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ROWING: The team falls to Texas in home dual. SEE PAGE 2B. COMMENTARY: Despite loss, this Kansas team stands out. SEE PAGE 2B.
SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
1B
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2002
COMMENTARY
Doug Pacey
dpacey@kansan.com
Don't blame Roy for loss in Final Four
Roy Williams did not choke.
The boo-birds and bandwagon fans will be all over the Kansas coach, crying that Williams can't win big games, and he's a recruiter, not a coach. That's what ignorant people do—they jump to false conclusions.
A first-round loss to No. 16 seed Holy Cross would have been reason to take the Jayhawk decal off your car's rear window, and if No.2 seed Oregon had snuck past Kansas, there might be reason to be embarrassed. But a 97-88 loss to No.4 Maryland?
The better team beat No. 2 Kansas Saturday night. The Terrapins had more poise, more confidence and more experience. Maryland was in the Final Four last year — the Terrapins knew what to expect. They blew a 22-point lead against eventual national champion Duke in the national semifinals last season and were determined not to let that happen again.
There's no shame in losing to Maryland, but more than that, there's a lot for Kansas to be proud about.
Not since Missouri went 14-0 in Big Eight Conference play in 1994 has a Big Eight or Big 12 Conference team finished league play undefeated. The last Kansas squad to accomplish that feat was Ted Owens' 1970-71 team, which also lost its first game in the Final Four.
Junior Guard Kirk Hinrich looks on as the Jayhawks shrink a point deficit in the last minutes of the game. Though they came within five points, Kansas lost to Maryland 97-88.
Williams led his team to come-from-behind victories at Iowa State and Nebraska. Kansas fended off an upset-minded Texas squad in overtime. The Jayhawks trailed Missouri 10-2 early in the game at Columbia, Mo., but rallied and captured their first victory at the Hearnes Center in three years.
But not even those victories and the subsequent 16-0 Big 12 mark will satisfy Williams' critics. Swingman Keith Langford has been in Lawrence for less than year, but he has already grown tired of the people who rage on Williams.
"I'm not going to say what I want to say," the freshman said, "but they know where to put their mouths."
Williams can't be blamed for the loss to Maryland. His players simply didn't show up for the biggest game of the season. The Terrapins were without their best big man, forward Lonny Baxter, for 17 minutes in the first-half, but the Jayhawks were still out-played in the paint by Maryland center Chris Wilcox.
Roy Williams will weather the barbs and someday he will get his national championship, but until then, he'll keep doing what his critics overlook — winning games and treating his players as people and not as parts of a machine.
- Pacey is an issaquah, Wash., senior in journalism and the men's basketball beat writer.
First-Team All-American Drew Gooden totaled just four points and six rebounds in the first-half. The junior forward finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and had "one of the worst games of my life on the wrong night."
Williams realized long ago that he'll never please everyone. Heck, even if the Jayhawks won the national championship tonight, someone would be upset because the margin of victory was too little.
Junior guard Kirk Hinrich finished with 11 points and made two of three three-pointers, but he fouled out when Kansas was in the thick of its 25-9 run late in the game.
Kansas loses composure chance at championship
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
By Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
ATLANTA — The 2002 Final Four couldn't have started much better for the Kansas basketball team.
But then reality set in, and everything fell apart for the Jayhawks.
Kansas rushed to a 13-2 lead against Maryland in the national semifinals at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta before coming to pieces against the Terrapins. The Jayhawks missed open shots and free throws, got into the foul trouble and struggled to get back on defense.
By the time the Jayhawks finally relaxed and fought back to be within five points, it was too late. Kansas lost to Maryland 97-88, ending the Jayhawks' season.
"We were in sync early on," junior forward Nick Collison said. "After that it seemed like we just weren't moving the ball well enough. I think they picked it up defensively. I don't really know what the deal was. I just know we weren't moving."
The senior-laden Terrapins said after the game that they knew what the Jayawkws were feeling. In last year's Final Four, Maryland collapsed after taking a 22-point lead against Duke.
Maryland senior guard Juan Dixon, who finished with a game-high 33 points, said having been through that experience added some pressure on the Terrapins to win the game. But it also helped them know how to handle that pressure.
"Guys probably got a little tensed up. That's why we had the start we had."
Dixon said. "But this time around, guys stuck together, and we pulled it out."
stuck together, then the team met. Before Maryland took control of the game, Kansas had nailed three threepointers. Heading into the first official timeout of the game, the large Jayhawk crowd at the Georgia Dome went crazy, and Kansas players said they were feeling confident.
"It felt good. I don't think they knew what hit them," senior guard Jeff Boschee said. "We were making shots, hitting threes and getting the ball down inside."
But Kansas coach Roy Williams said even during that time, he saw signs that his team might be in for some trouble later in the game, especially because of the lackluster play of his frontcourt.
Collison didn't catch fire offensively until the second half, and junior forward Drew Gooden struggled throughout the contest. Gooden was blocked by Maryland forward Chris Wilcox on several occasions and finished with only 15 points and nine rebounds.
"We got nothing inside except Nick Collison's opening drive," Williams said. "Wilcox's blocks I think were really significant early. It took us out of sync a little bit."
Williams added that in addition to having difficulty scoring inside, the Jayhawks lost their composure at times and made silly mistakes.
"We made some really bad plays in the first half. We fouled Juan Dixon shooting a three-point shot. I think that's not the smartest play in basketball, to say the least," Williams said.
Boschee thought the Jayhawks'
breakdown had more do with what Maryland was doing right than what Kansas was doing wrong.
"We didn't keep the same pressure on the defensive end," he said. "Dixon hit some threes, and it started from there."
with the victory, Maryland advanced
to tonight's championship game against Indiana. Kansas finished its season with a 33-4 overall record.
Contact Wasko at bwasko@kansan.com. This story was edited by Molly Gise.
Kansas upholds win streak
AARON SHOWALTER/KANSAN
Kansas' Cheryl Malaiah took first yesterday in singles play against Iowa at Robinson Courts. Her intensity helped the 'Hawks take a 5-2 victory, their eighth consecutive win.
By Jonah Ballow
Kansan sportswriter
Once again, junior Kim Lorenz came to the Kansas tennis team's rescue as it defeated Iowa 5-2 yesterday at the Robinson Tennis Courts.
Lorenz improved her record to 11-0 at the No.6 singles position when she defeated Gloria Okino 6-7(5),6-4,6-4 to lift the Jayhawks to a non-conference victory.
"I tried to stay concentrated and hang in there," Lorenz said. "She started making some mistakes and getting down on herself. I was able to stay confident and get the win."
getten win
Kansas was able to start the match strong with the tandem of Courtney and Kristen Steinbock collecting their sixth-consecutive victory by defeating Toni Neykova and Denitza Alexandrova 8-4.
in singles play, the Jayhawks proved
their toughness by winning four of six matches. Senior Cheryl Malliah played a strong base-line game that overwhelmed Neykova 7-5, 6-7(9), 6-3 in a grueling match that lasted four hours.
Courtney Steinbock added her seventh-consecutive victory at the No.3 singles position by defeating Alexandrova 6-1, 6-3.
Freshman Aurelie Bejar cruised past Jennifer Hodgman 6-3, 6-4 en route to her eighth-consecutive victory at No.5 singles. Bejar posts an impressive 12-2 record in spring dual action.
The Jayhawks also defeated Baylor 5-2 in the first match of the weekend on Saturday. Kansas showed its strength in the Big 12 as the Jayhawks gained their fifth straight victory in the conference. The victory also marks the first time the Jayhawks have defeated the Bears since 1998.
"This was a big win for us, we knew
Baylor was a solid team and to get this win was very important," Kansas coach Kilmeny Waterman said.
The Jayhawks post an 11-3 record on the season with an eight-match winning streak and an undefeated record at home.
"The team has a lot of potential and they are now starting to reach that potential." Waterman said. "They are working extremely hard in practice and it's showing in their performances in the matches."
Kansas hopes to continue its winning ways when they travel to Manhattan Wednesday to face the Kansas State Wildcats. The Jayhawks then come back to Lawrence for their last two home matches of the season against Missouri on Saturday and Iowa State on Sunday.
Contact Ballow at jballow@kansan.com.
This story was edited by Justin Guenlev.
Softball team struggles against Big 12 opponents
By Ali Brox
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team had a tough weekend, dropping three Big 12 Conference games, all with the score 2-1. The Jayhawks' record fell to 19-5 overall, and 2-5 in the Big 12.
The trouble for Kansas started Saturday against Texas' freshman pitcher Cat Osterman. Osterman surrendered a lead-off home run in the first inning to senior center fielder Shelly Musser that put Kansas up 1-0. But Musser was the only batter to have much success against Osterman. The hurler struck out 17 and gave up just four hits and one walk in seven innings of work.
"She's a very good pitcher, and she made an adjustment after the first inning," Shelly Musser said. "She threw it up and I hit it hard and then the rest of the time she used her drop ball and it worked after that."
In the second game of the doubleheader, Texas got on the board early, scoring in the first inning. The Jayhawks tied it up in the second after senior outfielder Leah Tabb reached first base on a Texas error.
Senior left fielder Christi Musser pinch ran for Tabb and stole second. Senior second baseman Amy Hulse's single past the shortstop scored Musser from second.
The Longhorns reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth and then returned
Osterman to the mound in the bottom of the inning. Osterman struck out four of five batters to end the game.
"Osterman threw a great ball game," coach Tracy Bunge said. "She threw Shelly a flat rise ball and looked at it go over the park and I don't think she threw another rise ball in the zone the rest of the day. Our hitters didn't do a very good job of adjusting. With the good ball movement that she's got, when we start chasing things, that allows her to throw it a little lower and a little more outside. And if you don't stay off of it, it makes it really tough. It makes it a long day."
The Jayhawks didn't find any solace in Columbia yesterday against Missouri.
The Tigers scored two runs on three hit
Senior third baseman Megan Urquhart led off the fourth inning by blasting a home run to bring the Jayhawks within one run, but neither team scored again.
Hulse led Kansas at the plate, going 2-for-2.
in the second inning and that was all they would need.
Kansas plays again at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Jayhawk Field in a make-up game against Washburn University.
Note:
n The Texas rowing team, who swept the Jayhawks Saturday morning, attended the first game of the doubleheader.
Contact Brox at abrox@kansan.com. This story was edited by Jenna Goepfert.
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