TUESDAY,JAN.22,2002 BASKETBALL THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3B Women's luck follows them on road By Jessica Scott Kansan sportswriter Every game is starting to look the same for the Kansas women's basketball team this season. 623 Vermont 749-5067 No matter the opponent, the Jayhawks have lacked a main ingredient in the first half of each contest — scoring. The story was no different at Nebraska (12-7 overall, 2-4 Big 12 Conference) on Saturday. Kansas (5-14, 0-6) once again got off to a slow start and a second-half rally was not enough to overcome its shooting woes in a 73-59 loss. The Jayhawks shot just 32 percent in the first period and trailed 38-18 at halftime. They came out energized after the break, outscoring the Cornhuskers 41-35, shooting 42 per "We always have a half where we outscore the other team," said senior gaurd KC Hilgenkamp. "I think if we could keep it closer in the first half then we would have a few more wins." cent, but the late effort was not enough to earn Kansas its first conference win. Hilgenkamp, who has recently been hampered by leg problems, is one of the few Jayhawks who is consistent offensively. She scored 15 points against Nebraska, which made this game her 13th double-figure scoring game of the season. "We knew after we lost three big scorers last year that we would have problems offensively." Hilgenkamp said. "Our defense is usually good, but we just need to be able to score more efficiently." Two Kansas players reached career-highs against Nebraska. Sophomore guard Keila Beachem scored a career-high 14 points and had five rebounds. Senior guard/forward Katie Hannon had a career-best with two three pointers in 12 minutes. "I was happy with our effort down the stretch," said Kansas coach Marian Washington. "It's good to see players like Keila Beachem step up, Katie Hannon also did a good job." Kansas travels to No. 11 Kansas State on Wednesday before facing Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. Freshman guard frustrated by nagging foot injury Contact Scott at sports@kansan.com. This story was edited by Kyle Ramsey. By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter Blair Waltz could do nothing but watch Watch, as her Kansas women's basketball team dug itself into an insurmountable first-half deficit at Nebraska on Saturday. The freshman guard sat helplessly on the bench with a stress fracture in her right foot. Blair Waltz She could only watch as the Jayhawks eventually fell to the Cornhuske. ally fell to the Cornhuskers 73-59. "It's very frustrating," Waltz said. "Any ballplayer that loves the game always wants to be out there." In a Kansas season plagued with shooting woes and a shortage of depth, Waltz's injury is the last thing this struggling squad needs. Herailing foot has caused her to miss three of the last four games, with her only action coming sparingly against Colorado on Jan. 16. Her status, as it has been the last two weeks, remains day-to-day. "It's really up to the trainer." coach Marian Washington said. "I understand that if she plays, it's not going to damage her foot any more. It's just a lot of pain." Waltz is averaging 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds a game for the Jayhawks (5-14 overall, 0-6 in Big 12 Conference play). Despite the injury, Waltz has proven to be Kansas' most productive freshman. "I think I'm contributing, but I think I need to contribute more," she said. "As the season goes along, I feel I am getting more comfortable." "I got injured in high school, but it was mostly just ankle sprains," she said. "It was nothing this serious. I first got a stress fracture in my left foot this summer. Now I have one in my right foot." However, Waltz's injury continues to linger, and her questionable status for each game is a tough pill for her to swallow. Waltz, a Leawood native, was highly recruited out of Blue Valley North High School by numerous programs, including Kansas State, the Jayhawks' next opponent. "I chose KU because they had better team chemistry," she said. "I got along with the girls a lot better." Waltz's availability remains up in the air for Wednesday, when Kansas travels to Manhattan to take on the Wildcats (17-2, 5-1). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Bramlage Coliseum Contact Wood at rwood@kansan.com. This story was edited by Brandon Stinnett. SOONERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B "They're the best team we've played, and that's not just being nice," Gooden said. "We knew coming in it was going to be the That offensive philosophy wasn't a whole lot different from what the Jayhawks tried to do in the first half. Except after halftime, instead of missing the shot or turning the ball over, Collision and Gooden, who say they make up "the best front court in the nation," were successful. Sure, the Sooners were in foul trouble for most of the game and weren't able to be as aggressive as they wanted to during parts of the second half, but Oklahoma, which has allowed the fewest points per game in the Big 12, was still able to go on runs of 14-0 and 11-0. The win, coupled with losses by Maryland and Florida, allowed the Jayhawks to jump two spots to No. 2 in the polls and made them the front-runners for the Big 12 championship, something Kansas hasn't done since the 1997-1998 season. best team we've played, the best team defensively. Bottom line: It was the best team, and the best game we've played." ("Oklahoma is) a really good team, and the win was just huge for us because I wasn't sure anyone else in the conference would be able to beat them," Hinrich said. "So I'm happy to get this win. It's a big win." Kansas' next game is at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Iowa State. Contact Pacey at sports@kansan.com. This story was edited by Anne Merengemeier. Connecticut still undefeated The Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. — With its leading scorsers misfiring early, top-ranked Connecticut leaned on Sue Bird and defense The senior point guard didn't disappoint and forward Tamika Williams made sure the defense didn't either. Bird scored 19 points and had a careerhigh nine rebounds to lead UConn (21-0,7-0) to an 80-53 victory yesterday over defending champion Notre Dame. Huskies remain A tenacious Notre Dame defense kept UConn from shifting into its up-tempo game. The Fighting Irish had seven steals and five Williams, scoring 17 points, led a dominating inside game with 11 rebounds and had four of UConn's eight steals to help the Huskies remain unbeaten. "They were really making it difficult for Swin, Tamika and Asjha to get easy looks," Bird said. The half ended with UConn leading 40-21. The Fighting Irish (10-7, 4-2) had shootingwoes of their own, hitting just 2-of-15 in the first 12 minutes. The Irish also turned the ball over 10 times in the opening half. "I'm sure Notre Dame is finding out what life is like after winning a national championship," said UConn coach Geno Auriemma. "The kids that have to carry the torch are not the kids that won it." blocks in the first half, disrupting the play of Swin Cash, Williams and Asja Jones. Notre Dame's problems continued in the second half just as UConn was rediscovering its transition game. The Huskies opened the half with a 17-4 run. The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through yesterday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking: MEN'SAPTOP25 rank team rec pts pvs 1. Duke (72) 16-1 1,800 1 2. Kansas 15-2 1,711 4 3. Maryland 14-3 1,578 3 4. Cincinnati 17-1 1,569 7 5. Florida 15-2 1,553 2 6. Oklahoma 14-2 1,428 5 7. Virginia 12-2 1,233 10 8. Kentucky 12-4 1,194 12 9. Illinois 14-4 1,184 11 10. Arizona 13-4 1,044 15 11. Oklahoma St. 15-3 950 6 12. Syracuse 16-3 949 8 13. UCLA 13-4 927 9 14. Alabama 16-3 820 16 15. Georgia 15-3 728 20 16. Gonzaga 16-3 658 13 17. Stanford 11-4 558 19 18. Missouri 14-4 483 21 19. Oregon 14-4 459 23 20. Ohio St. 14-2 453 NR 21. Wake Forest 13-5 448 14 22. Miami, Fl. 17-2 424 24 23. USC 14-3 405 18 24. Texas 13-4 198 NR 25. Connecticut 12-3 159 NR Others receiving votes: Taxes Tech 98, Boston College 75, Iowa 71, Pittsburgh 68, Indiana 46, Marquee 36, North Carolina St. 20, Mississippi 10, Memphis 9, Butler 8, St. Josephs 8, Western Kentucky 7, Wyoming 7, Pepperdine 5, Xavier 5, Johns 4, California 3, Georgetown 2, Tulsa 5, Utah 2, Southern Illinois 1. WOMEN'S APTOP25 rank team rec pts pvs 1. Connecticut (45)20-0 1,125 1 2. Tennessee 16-1 1,080 2 3. Stanford 18-1 1,026 4 4. Oklahoma 15-2 960 3 5. Duke 15-3 921 6 6. Vanderbilt 18-3 899 7 7. South Carolina 17-2 806 8 8. Louisiana Tech 12-3 779 10 9. Wisconsin 16-2 773 5 10. Purdue 14-3 744 11 11. Kansas St. 17-2 628 9 12. Texas Tech 11-5 624 15 13. Texas 13-3 606 12 14. Iowa St. 14-4 532 14 15. Baylor 14-3 469 13 16. Virginia Tech 14-3 357 21 17. Georgia 13-4 354 16 18. Florida 13-5 353 18 19. Colorado St. 15-3 276 20 20. Colorado 13-6 236 22 21. North Carolina 14-4 217 17 22. Auburn 13-4 175 19 23. Minnesota 14-3 168 NR 24. Boston College 14-3 126 25 25. Old Dominion 11-5 111 24 Others receiving votes: LSU 67, Arizona St. 55, Iowa 37, TCU 25, Illinois 14, tulane 18, UNLV 12, St. Josephs 7, New Mexico 6, Drake 5, Notre Dame 5, DePaul 4, Michigan St. 4, Mississippi St. 4, Cincinnati 2, Michigan 2, Santa Clara 2, Missouri 1 Your city in motion. The best way to reach Lawrence's shopping attractions, restaurants,and more,directly from campus.
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