami (OH) (4-7). Pitching was Pille, senior Alex Jones and Kessler. Pille allowed three hits, two runs and committed two errors. Jones allowed two hits, while striking out two. Kessler came away with the win, allowing just one hit and threw six strikeouts.
At the plate, Newman connected three times on her four at bats, with one triptych, adding a run for the Jayhawks. Freshman catcher Harli Ridling added two hits, one run and two RBI.
In the final game of the tournament, Kansas faced Murray State for the second time. In the previous matchup Kansas won 3-2. Murray State came out swinging, scoring three runs in the first inning. Kansas battled back in the second inning with two runs. The two RBIs came from junior infielder Chanin Naudin and freshman infielder Taylor McEl-
haney. The third and fourth innings remained scoreless for both teams, with Kansas trailing by one run. The fifth inning, Murray State crossed home, extending their lead 4-2. Kansas wasn't going to let them get away that easy though. Stein smashed a two RBI home run, tying the game. Extra innings were needed, but Kansas couldn't control a wild pitch where Murray State capitalized.
Kansas is back in action March 7 in the Under Armour Classic in Tampa, Fla.
Edited By Brook Barnes