SWIMMING The Kansas swimming and diving team defeated Truman State over the weekend. PAGE 3B
SPORTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2005
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
'Hawks win bragging rights
www.kansan.com
Kansas defeats Missouri for season's first Big 12 victory
PAUL BRAND
pbrand@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The wait was long, but it was worth it. Bonnie Henrickson could not have asked for a more exciting and heart-pounding introduction to the Border Showdown, a 63-61 victory over Missouri.
In a roller coaster game that featured 18 lead changes, Kansas, 8-8 (1-4 Big 12), earned its first conference victory of the season in an interesting reversal of fortune of last Saturday's last-second 62-60 defeat at Texas A&M.
"I am very happy for our players," Henrickson said. "They are all very excited about this win, and they should be."
"We discussed as a group after the A&M game about rebounding," Henrickson said.
And the Jayhawks responded by grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, one of the keys to the game for Kansas.
"We won the battle of the boards, and that was critical for us," Henrickson said.
Instead of a repeat of the late shot against the Aggies, the Jayhawks closed out the victory using solid defense that kept the Tigers off the scoreboard for the last 3:24 of the game.
Although Kansas managed to score only four points in the last six minutes, senior guard Aquanita Burras' steal and
breakaway layup at the 1:19 mark put the Jayhawks ahead for good, 63-61. After penetrating the passing lane, Burras tightroped the sideline and went the distance for the score.
Burras finished the showdown with 12 points and four steals.
Missouri had an opportunity to win the game on its last possession, but Tiffany Brooks missed an open three-point shot with 15 seconds left to seal the Tigers' fate.
"It was a great opportunity." Brooks said. "I just couldn't knock it down."
The back-and-forth contest, which Missouri led 31-26 at halftime, was filled with lightning quick offensive spurs that made for a nervous atmosphere.
"That is the scariest thing at home." Burras said. "It was nerve-racking."
Kansas struck first and jumped out to an early 16-6 lead over the Tigers, but the Kansas offense quickly cooled.
In response to 'the early Jayhawk lead, Missouri closed out the first period on a 25-10 run that placed it at a five-point halftime advantage.
Rachel Sevmour/KANSAN
Scoring on its first three possessions after the intermission, Kansas regained the advantage, pulling ahead 32-31 by the 18:26 mark.
The remainder of the game proved to be a seesaw battle dominated by the
SEE BRAGGING ON PAGE 6B
Junior guard Erica Hallman passes by Missouri's EeTisha Riddle during Saturday night's game in Lawrence. The game came to a close with a 63-61 Javhawk victory.
Kemp steps up under the basket
BY BJ RAINS
brains@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
In the days leading up to Saturday night's game vs. Missouri, coach Bonnie Henrickson stressed rebounding. She wanted her players to be tougher and fight harder for positioning.
It must have worked, as the smaller Jayhawks out rebounded the much bigger Tigers 35-30 en route to a 63-61 victory.
The main contributor was junior forward Crystal Kemp. After pulling down only three rebounds in the first half, Kemp went off and grabbed 11 in the second half. She finished with a game-high 14 rebounds, seven offensive and seven defensive.
"Kemp was incredible on the glass, especially on the offensive end." Missouri coach Cindy Stein said. "It's like she has suction cups on her hands, when she grabs some of those rebounds."
Kemp's average was 8.3 rebounds per game.
Even she was surprised by her strong performance against a Missouri team that features six players over 6-foot-1. "I'm kind of shocked myself," Kemp said. "I'm not really sure why they didn't box me out, but I'll take it."
Henrickson attributes Kemp's success to her positioning. She put herself in good position to grab the rebounds, she said.
"Crystal did a great job of just sitting in the stance and playing the athletic position." Henrickson said. "She really cleaned up on the defensive boards."
Kemp contributed more than just rebounds in
SEE KEMP ON PAGE 6B
SPORTS COMMENTARY
BILL CROSS
bcross@kansan.com
Philadelphia fans have two teams to cheer for
PHILADELPHIA — It was hard not to feel good for Philadelphia sports fans this weekend.
Thousands of fans rushed the court when the Villanova Wildcats beat the Javahawks on Saturday.
As the fans left the court, amidst the cursing and yammering directed at the pack of Kansas fans behind the student section, my crimson-clad colleagues said they were surprised by the good behavior of the infamous Philly fanatics.
There was taunting and a constant stream of choice words and gestures, but no shoving, hat-snatching or beer-spilling from the fans who had enjoyed the Wachovia Center's happy hour leading up to tin-off.
Kansas fans in Philadelphia, just like those in the Midwest, were flummoxed and furious at the Jayhawks' inability to rebound or string together more than two consecutive baskets.
Several fans were more worried about the impending NFC Championship game hosted by their beloved Eagles.
Most of the Jayhawks' 22 turnovers came at the worst possible times, much to the delight of the snowed-in crowd.
After all, Philly fans have pelted Santa Claus with snowballs during an Eagles game and cheered when $ ^{a} $ an opposing player suffered a neck injury.
"Villanova exposed us." Kansas coach Bill Self said bluntly after the game.
Given the team's performance, Kansas fans at the game braced for the worst.
SEE PHILLY FANS ON PAGE 6B
Coach Self unloads the bench
Rvlan Howa/KANSAN
Senior guard Keith Langford and freshman center Sasha Kaun block Randy Foye, Villanova junior guard. Kaun blocked three shots and scored 11 points during 18 minutes in the Jawhacks' 83-62 loss against Villanova.
"I didn't know that I was going to play that much, but coach Townsend told me to be ready." Hawkins said.
Self said Hawkins' effort in practice combined with his performance early on in Saturday's game earned him more minutes.
Hawkins has played just 12 combined minutes all year, but saw 17 minutes of action on Saturday. Even though freshman Russell Robinson was the first point guard off the bench, he was removed from the game after committing two turnovers in just one minute of first-half play.
"Jeff has been better in practice." Self said. "We gave Russell a chance to play first, but when things didn't work out, I put Leff in."
The play that will be talked about the most when mentioning Hawkins will most likely be the punch in the stomach he took from Villanova freshman guard Kyle Lowry.
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTSWRITE
"It was nothing personal," Self said. "We just weren't playing well."
After he pulled his starters out of the game early in the second half, Self went with a combination of freshmen forwards Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson, and guards Mike Lee, senior, Jeff Hawkins, junior, and Nick Bahe, sonhomore.
PHILADELPHIA — Their jerseys read "Kansas," but you might not have recognized a lot of the Jayhawks on the court in Saturday's 83-62 loss to Villanova.
Whether Kansas coach Bill Self tried to send a message to his stars, or looked for some energy off the bench, he played some lineups that Kansas fans haven't seen all year.
Right before the half. Lowry threw a punch to Hawkins' stomach. The official saw it and ejected Lowry from the game.
It might have knocked the wind out of Hawkins' but he kept playing. He finished the game with four points and an assist.
Hawkins' performance was one of the few positives the jayhaws can take from Saturday's game. Freshman Sasha Kaun is another.
Kaun, a forward, finished with a
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SEE BENCH ON PAGE 6B
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