Volume 124 Issue 118
kansan.com
Thursday, March 15, 2012
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People who follow the women's basketball team placed a de facto ultimatum on Henrickson this season. If the Jayhawks failed to advance to the NCAA Tournament this season, Henrickson should lose her job.
You could sense the excitement and relief from Henrickson and her team. The Jayhawks finally earned their moment of glory.
Kansas can build off this. Say what you want about how the Jayhawks have performed since Davis's injury, but for them to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament after losing its star player is impressive and a testament to Henrickson. Kansas finally reached its goal of making it to the NCAA Tournament, but now it must strive for bigger goals and build for the future. Henrickson could and should be the coach to lead the Jayhawks.
into Thursday's game has not changed.
"Strike one," Morovick said.
"Strike one and that's all I need."
"When you have a bad outing like that, and he's a high-competitive individual, he's looking for a chance to redeem himself!" Price said. "I was really pleased with his performance in that first start, and I know him well enough to say that he wants this chance to redeem himself."
Morovick and the Jayhawks face an Indiana State team that is riding a seven-game winning streak. The Sycamore's 8.7 runs a game leads the Missouri Valley Conference, and Thursday's starter Dakota Bacus is 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. Coach Ritch Price says that Morovick's competitive nature will be crucial in the freshman's rebound start.
A key aspect of the jayhawks' success in the nonconference has been the near-flawless defensive. The Kansas defense ranks ninth nationally with a .983 field percentage, and out of the 58 runs allowed this year, just three are
being down only one run at the end or the fifth inning.
unearned. The strong defensive play enables the pitching staff to attack the strike zone more effectively, but the middle infielders' performance has taken the defense to an elite level.
"I thought we had a chance to be good defensively, and it all starts with the kid at short-stop," Price said. "Kevin Kuntz along with the second baseman Eldredge have played exceptional on defense, and anytime you're solid up the middle like that, you are going to have a great defensive team."
The defense even stepped up to the challenge of playing at the MSFC Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., last week. While the white roof and indoor lighting could cause many college fielders to lose sight of the ball, Kansas handled to new element well. Freshman center fielder Connor McKay said that his prior experience in indoor venues helped make a difference.
"About a year ago, I had the chance to play down in Florida
at Tropicana Field," Mckay said. "So I had been in a domed field before, and I liked it. The field was nice and the lighting wasn't too bad."
Offensively, the Jayhawks are showing more signs of improvement. Sophomore second baseman Ka'iana Eldredge led the Jayhawks in Big 12 batting average last season, hitting .356 in the final month of the year. However, he is off to another slow start with a batting average of .190. Eldredge recorded a multi-hit game against Minnesota, and Price is optimistic that the sophomore can find his swing heading into Thursday's game.
"For us to be good, he has to be productive," Price said. "He's been a good hitter as by his First Team All-Big 12 Conference selection as a freshman a year ago, so we need him to keep making progress."
- Edited by Pat Strathman
"They have had an awesome year," Jacobs said. "Every year for me we would be the team that was always on the bubble and Monday would come and we wouldn't make it. So I was so happy to see that."
Jacobs said the memories of her playing days came rushing back when she thought of the struggles the team has faced this year.
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It has been 12 seasons since Kansas made the tournament, so this experience is uniting the alumni who still describe the team as "we" and started planning reunions by catching up through texts and tweets over the last several days.
Jacobs and 2010 graduate Porscha Weddington keep in touch almost daily and they connected after the announcement. Jacobs said Weddington has been trying to get her back to Lawrence for an alumni weekend and this announcement made it seem more urgent.
Weddington is finishing up graduate school at Kansas and has been
LaChelda Jacobs, a 2010 graduate, wasn't watching, but found out through a tweet from fellow 2010 graduate Kelly Kohn. She grabbed her phone and sent coach Bonnie Henrickson a text.
They were also entertained with the assignment to play Nebraska, a former Big 12 foe, in the game. Weddington talked about how assistant coach Tory Verdi coached at Nebraska for five years before coming to Kansas. Jacobs talked about the recent records like splitting the series last year and described the game as doble. Morris turned to strategy outlining the familiarity of the coaching staff and players.
Donnie is a great cook, "Mr. is said.
"She came here to turn the program around and that's what she's doing."
All three players said they would tune in on Sunday night to watch the game. They will continue planning a reunion and cheering for the current team who carries the legacy of their program.
From the early excitement of the tournament selection to the return of a series that has been played every season since 1974-75, these proud alumni are still cheering for their younger jayhawk counterparts.
"It is definitely a doable game and I see them advancing on to the second round so I definitely have my fingers crossed," Jacobs said.
Edited by Amanda Gage