6B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2003
Top freshmen face off as Baylortops Kansas
By Shane Mettlen
smettlen@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Saturday's women's basketball matchup between Baylor and Kansas may have been a glimpse into the future of the Big 12 conference.
Some of the league's top freshmen clashed when the Lady Bears beat the Jayhawks 77-61 in Allen Fieldhouse. Baylor's highly touted freshman forward, Sophia Young, entered the game the Big 12's leading rebounder grabbing 9.6 boards a game and is the Lady Bears' second leading scorer at 12.8 points per game.
The reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week. Youngputin
12 points helping Baylor to victory. For Young, the important thing was helping her team rebound from a tough loss at Oklahoma State.
"We just came off a terrible loss," Young said. "We came with the intention that we really needed to win this game. We had a good practice to get us focused and I think all of us worked together to get back."
Despite the Baylor victory, two Kansas freshmen post players had impressive games of their own. Crystal Kemp scored 12 points and Tamara Ransburg led all scorers with a career-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Ransburg said she was pleased with Kansas' play in the
paint.
"The inside game was good this time," Ransburg said. "It feels good to go out there focused mentally, physically and just stay out of foul trouble."
Young said that matchup against Kansas and Ransburg will be an interesting challenge for the next three years.
"She is a really good player." Young said. "I think she has the potential to become a really great player. I think if I continue working hard and she continues working hard then we will be interesting players to see play against each other."
— Edited by Ryan Wood
Dan Nelson/Kansan
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
Freshman forward Tamara Ransburg fights for possession of the ball with Baylor sophomore Steffanie Blackmon. A three-point shooting spree in the last seven minutes of the game resulted in a 77-61 loss to Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse.
Hawks
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1B
Freshman forward Nichelle Roberts attempts to block the shot of Baylor's Sophia Young.
Along with 18 points from Davis, the Bears were led by sophomore forward Steffanie Blackmon with 19 points. Blackmon spent a good portion of the second half on the bench with foul trouble, but the Bears' back-court picked up the slack. To complement Davis' long-range shooting, junior guard Jessika Stratton added 10 points.
Freshman forward Tamara Ransburg led the Jayhawk attack, scoring a career-high 23 points. Ransburg also finished with nine rebounds; one shy of a third consecutive double-double. Defensively, Ransburg's one blocked shot gave her 57 on the
year, which is the fourth-highest single-season total in Kansas history. Kansas assistant coach Lynette Woodard had 56 in 1979.
Also scoring in double figures were Becker, with 12, and freshman forward Crystal Kemp with 12 points each.
Becker's points came from beyond the three-point line, where she went 4-of-8. While long-range shooting is Becker's specialty, her focus when seeing the extended playing time was to be a defensive presence.
"I just take the opportunity that I got to get into the game today and put in out there defensively as much as I can and my shots just came to me." Becker said, "When they do start falling like that and you get into a rhythm, that's what I love, and that's the way I can
help my team best."
win only three games left in the regular season, the road does not get any smoother. Kansas' final three opponents will be Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State — all teams the Jayhawks have lost to this season. First up will be K-State at Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night. Washington said her team and coaching staff would do their best to face top-five competition and stay close.
"I am really looking forward to the game and so are the players," Washington said. "We will have a good game plan going in. We will have to stay very focused, and hopefully put ourselves into a situation where it will be a decent game."
— Edited by Michelle Burhenn
Scott Revnolds/Kansan
Sophomore guard Aquanita Burras drives on a Kansas breakaway. Burras had 7 points in Saturday's game against Baylor at Allen Fieldhouse
Women earn third spot in Kansas track history
By Chris Wintering
cwintering@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Two Kansas women put their names in the Kansas track and field record book Saturday at the KSU Open in Manhattan.
Freshmen Abby Emsick and Angela Pichardo earned third places in Kansas history in their events.
Emsick finished second in the shot put with a throw of 49'03.50" and Pichardo won the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:53.20.
Emsick said that she would have plenty of time to move up the record chart.
"I am taking small steps and hopefully I will achieve more and more as time progresses," Emsick said. "I hope to one day have that record."
Pichardo also said that she would have plenty of time to improve, but was more awed by how soon her record arrived.
"It is a major accomplishment coming from high school and then to a major university to do this." Pichardo said. "It is really shocking for me."
Pichardo was followed by junior Laura Lavoie, junior Arrah Nielsen and freshman Jenna Bimbi as the Jayhawks finished first through fourth in the race.
"That says a lot about our distance running at KU," Pichardo said. "We have a lot of depth and a number of very strong girls."
Other event winners at the KSU Open were sophomore Lauren Brownrigg in the mile with a time of 5:08.32 and senior Luke Steinbrink in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:12.09.
The men's and women's vertical jumpers and horizontal jumpers competed at
the Sooner Invitational Saturday in Norman, Okla.
The top finisher for the women's team was sophomore Sondra Rauterkus, who placed third in the high jump with a jump of 5'07". Senior Benaud Shirley came in second in the triple jump, leaping a season-best 50-01.75.
The Jayhawks will compete in the Big 12 Indoor Championships this weekend in Lincoln, Neb.
"It is very inspiring to have a performance like this right before the Big 12 Championships. It shows me that I can do it," Pichardo said.
Emsick said she thought her performance Saturday would give her confidence this weekend.
"It makes me a little nervous because now I have to top that throw, but it is a major boost in confidence for me right now," Emsick said. "That is really what I needed."
The men's team finished the indoor regular season 5-3 overall and 2-2 conference record, and the women's team finished 4-1 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 competitions.
— Edited by Brandon Gay
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