Tuesday
8B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2003
'Hawks lose after leading by 20
Eric Braem/Kansan
Jeff Graves, Jayhawks' junior forward, struggles as four Wildcats devour him. Arizona dominated Kansas, outscoring the Jayhawks by 30 in the second half of its 91-74 victory Saturday.
Second-half struggle keeps Kansas from defeating top-ranked Arizona Wildcats
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
kansan.sportswinter
What happened?
With a victory over No. 1 Arizona seemingly secure, No. 6 Kansas blew a 20-point first half lead and eventually fell 91-74 Saturday in Allen Fieldhouse.
During the first 20 minutes the Jayhawks could do no wrong. Kansas (13-5, 3-1) shot 65 percent from the field, led by Keith Langford.
The sophomore guard owned the
first half, hitting nine of 12 shots before intermission.
When he dunked an alley-oop pass from sophomore teammate Aaron Miles, opening Kansas' largest lead of the game, it appeared that the Jayhawks were just getting started. It was actually the beginning of the end for Kansas.
Langford's performance turned out to be a microcosm for the Jiahawk team.
Like Langford, Kansas' hot start was matched only by its frigid finish.
After scoring 22 points in the first half, Langford was held to just five in the second, still good enough for a career-high 27
"I wanted redemption so bad. That was the worst game of my life"
Salim Stoudamire
Arizona guard of his 2-of-19 performance in last year's game against Kansas
points.
The Jayhawks followed suit, making just 29 percent of their shots.
"You throw it up there, and it either it goes in or it doesn't," Langford said of Kansas' bipolar shooting. "First half it was going in."
Stoudamire drained one clutch shot after another after the break, finishing the day with a game-high 32 points.
Langford was good early, but Arizona sophomore guard Salim Stoudamire dominated later.
Behind Stoudamire's lead, the Wildcats mounted a 37-point turnaround.
The game was a complete reversal of last years' contest, in which Stoudamire made just two of 19 shots.
"I wanted redemption so bad," he said of the teams' last meeting. "That was the worst game of my life."
"It had to have been the worst coaching job of my life."
Roy Williams Kansas basketball coach
Stoudamire may have exorcised his demons, but Kansas coach Roy Williams will be dealing with his for some time to come, he said.
"It had to have been the worst coaching job of my life," he told reporters.
The defeat comes just three days after another Kansas breakdown.
The Jayhawks lost a frustrating game to Colorado, 60-59 on Wednesday.
Reeling from consecutive defeats, Williams said he was worried about the psyche of the team as it readied to face No. 4 Texas on Monday.
If Williams is looking for encouragement, he can always turn to long-time friend and Arizona coach Lute Olson.
"I'm as concerned as you can possibly be," he said.
Olson told reporters after the Wildcats' victory he had no doubts about the character of Williams' ball team.
"It's tremendous to play against Roy," Olson said. "This is a first-class program that he runs."
Olson's starting forward and All-American candidate, senior Luke Walton, was equally complimentary of Kansas.
"it's like a childhood dream," he said of the victory. "Kansas has always been such a great program. To come in here and win is an amazing feeling."
- Edited by Brandon Gay
Women break losing streak by beating Aggies
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's basketball team (8-9 overall, 1-5 Big 12 Conference) finally can claim a conference victory after beating Texas A&M Saturday night.
The Jayhawks' 64-57 victory in College Station, Texas, over the Texas A&M Aggies snapped the team's 21-game conference losing streak.
Kansas' last regular season conference victory came against Texas A&M in the season finale two years ago.
Freshman forward Crystal Kemp had one of the strongest performances of her young Jayhawk career with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
"I was real impressed with the team and myself," Kemp said. "Going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line was real good for me."
Complementing Kemp was sophomore guard Aquanita Burras, whose 16 points helped her break a recent scoring slump. She was scoreless in last Wednesday's loss to Oklahoma.
The true grit of the Jayhawks showed when they battled back from a 38-28 half-time deficit.
The Jayhawks took the game over to start the second half with a 17-0 run ignited by seven points from freshman
"I was real impressed with the team and myself. Going 11-of-12 from the free-throw line was real good for me."
Crystal Kemp freshman forward
forward Tamara Ransburg.
Ransburg finished the contest
with 11 points and four
rebounds.
The Aggies (8-9 overall, 1-5 Conference) kept the score close until late in the game when the Jayhawks hit six consecutive free throws to seal their first conference victory of the year.
Coach Marian Washington had been emphasizing the importance of breaking into the conference win column to spark a solid finish to the season.
The team will test Washington's theory on Wednesday night when they play host to Nebraska.
"She let us know once we had one going. It sets the tone for the rest of the season," Kemp said. "She just basically said it was a confidence booster for us."
Edited by Michelle Burhenn
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