SPORTS
PAGE 1B
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2005
ANSAN
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: 67-53
Burras shucks 'Huskers
Aquanita Burras scores 10 points shuts down Nebraska's top scorer
BY PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Coming into the game, senior guard Aquanita Burras promised that she would be out for blood against Nebraska.
After 40 minutes of basketball yesterday, it was pretty obvious that Burras and the Jayhawks had bloodied the Cornhuskers with a blue-collar thumping.
As Kansas out-hustled, out-rebounded and out-played Nebraska, the rest fell into place for a 67-53 victory.
"We got out-hustled today," Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "I really felt like they were the aggressors."
Kansas saw it the same way, with a dominant performance in effort and on the scoreboard.
"We emphasize it all of the time that we need to be the team that goes out there and set the tone," junior guard Kaylee Brown said. "We need the other team to match our tone and they were unable to do that today."
With Burras on defense and junior guard Eric Arena Hallman's career-high 22 points, the Jayhawks, 12-12 (5-8 Big 12), had leaders on both ends of the
"We came out on
fire and stayed hot the whole day."
Erica Hallman Junior guard
floor and the success was contagious.
Junior guard
And the energy that was lacking in the previous defeat to Texas Tech proved crucial to the effort against Nebraska and helped Kansas dominate and shut down the Nebraska offense. The Cornhuskers, 16-9 (8-5 Big 12), arrived in Lawrence averaging 70.9 points per game.
"When you see someone dive on the floor, that brings out a lot of excitement." Burras said.
Burras shut down sophomore guard Kiera Hardy, Nebraska's leading scorer, and dictated the flow of the Cornhusker offense.
"Aquanita was fantastic on Hardy," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "She stepped up and guarded her tougher and the rest of the team rotated when they needed to."
MORE INFO
For more on this game, see the story on page 3B
The 5-foot-6 Hardy usually produces 19.5 points each game but was limited to only 13 on 5-13 shooting from the field. Hardy had only five points at halftime.
"When you get their leading scoorer frustrated, the team starts to get frustrated." Burras said.
No Cornhusker scored in double figures except Hardy.
For the Jayhawks, Hallman led a balanced attack that saw four players in double figures. Brown scored 14, junior forward Crystal Kemp added 11 and Burras recorded 10 in the victory.
To open the game, Hallman scored the team's first eight points with a midrange jumper and two three-point baskets. She remained hot for the duration of the game, finishing with 22 and connecting on 8-of-16 shot attempts, including 5-for-10 from three-point range.
"We came out on fire and stayed hot the whole day." Hallman said.
Good passing in fast-break situations also gave Hallman five first-half assists, jumpstarting the offense and giving the shooters the confidence to take shots.
SEE BURRAS ON PAGE 3B
Senior guard Aquanita Burras lays the ball up during the second half for two of her 10 points. Burras also grabbed seven rebounds during the Jayhawks 67-53 victory against Nebraska yesterday in Allen Fieldhouse.
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
MEN'S BASKETBALL
'New season' for Kansas
Self challenges team to begin again as difficult part of season approaches
BY KELLIE ROBINETT
hrobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
Kansas is now tied with Oklahoma State atop the Big 12 Conference standings after losing back-to-back overtime games.
The Jayhawks will be in a battle with the Cowboys for the conference championship but Kansas coach Bill Self knows that the most important thing is the "Big Monday" match-up with the Oklahoma Sooners at 8 p.m. tonight in Norman, Okla.
"We shouldn't even be thinking about the league race," Self said. "We should be thinking about playing better at Oklahoma."
After defeating the Colorado Buffaloes at home last Saturday, Self said his team would be starting a new season because the most difficult stretch of the year was coming up.
Kansas has gone 0-2 since then, and Self is not impressed with his team's performance.
"Our new season is off to a crap start." he said.
The Jayhawks will look to rebound from their recent setbacks against a Sooner team that won its last game in a dramatic fashion.
Trailing Kansas State by one point late in the game, at Bramlage
"They're a dangerous team," sophomore guard J.R. Giddens said. "The freshmen and sophomore guards that they have are very good and talented. They can shoot and have an inside presence."
Conseum, sophomore guard Drew Lavender drove the length of the court and hit an improbable lay up to give Oklahoma a one-point victory as time expired.
Oklahoma's inside play comes mainly from junior forward Kevin Bookout. He missed most of last season, suffering from a shoulder injury. His return has been key in Oklahoma's turnaround.
Bookout averages more than 12 points a game, and plays physical basketball at all times. At 6-foot-8 and 259 pounds he uses his heft to fight for rebounds and block shots.
Junior forward Taj Gray is also having a good year. He averages 15.3 points a game and also pulls down 8.4 rebounds a contest.
The Sooners (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) are especially tough at home. They have lost only one game in Lloyd Noble Center all year and defeated Kansas 77-70 when the team last traveled to Norman, Okla.
— Edited by Nikola Rowe
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Stinson too fast for'Hawks
BY KELLIIS ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SWITTERWIFI
Curtis Stinson didn't start for Iowa State on Saturday, but he certainly finished.
Late in overtime, he drove to the basket, picked up his dribble and hit a fade-away 12-foot jumper with 5.3 seconds remaining, propelling the Cyclones to a two-point victory against the Jawhaws.
On the following play senior guard Keith Langford put up a desperation three-pointer, but his shot clanked off the rim. Stinson, along with the rest of his teammates, ran to mid-court and began celebrating the team's biggest victory of the season.
"When I shot it I knew it was going in," Stinson, sophomore guard, said. "I came down and Aaron Miles bit on a crossover, and I was able to set in the lane and make the shot."
The game-winning shot brought Stinson's overtime point total to seven.
"Regular season, it probably is the biggest win of my career," Morgan said. "Beating a team like Kansas at Kansas. I'm just really proud of our kids."
Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan echoed Stinson's statement.
"No. 2 team in the country in their home," he said. "It doesn't get any better than that."
Before Stinson made his game-clinching shot, he told Morgan not to take a timeout.
"He maybe made the biggest shot of the year," Morgan said. "He never had any doubt. He said I've got the next one and I said, 'Do you have it?' He said, 'Don't take the timeout, just let me take it.'"
"He was great. We had no answer for Curtis Stinson."
Bill Self
Kansas coach
Kansas coach
The victory legitimized Iowa State's seven-game conference winning streak, which began on Jan. 29 with a victory against Oklahoma.
Sure, ISU also defeated the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas and the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas, along the way, but neither of those victories made the national scene.
The victory against the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse proves that Iowa State is now a team to be reckoned with in the Big 12.
"It makes the statement that we're coming." Stinson said. "We're not asking for anyone to give us anything. We don't get much respect as it is. We can play with anyone in the country right now."
Steve Bartkoski/KANSAN
Stinson's game-winning shot was the exclamation point on his stellar performance. In 40 minutes, he scored a game high 29 points, pulled down seven rebounds and made four steals.
"It was really sore." Stinson said. "A few minutes into the game I got some treatment. Once I got into the game, my adrenaline got pumping and it didn't hurt anymore."
Not bad considering that he opened the game on the bench with a sore left middle finger.
He also owned the overtime period. After junior guard Jeff Hawkins opened the extra 5 minutes with a three-pointer, Stinson won the game for the Cyclones by scoring all seven of his team's points.
Kansas guarded Stinson with a rotation of guards, but none of them were able to slow him down.
"He was great," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "We had no answer for Curtis Stinson."
Edited by Austin Caster
THE RANT
RYAN COLAIANNI rcolaianni@kansan.com
It's time to give J.R. Giddens the red light.
Giddens needs time to improve his game
Giddens was 1-of-11 in Saturday's game. If he had made just one of those missed shots, the game would have been a completely different story. Giddens was 3-of-13 against Texas Tech a week ago, and after he hit his first two of three three-pointers early in the game, he went ice-cold.
Clearly he has lost the touch he had last season. In the last two games Giddens has been a liability, turning the ball over and missing wide-open shots.
While the past two games have been particularly bad for Giddens, this is part of an ongoing trend. He is shooting just above 35 percent from behind the arc. Last season he was stellar, leading the team in three-pointers made. Giddens drew unbelievable attention not just from fans, but also NBA scouts. A Washington Post article last summer quoted a scout who said Giddens would have been a lottery pick in last season's draft.
These days, the NBA draft is based on potential, not performance. Giddens certainly has plenty of that. Giddens has tried to add new dimensions to his game, such as establishing a dribble drive. That hasn't been very successful, however. He still struggles to get to the free-throw line and doesn't drive and draw fouls like someone his size, should. He has shot only 18 free throws this year.
Giddens still leads the team in three-pointers made, but his accuracy is of concern. Either he should play consistently like he did last season, or he should play fewer minutes. Everyone knows that on any night Giddens can go for 20 points, it's just that the poor games have seemed to outnumber the good ones this season.
Giddens brings great energy and enthusiasm to every game, but he is in a funk right now, and coach Bill Self needs to look at other options. Look how well Jeff Hawkins played on Saturday, scoring 2 of 3 for three-pointers. Afterwards, Self said he wished he had played Hawkins earlier. It could have been the difference in the game.
SEE GIDDENS ON PAGE 3B
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