FRIDAY.FEB.15.2002
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN • 3B
Jayhawks take on Centenary hope home runs keep coming
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
Coach Bobby Randall was pleased with the Kansas baseball team's home run assault that led to a 10-6 victory against Ottawa on Tuesday, and he hopes for more of the same as the team takes on Centenary tonight.
"I think that was a glimpse of what we're hoping to do offensively," he said.
The Jayhawks (1-0) will head to Shreveport, La., to take on Centenary (4-3) for a three game series starting tonight. It will be the first ever meeting between Kansas and the independent school.
Randall said the joy that came with knocking one out of the park could almost be damaging.
"If you start focusing on the result, and not the execution, you don't get the result," he said. "As long as we don't try to hit home runs, we'll hit a bunch."
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Seniors Jeff Davis, Jake Wright and Dan Olson will start on the mound for the three-game set. Olson (1-0) was the starting pitcher Tuesday against Ottawa, pitching six innings and allowing two earned runs for the win.
The pitching staff hopes for more of the same offensively, but Randall said the team had room for improvement in all aspects of the game.
"Some of the things we did well, we did inconsistently, like making contact," he said. "Defensively, we weren't real crisp. And for the most part, those are things you expect to improve on."
Game times are set for 7 p.m. today, 1 p.m. tomorrow and noon on Sunday. Kansas returns home to play Kansas Newman on Tuesday at Hoglund Ballpark.
Notes:
Junior outfielder Jason Appuhn will not start this weekend. Appuhn, penciled in as the starting left fielder in preseason, is still recovering from off season shoulder surgery, which has limited his ability to throw.
"We'll use him as a pinch runner, maybe a pinch hitter, but he's not ready to go." Randall said. "We're missing Jason. That guy is one of our best outfielders."
Centenary has won three of its last four, including a 4-3 victory over Lamar University on Wednesday.
Contact Wood at rwood@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brooke Hesler.
WOMEN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
at the half. But Kansas fell behind by 15 points after the break and was unable to stop K-State's Kendra Wecker, who finished with a game-high 23 points.
This time around, the Wildcats (21-5, 9-4) enter town with a rare two-game losing streak, giving the Jayhawks some much-needed confidence.
"To be honest with you I think that we can beat Kansas State." Washington said.
"This team has a lot of reasons to have some confidence going into that game. I certainly have a lot of confidence."
After Wednesday's seven point loss to Nebraska, Washington and her team still seemed upbeat about Sunday's matchup. Although the Jayhawks have yet to break their school-record 13-game losing streak, the players said they have had no trouble getting ready for the Wildcats.
"I think it's going to be fun, really fun because I know the pressure that we put on Nebraska, there's no way K-State can handle that," sophomore guard Leila Menguc said. "They will get tired. They don't play that many people so I know that we can put pressure on them. It's going to be fun."
Contact Scott at jsccott@kansan.com. This story was edited by Gillian Titus.
Contact Scott at
K-State fans expected for Sunday's Showdown
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
The Wildcats (21-5 overall, 9-4 Big 12 Conference play) come to Allen Fieldhouse for a 3 p.m. tipoff Sunday, but they're bringing more than just their team.
The Kansas State women's basketball team might feel like it was given an extra home game on its conference schedule.
Thousands of Wildcat faithful are expected to be in attendance
for the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas (5-21, 0-13). The game is expected to easily top the highest single game attendance mark of the season, set on Jan. 12 when 1,909 fans watched Missouri beat Kansas 66-48.
K-State comes to Lawrence after losing their last two games. They fell 79-61 to Nebraska last Sunday and lost to No. 4 Oklahoma 76-68 Wednesday night, in part because of 19 Wildcat turnovers.
"If you turn the ball over, it makes
it really hard to win the basketball game," said K-State coach Deb Patterson. "I felt like that was one of the significant differences in the game."
K-State's top three scorers are all Kansas natives. Sophomore forward Nicole Ohlde averages 18.8 points per game to pace the Wildcats. Freshman guard Laurie Koehn averages 17.4 points, and freshman forward Kendra Wecker averages 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest.
The Jayhawks traveled to Manhattan on Jan. 23, and lost 72-59 in front of 8,823 fans at Bramlage Coliseum. Both Wecker and Koehn scored more than 20 points, with Koehn connecting on five of her seven three-point shots.
Kansas coach Marian Washington said that the uncharacteristic losing by K-State may lead to a motivated Wildcat squad.
Contact Wood at rwood@kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Guenley.
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KU Vietnamese Student Association
KU Vietnam proudly present Tet 2002 Year of the Horse
Come join us for an evening of culture, entertain and fun as we celebrate the new year!
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2002
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Kansas Union Ballroom
Party with us afterwards at 11 p.m.at the ECM!
Admission for the show and the party are free!
Visit our website: http://raven.cc.ukans.edu/~kuvsa