6B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2009
TRACK & FIELD
ansas falls to Nebraska despite strong performances
BY JASON BAKER
jbaker@kansan.com
Saturday was the return of the Kansas track and field team on the indoor track after taking a week off for training. The Jayhawks expected to bounce back at the Adidas Classic in Lincoln, Neb.
Instead, the women's team took second behind Nebraska with 138.22 points, while the men's team took fourth with 60 points. However, the weekend was highlighted by several impressive performances by the team.
Coach Stanley Redwine said this meet, compared with the Missouri meet, was much better.
"The team got their legs under them a little bit more and competed better." Redwine said.
On the track, senior Victoria Howard took first place in the 200-meter with a time of 24.27 seconds and second in the 60-meter with 7.69 seconds. Howard said getting second in the 60-meter was a breakthrough because in previous years, she hadn't had much success.
Senior Charity Stowers received a victory in the 600-yard dash with a time of 1:22.96. Stowers said she was more determined to have a better performance for the Jayhawks after the defeat by Missouri.
"That meet was a little disappointing to see Mizzou come out on top," she said. "We came out at the practices after that with a different mindset. That it's time to get it done."
said he felt there was room for improvement and for more focus in order to earn a qualifying time for the indoor championships.
For the men, freshman Keith Hayes took fourth in the 60-meter with a time of 8.07 seconds. Hayes
In the men's 3,000 meters, senior Colby Wissel ran with a time of 8:08 to take second place.
"It was disappointing, but I know that I'm taking the steps in the right direction," Wissel said about his performance.
In the women's 5,000 meters, freshman Rebeka Stowe took second place with a time of 18:38.81.
"Running a 5K indoors is tough, 25 laps on a track can be mentally tough, especially when there's not many people," she said.
The highlight on the track came during the women's 4X400, when the team of seniors Sha'Ray Butler, Stowers, sophomore Kendra Bradley
"I feel really honored to run with them and know that they have so much experience." Wilson said.
and freshman Shayla Wilson, received a victory with a time of 3:49.78.
On the field, junior Jordan Scott repeated his performance from the Kansas home meet with a jump of 5.50 meters.
In the long jump, senior Eric Fattig took second place with his best jump of 7.22 meters. Despite a solid performance, Fattig fouled on three straight jumps.
"I still have technical problems that I need to work on," he said. "If I fix that then I'll be happy."
The team will travel next weekend to compete in the New Balance Invitational in New York City.
Edited by Jesse Trimble
Men: 4th,60 points High jump
notable performances
600-vard dash
Shot put
4. Keron Toussaint 1:12.19
8. Nate Scherzer 1.95 meters
8. Brian Bishop 14.84 meters
800-meter run
7. Bret Imgrind 1:58.05
10. Kaleb Humphreys 2:03.77
4. Danny Van Orsdel 15:28. 81
6. Isaiah Shirlen 15:43.47
5,000 meters
Women: 2nd, 138.22 points Shotput
Weight throw
2. Stephanie Horton 14.44 meters
7. Emily Reimer 13.32 meters
Weight throw
1. ZlataTarasova 17.60 meters
Highjump
5. Elizabeth Beisner 1.66 meters
6. Kelsey Erb 1.61 meters
Polevault
6. MacKenzie Wills 3.55 meters
4X400 relay
1. Kansas 3:49.78
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Kansas' turnovers lead to A&M victory
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
The losses are wearing on the layhawks.
Kansas has lost four games in a row and five of its last six. Junior forward Danielle McCray is fed up. The Jayhawks have lost games in which they were expected to lose and games they should have won. They've lost because of poor shooting and they've lost because of turnovers.
But McGray said all the losses — including Saturday's 73-60 defeat at Texas A&M — share one trend. In all the games, the Jayhawks have beaten themselves.
After missing two and a half games with a Grade 2 concussion, junior guard Sade Morris started on Saturday against Texas A&M. Morris played 40 minutes and scored 11 points against the Aggies, but she also committed seven turnovers.
"You can find some positives but when you lose because of yourself you can't take anything positive from that," McCray said. "I mean, I don't know. Right now, at this point in time, you can't look at the positives. You just have to find a way to win."
Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson noticed a big difference with her second-leading scorer back in the lineup.
"She just penetrates and creates," Henrickson said. "We just play differently than when we don't have her in."
Saturday's game at No. 7 Texas A&M is the most recent example of Kansas' miscues costing the it a victory. On the road, against a top 10 team expected to compete for the Big 12 title, the layhawks controlled nearly every facet of the game for 32 minutes.
Kansas led 35-29 at halftime and perfectly pieced together Henrickson's gameplan. For 32
minutes, the Jayhawks played better defense, shot the ball at a higher percentage and out-rebounded the Aggies.
"They turned it up at the 10-minute mark," Henrickson said. "And when they did, we didn't have the toughness to handle the pressure."
The flaw that has most haunted Kansas, and the one that the Jayhawks said couldn't persist if they were to compete in the Big 12, returned on Saturday.
Perhaps as much as any game this season, turnovers played a role, if not the role, in Kansas' loss. A week after committing a seasonlow 10 turnovers against Kansas State, Kansas had 26 miscues — the second highest total this season — against Texas &M.
"It was like the whole play in the first half kind of went down the drain," McCray said. "We were playing so well and then all the turnovers ... we didn't give ourselves a chance."
In the first half, both teams turned the ball over at a rather high rate; Kansas had 12 turnovers before halftime; Texas A&M had eight. In the second half, though, the Aggies' ball handling sharpened while the Jayhawks seemed to get sloppier.
That Kansas committed 14 turnovers in the second half is bad. That those turnovers allowed Texas A&M to crawl back into the game is worse. Three Kansas turnovers late in the second half fueled a decisive 11-0 run by Texas A&M.
"They turned up the heat," Henrickson said, "and we didn't respond."
There's little doubt that Kansas played better than Texas A&M for the majority of the game. But, down the stretch, the Jayhawks carelessness with the ball halted any chance at sneaking away with a victory.
Check Kansan.com for expanded women's basketball content at the Courtside blog and The Give and Go podcast.
On a night when Kansas made 56 percent of its attempts, the Aggies managed 17 more second-half shots than the Jayhawks — a stat that clearly reflects the impact of Kansas' turnovers.
"Sometimes you just can't control certain things," McCray said. "But we can control these things. It's just very frustrating. If we were just to focus a little more, we could control it."
Edited by Realle Roth
PGA
PGA Perry defeats Hoffman in 13th PGA tour win
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kenny Perry finally finished off Charley Hoffman in a playoff, making a 22-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole Sunday in the FBR Open.
After Perry bogeyed the final hole of regulation to set up the playoff, the two bogeyed and parred the first two extra holes. Perry then rolled in the long putt on the 332-yard, par-4 17th to end the second straight playoff in the event.
Perry closed with a 2-under 69 to match Hoffman (67) at 14-under 270 at TPC Scottsdale. It was the 13th PGA Tour victory for Perry, the 48-year-old Kentucky player who won three times last year and played on the winning U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Kevin Na (68) finished third at 13 under.
Associated Press
Under par, Perry
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kenny Perry hits from the 15th tee during the final round of the FBR Open golf tournament Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Perry won the tournament with a 2-2 foot birdie putt on the third extra hole. He finished a-14.