PAGE 68
FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sutherland reflects on her time at Kansas
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Senior forward Aishah Sutherland holds a frame with her jersey and pictures as she is recognized at senior night after Wednesday night's game against Oklahoma State in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jawhawks lost 66-63.
KATHLEEN GIER kgier@kansan.com
Aishah Sutherland said she doesn't even remember her first run through the Kansas tunnel. Her first vivid memory as a Jayhawk was the WNIT Championship game on April 4, 2009, she said.
Sutherland, a senior forward, ran through that same tunnel for the last regular season game of her Kansas career Wednesday night. She led Kansas with 23 points and added 10 rebounds in a 66-63 loss to Oklahoma State with her parents looking on from the stands.
Aner the game, she was honored as the team's lone senior. The announcer talked about her career achievements, including her 1,000 point and 500 rebound milestones earlier in the season. She currently has 1,160 points and 877 rebounds at Kansas.
Sutherland walked in on a path of red and blue carnations and was presented with a framed jersey. She met each teammate and coach with a hug and a smile before they all trailed back to the locker room.
"Sometimes you just can't believe it." Sutherland said. "It is like
a routine that you keep playing. You are here all the time and you don't know anything but it, and now it's about to be over."
Sutherland came to Lawrence from Pertis, Cali, four years ago. She moved hundreds of miles away from her mother, her father — who taught her how to play — and her little sister, who plans to play basketball at the University of Arizona next season.
She only returns home two or three times a year, but claims she has never adjusted to the weather. Sutherland grew up with basketball goals in her yard where her father, Clinton, taught her how to dribble. Through high school she developed a turn-around jumper on those same courts. Once she landed in Kansas, she figured out pretty quickly she would have to practice indoors during the hot summers and cold winters.
Sutherland has adjusted to everything else though, with the help and support of her teammates and coaches. She said she spends hours watching tape and talking to assistant coach Tory Verdi, and rattled off a list of former players she still keeps in touch with.
"She has recognized that she is surrounded by people who love
her to death and come to work every day to make her successful," Henrickson said.
Sutherland said these are the connections she will miss when she leaves at the end of the season.
"I love this team because they really care," Sutherland said. "I really love my teammates."
Sutherland came into the program with junior guard Angel Goodrich. Goodrich's early career was marred by two consecutive ACL tears, and she fell behind after a redshirt season, leaving Sutherland alone in a class of her own. Sutherland said it was lonely as a freshman, but she didn't mind the spotlight on Senior Night.
"It itse like yesterday was our freshman year and we were talking about our senior year and then things changed, but I am proud of her." Goodrich said.
Goodrich has watched Sutherland play for four years and has been most impressed with her development.
"Her game has really grown and she has grown as a person she has done so well and we need that from her," Goodrich said.
Sutherland's father played for the University of Cincinnati and
played professionally overseas. She is hoping for a chance in the WNBA draft in April.
She has started every game this season, averaging 13.6 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. She is ranked second in blocks, third in rebounds, and 17th in scoring for Kansas women's basketball.
"She is one of the most athletic players I have ever coached, without hesitation, and I have been blessed to coach some really talented players," Henrickson said.
She wants more than anything to leave this program with an NCAA Tournament appearance, and the team will look to her in the next two games to make that dream come true.
Sutherland said she wants to leave the program as an example. She has played as a secondary player for most of her career here, but has taken over and led the team when they needed her most. She preaches dedication and the importance of practice. For her, it's been very rewarding.
"I want people to look back, see my name on the wall and think 'I want to play like she played in this program,' Sutherland said.
TENNIS
Edited by Ian Cummings
Jayhawks prepare for weekend of ranked competitors
CORBIN MIHELIC
cmihelic@kansan.com
Tune-up matches are in the past for the undefeated Kansas women's tennis team.
This weekend, the Jayhawks travel to Tulsa, Okla., to take on Tulsa and North Texas—their first matches against ranked foes this season. Tulsa is No. 30 in this week's ITA team rankings, while North Texas is 10 spots lower at No. 40.
Despite a 7-0 start to dual play,
"I think the girls are really excited about playing some ranked teams this weekend an
Hall-Holt
getting to see where we are actually standing," said Kansas coach Amy Hall-Holt.
The matches this weekend are the team's last non-conference du-
als before beginning conference play one week from today. The Jayhawks will play North Texas on Saturday and face the host, Golden Hurricane, Sunday. Both matches are set to begin at noon on their respective days.
"The competition level will be harder, but I feel like we will match up well just because we have so much talent on our team and we have a lot of grinders," said sophomore tennis player Dylan Windom. "I feel like it's going to be a great
weekend this weekend."
At 8-4, North Texas will likely be the toughest competition Kansas has faced to date. Six of the 12 matches the North Texas Mean Green have played this year were against ranked teams, including 4-3 wins over No. 50 Cal Poly and No. 53 Kansas State.
The Golden Hurricane is probably an even bigger challenge for the Jayhawks, after beginning their season 7-2. Tulsa has also taken down Kansas State, No. 31 Oklahoma and No. 33 North Carolina State, with its only losses coming to top-25 teams.
"When we're playing points against each other, you've got to rise to the level of your competitor" Hall-Holt said. "I felt last week, with the level that' we played on, right now we feel very confident and we can compete with anybody"
Despite being unranked as a team, one of Kansas' very own joined this week's individual singles rankings. Freshman Maria Belen
Ludueña, who is one of two Jay-hawks undefeated in singles play, is now ranked No. 118 in the ITA Division I Rankings.
"I feel so good and I'm so happy because I have a ranking," Ludueña said. "It's amazing for me because when I came here, I thought the first three months would be so difficult."
Edited by Nadia Imafidon
www.ReserveOnWest31st.com
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