THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY MARCH 26, 2009
SPORTS
5B
WOMEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Morris' statistical improvement is drastic — she scored just 10 points combined in Kansas' final two games of the regular season. But more startling is her recent resolve to continue attacking the basket throughout the game's entirety.
"With Danielle bringing to the table her outside shot, we definitely need a slasher – somebody who draws defense and then she can kick it out and create easier shots,"
senior guard Ivana Catic said.
Attribute at least a portion of Morris' recent improvement to McCray, Kansas' leading scorer this season. In watching how McCray continually looked for shots on offense, Morris adopted a similar mindset.
"I realized that if I have a girl beat and she's on my shoulder, I can still shoot it because she's not going to stop me." Morris said. "And I took to that from Daniel. She
does that all the time."
Yet, beyond that, Morris' key to success has been simple: Continue being the aggressor. In Kansas' last three games, that's what she's done.
"I don't even know how to describe it. I guess I'm in a better rhythm, a better flow," Morris said. "I'm looking for things I didn't look for in the beginning."
Edited by Susan Melgren
kansas vs. arkansas
P No. Kansas Ht. Yr. PPG
G 3 Ivana Catic 5-8 Sr. 2.5
F 4 Danielle McCray 5-11 Jr. 20.5
G 20 Sade Morris 5-11 Jr. 12.3
F 24 Nicollette Smith 6-2 So. 6.9
C 14 Krysten Boogaard 6-5 So. 8.8
P No. Arkansas Ht. Yr. PPG
G 2 Shanita Arnold 5-4 So. 5.6
G 22 Ceira Ricketts 5-9 Fr. 12.5
G 33 Lyndsay Harris 5-9 Fr. 9.9
G 34 Ayana Brereton 5-10 Sr. 10.1
F 31 Whitney Jones 6-0 Sr. 10.5
When/Where...
Tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at Allen Fieldhouse.
Who to watch for...
Freshman Geira Rickets. It was pretty apparent Ricketts was going to be an impact freshman at the college level way back in the seventh grade. Ricketts started for her high school team for six years and had four quadruple-doubles in her career at Fairdale High in Kentucky. Her most impressive line: 21 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals and 7 blocks. She continues to do it all for the Razorbacks
A very close game. Arkansas lost at Kansas State in December by nine and just beat Oklahoma State by one in the second round of the WNIT. Arkansas didn't play too well in the SEC this season, but it was a tough conference and the Razorbacks are very young. They just might be coming together a little too late.
Why Kansas will win...
Simply, Kansas is taller. The tallest player who played in the Razorbacks' victory over Oklahoma State is 6-1. 6-5 sophomore Krysten Boogaard will seize the opportunity to pull down rebounds and go back up without much interference.
How the game is important...
Magic number...
It's the Sweet 16 of the WNIT, and the Jayhawks are set on winning the whole tournament to show the NCAA tournament committee they made a mistake by leaving Kansas out of their field. A loss ends steady senior point guard Ivana Catic's career.
192 Number of three-point attempts for freshman Lyndsay Harris on the season. That's more than six a game. She was one of eight against Oklahoma State, and you can bet she'll be the first one to put it up from deep if the Razorbacks fall into a hole.
Clark Goble
NCAA TOURNAMENT
Travis Walton gets ready to play Kansas after making 18 points in round two
Michigan guard scores career-high
LARRY LAGE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
EASTLANSING,Mich.—Travis Walton strolled onto Michigan State's practice court shortly after midnight with a McDonald's cup
a basketball in another.
"Just getting some shots up and watching more film," Walton said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. "Just cherishing this moment."
The second-seeded Spartans
still have a chance to soak up and create memories because the Big Ten's defensive player of the year had his best game offensively in the second round against USC.
Walton scored a career-high 18 points in the victory, putting Michigan State in the regional semifinals for the eighth time in 12 years and keeping his hopes alive to continue a streak for the elite basketball program.
"The key is keeping [Collins] off the line this time. But that's easier said than done because he's really good."
Since Tom Izzo succeeded Jud Heathcote in 1995, every player who has played for the Spartans for four years has been on a Final Four team.
TRAVIS WALTON Michigan guard
If Walton can help the Spartans defeat defending national champ-
Despite Walton's breakout game, the Jayhawks probably won't have to worry about him making rain-bow jumpers from all angles as he stunningly did against USC.
"It's something you think about, but it takes patience." Walton said. "We just have to focus on Kansas."
pion Kansas on Friday night and the winner of the Louisville-Arizona game on Sunday, he and his fellow seniors will extend the feat.
Collins made 11 of 14 free throws and scored 25 points in Michigan State's 13-point win.
They will, though, have to hope Sherron Collins can score against him on Jan. 10 in East Lansing.
"The key is keeping him off
He is scoring just 5.3 points a game, ranking seventh on the team, and averaging 3.2 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
the line this time," Walton said. "But that's easier said than done because he's really good."
Walton's statistics aren't good, but his impact is great.
Michigan State won the 2000 national championship during a four-year run that included four Big Ten titles and three Final Four appearances because it was mentally and physically tougher than many of its opponents.
The guard has made his greatest contribution with intangibles Izzo needed again.
Izzo said he made the mistake of valuing talent over toughness before recruiting Walton out of Lima, Ohio, to bring the program back to its blue-collar roots.
Then, the Spartans went seven seasons without a conference championship and advanced to the national semifinals once.
"We went from tough to a little soft to tougher," Izzo said. "Travis has been a big part of the upgrade."
SEQUEL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor agrees. That's why he told his teammates he was rooting for Michigan State to beat Southern California in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Minneapolis after Kansas beat Dayton to move to the Sweet Sixteen.
Taylor wanted another shot at Michigan State. He's not hiding the revenge factor.
Some of the Jayhawks believe the defeat in East Lansing, which in reality was more lopsided than the 13-point deficit, shaped them into the team they are today.
Sophomore center Cole Aldrich hasn't forgotten the disappointment in the Kansas locker room after that game. But he also remembers how Kansas used it to mature and women 13 of its next 14 games.
"People are going to notice how much we matured when we play Michigan State again." Taylor said. "This is a totally different team."
"It's something you don't want to go through as a team or as a player — learning through a loss," Aldrich said. "But sometimes that's the best way to learn.
through defeat, and we definitely learned from that."
But don't misunderstand: No one has positive memories from what happened at the Breslin Center. Collins said he remembered being shell-shocked. Self called the experience humbling.
Can all that negativity be used as motivation to give Kansas an edge in the re-match?
"Since we lost the first match-up." Self joked. "I'm saying we have a huge advantage."
FIGURE SKATING
- Edited by Carly Halvorson
ASSOCIATED PRESS
United States' Evan Lysacek skates during the men's short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles Wednesday.
Frenchman wins the short
American gets second and the competition continues today
NANCY ARMOUR ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Forget the quad. It was another jump that put Brian Joubert ahead of Evan Lysacek.
The Frenchman bothed his quad combination yet still edged Lysacek in the short program at the world figure skating championships on Wednesday, bolstered by a more difficult solo jump, joubert, the 2007 champion, scored 84.40 points, putting him 1.7 ahead of Lysacek going into Thursday night's free skate.
Patrick Chan, Canada's up- and- comer, is third, and the audience thought he deserved better, booing when his marks were posted. Chan shrugged and, when the boos continued, smiled and put his finger to his lips.
Brandon Mroz showed his second-place finish at his first senior U.S. championships was no fluke, finishing eighth with a solid, clean skate. U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott, however, ran into a few problems and is in 10th place.
The pairs final is later Wednesday, with reigning champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany in the lead.
Joubert found himself in a dust-up with Chan earlier this week over the importance of the quad; Joubert thinks it should be a staple of men's skating. Chan thinks it's the overall quality of a program that should matter most. Both wound up being right Wednesday
A painstakingly slow entry into
his quadruple toe loop-triple toe combination forced Joubert to put his right hand all the way down on the ice to save the landing. That made for a crooked takeoff on the second jump, and another ugly landing.
But because loubert had done the quad toe, he could do a triple lutz as his required solo jump. Lysacek had done a triple lutz as the opening jump in his required combination, so he had to do a triple flip for his solo jump. Throw in style points, and Joubert's lutz ended up being worth two points more.
As Chan pointed out, however, it's the whole program that gets it done and Joubert had it with a playful, entertaining number that was just the right fit for Hollywood.
---