SPORTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2005
PAGE 1B
WWW.KANSAN.COM
MEN'S BASKETBALL: 81-79
Whose house? Dub's house
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
Simien blazes the trail for Kansas victory
For a guy who doesn't show much emotion on the court, Wayne Simien was certainly fired up vesterday.
Even before the tip-off, Big Dub had his hands in the air, waving to the 16,300 fans in Allen Fieldhouse. After Kansas' 81-79 victory against Oklahoma State, he was fist pumping like Tiger Woods.
Not to mention what happened during the game. The senior forward put the Jayhawks on his back, scoring a career-high 32 points and adding 12 rebounds.
After the game, he was all smiles. He knew his team had gotten an important victory.
"I'm not one to show much emotion, but this was just extra special today," Simien said. "This was one of our last home games, two of the top teams in the country were going at it fighting for a championship, emotions were hot and the crowd was into it."
The Jayhawks clearly knew they had to do one thing to win.
"Just feed the beast and good things will happen," senior guard Aaron Miles said.
For the first time in four games, good things did happen
Self said he'd never been a part of a game where two teams competed harder, where the atmosphere was better or as well officiated.
It was tough week for the Kansas basketball team. After losing to Oklahoma last Monday, the Jayhawks did some soul searching. They put in work on the practice floor and shut themselves off from the outside world.
for the Jayhawks. Their coach got a victory against his mentor and his alma mater. The Jayhawks, 21-4 and 11-3 in the Big 12, regained sole possession of the conference lead. And perhaps more importantly, Kansas won a close game against a good opponent, and played like one of the tops teams in the country.
No media. No cell phones. No distractions. The Jayhawks just wanted to focus on playing Oklahma State. They didn't talk to the media all week. Saturday night, they turned their cell phones over to the coaches. It didn't matter that they had family and friends in town. This team was determined to be focused.
Senior forward Wayne Simien holds up a fech encouraging his teammates on the floor. Simien scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds during the B11-79 victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys yesterday in Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think we did a good job of eliminating those outside distractions." Miles said.
The return of junior forward Christian Moody to the line-up was another instrumental element of the Jayhawks' success yesterday. Simien shot the ball 17 times, three less than he had in the previous two games combined.
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
SEE DUB'S HOUSE ON PAGE 3B
THE RANT
RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolaianni@kansan.com
Thanks for everything, Wavne
Thank you Wayne Simien.
Your play yesterday was the main reason that your Jayhawks were able to end the streak of losses it had. It was clear that you were not going to let this game against Oklahoma State end in a loss.
When Oklahoma State went on runs that tested the resiliency of your team, you stepped up. There was no jumper that you could not hit. You wanted the ball, and you were a true leader on the court.
This game certainly helped your case to be the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Year. You have been the Jayhawks' most consistent player all season, and yesterday was no exception. You showed the nation how good of a player you are. You were the team's savior, scoring 11 points in the game's final 10 minutes.
You have shown why you should be considered the premier player in the Big 12, and you've done it the right way. You do not complain, you are selfless, and you are not a flashy player. You simply perform at an unbelievable level in each game. You do what is best for the team, good things naturally happen when you have the ball. You are a class act, Wayne Simien. You are always looking at the positives, rather than dwelling on the negatives.
In your 21 games this season, you have never failed to score more than 10 points, and you have done it with unbelievable accuracy. Your field goal percentage has been better than 54 percent this season.
Your consecutive free-throw streak may have ended yesterday when you hit 10 of 11, but not before you made 34straight, a Kansas all-time record. You were nearly as good from the field, making 11-of-16, helping the Jayhawks shoot nearly 70 percent as a team.
It's clear that if the Jayhawks get you the ball, the team will win. And that's all that you care about, not how many rebounds or points you had.
SEE COLAIANNI ON PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 73-46
Kansas
Senior guard Aquanita Burras defends against Kansas State senior forward Kendra Wecker. Burras. One had steal and led the lavhawks with 11 points.
State dominates
Jayhawks can't keep up with Wildcats on Senior Night
BY PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
MANHATTAN — Kansas State forward Kendra Wecker's jersey was retired to the rafters of Bramlage Coliseum Saturday for Senior Night, a fact Kansas players should be happy about.
The Wildcats, 20-6 (11-4 Big 12), took the lead on their first possession and never fell behind, leading 38-18 at the break.
For four straight years, Wecker's Wildcat senior class has exerted total dominance over the Javhawks, and Saturday was no different.
Strong starts by seniors Kendra Wecker and Laurie Koehn, in their final game at Bramlage Coliseum, carried Kansas State to the early lead. Wecker finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Koehn added 19 on 5-of-10
A 73-46 victory against Kansas marked the eighth consecutive victory for Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown and gave the Wildcat seniors their fourth straight series sween.
"These kids have had great careers," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "Both those kids did a nice job for Kansas State.
Seizing on the emotion of Senior Night and the home crowd of 11,254, Kansas State's senior class jumped on top of Kansas early.
Wecker connected on her first five shots, Koehn hit open shots and the Wildcats ran wild in transition. With 6 minutes left in the first half, the Jayhawks were staring down the barrel of a 33-9 deficit.
The Jayhawks scored five points in the opening minutes and only seven of 26 attempts fell for the Jayhawks in the first period.
Kansas shot slightly better after halftime and closed out the contest with 30 percent shooting.
Burras led Kansas with 11 points — the lone lavhawk in double figures.
SEE DOMINATES ON PAGE 3B
TRACK AND FIELD
Individuals excel in Lincoln
BY PATRICK SHEHAN
pshehan@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The KU track and field team walked out of Lincoln, Neb., tired, weak and sore after competing Friday and Saturday at the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships
The men finished eighth in the conference and the women finished seventh.
Jeremy Mims said before the meet that mental preparation was essential for success.
He said that no one wanted to give anyone slack, and that he would have to earn his place in the Big 12. The Iowa City, Iowa, senior finished second in the 800-meter run, with a time of 1:49.46. His time provisionally qualified him for nationals.
Kansas coach Stanley Redwine
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said several of his athletes competed at top levels.
He said this team, is a combination of some athletes getting rejuvenated and the younger athletes living up to their potential.
"We had people set personal records, and I definitely see them as maximizing their potential." he said.
The comeback of the year could possibly be Amy Linnen's success in the women's pole vault.
After recovering from nagging foot and ankle injuries, the senior transfer became the record holder with a pole vault of 13 feet, 11.25 inches.
Linnen's goal this season was to get back to a national level.
The senior achieved her goal by jumping 13 feet, 9.25 inches. Linnen was cstatic when she finished her indoor season on top — the only
ALL-BIG 12 QUALIFIERS
SEE EXCEL ON PAGE 3B
NAME
The Kansas track and field team had 15 team members qualify for the Big 12 All- Conference team at the Big 12 Indoor Championships during the weekend. The top eight finishers in each event were named to the team.
ARMEE
Amy Linnen
Shelden Battle
Jeremy Mims
Brooklyn Hann
Ekaterina Sultanova
Kim Clark
Brooklyn Hann
*Shatoya Hill
Julius Jiles
*Matt Baysinger
Tiffany Cherry
Josh Kirk
*Charles Murphy
Octavia Garrett
Aaron Thompson
- — personal best
EVENT RESULT FINISH
pole vault 13' 9.25" first
shot put 62' 11.5" second
800-meter run 1:49.46 second
triple jump 41' 2.25" third
pole vault 13' 5.25" third
600-meter run 1:22.63 fifth
60-meter hurdles 0:08.5 fifth
triple jump 40' 10.25' fifth
60-meter hurdles 0:07.95 sixth
600-meter run 1:11.08 seventh
60-meter dash 0:07.51 seventh
heptathlon 5,126 points seventh
400-meter run 0:48.32 seventh
400-meter run 0:55.85 eighth
60-meter hurdles 0:08.00 eighth
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Source: Kansas Athletics Department