THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009
FRIDAY, JANUARY 23. 2009
SPORTS
9A
WOMEN (CONTINUED FROM 12A7)
lar thoughts surrounded McCray, Kansas' leading scorer who played inconsistently at the beginning of conference play.
In that stretch, which coach Bonnie Henrickson called the worst funk of McCray's career, Kansas' offense struggled with consistent play in losses against K-State and Texas Tech.
Sure, McCray averaged 13.7 points in Kansas' first three conference games, but she made only 29 percent of her attempts and turned the ball over 14 times.
"The whole thing was about when I going to get myself out of a slump," McCray said. "I don't think I was necessarily in a slump; my shot selection wasn't good."
If McCray was in a slump then Wednesday night's game against Nebraska her awakening. McCray scored a career-high 30 points, missed just six shots and added three blocks and three steals.
McCray made her first two shots — one inside, the other a midrange jumper — and for a struggling
"She always sparks us offensively every night," sophomore forward Niccollette Smith said. "Once she's on, I think everyone starts feeling the flow."
the flow."
"The whole thing was about when I'm going to get myself out of a slump."
though, Kansas relied too heavily on McCray. She scored 17 of Kansas' 25' points in the second half.
DANIELLE MCCRAY Junior forward
But McCray didn't get much supportagainst Nebraska, especially in the second half. Sophomore center Krysten Boogaard scored 12 of her 18 points before halftime and was mostly ineffective in the second half.
On most nights, McCray is expected to shoulder the load on offense. Against Nebraska,
half.
"We don't need to have three or four people score 20 points a night," Smith said. "We just need to have balanced scoring and we need to get more scoring from our bench. We need to have people come off our bench
and spark us.'
That wasn't the case against Nebraska: Kansas' bench was outscored 16-0. And that can't be the case when Kansas plays host to K-State on Saturday.
The injury to junior guard Sade Morris magnifies the need for more scoring. Morris, Kansas' leading scorer, suffered a Grade 2 concussion against Texas Tech on
Jan. 17 and hasn't played since.
Regardless of whether Morris plays — Henrickson said she was still day-to-day before practice yesterday — Kansas needs continued production from McCray and from role players to upset K-State.
"We're past-due for any kind of win," McCray said. "I mean, anything. We're way past due."
SMITH DONE FOR SEASON
After tearing her ACL against K-State earlier this season, senior guard Katie Smith contemplated whether she should have surgery or attempt to rehab and finish the season.
Henrickson announced yesterday that Smith decided to have surgery later this month.
- Edited by Chris Hickerson
Adams said the team would be ready for its double dual this weekend despite having just one day to rest.
"It's going to be a rough one going back to back with travel," Adams said, "but we've trained for it and we're fit for it."
SWIM (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
The Jayhawks competed in four away meets during the post
"It's going to be a rough one going back-to-back with travel."
during the past w 6 weeks, but they will get a break from traveling with its first home meet on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Robinson Natatorium.
ABIGAIL ADAMS Freshman swimmer
Only one meet remains before the Big 12 Conference Championships, so the layhawks are hoping to find some consis-
Kansas (8-3) will host South Dakota (1-5) and Northern Iowa (0-5).
The Arkansas loss followed a shaky win in Nebraska on Jan. 17.
Coaches Clark Campbell and Eric Elliott said the individual swimmers were fine-tuning their performances for a strong presentation at the conference championship*
"We're going to get some of our swimmers doing their third events that they don't get to do too much." Campbell said in a press release earlier this week.
Kansas vs. Kansas State
| P | No. | Kansas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG | P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| G | 3 | Ivana Catic | 5-8 | Sr. | 3.0 | G | 5 | Shaalee Lenning | 5-9 | Sr. | 11.7 |
| G | 4 | Danielle McCray | 5-11 | Jr. | 18.6 | G | 41 | Kari Kinacd | 5-10 | Jr. | 8.8 |
| G | 20 | Sade Morris | 5-11 | Jr. | 12.3 | G | 4 | Ashley Sweat | 6-2 | Jr. | 15.5 |
| F | 24 | Nicollette Smith | 6-2 | So. | 7.3 | F | 25 | Danielle Zanotti | 6-2 | Sr. | 3.3 |
| C | 14 | Krysten Boogaard | 6-5 | So. | 11.2 | C | 51 | Marlies Gibson | 6-0 | Sr. | 13.6 |
"It will be good because we'll be able to manipulate our lineup a little bit on Saturday."
tenency in the pool soon.
When/Where...
Tipoff scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Edited by Sonya English
Who to watch for...
Watch senior forward Marlies Gipson. Shailee Lehning may get all the national press, but Gipson is the heart of this team. She is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. But her real presence is inside the paint on the defensive end. She averages 3.8 blocks a game and changes countless other shots.
— Clark Goble
What Kansas can expect...
Expect a team with a ton of all-around talent. The Jayhawks saw it in their first conference game, and they'll see it again Saturday morning. An upset victory would do wonders for the team's confidence.
Junior Danielle McCray will still be hot from her 30-point outing in Lincoln and carry the rest of the team on her back. If the Jayhawks can get the ball inside to Krysten Boogaard, they can hang with, and beat, the Wildcats.
Why Kansas will win...
8 — The number of assists Shallee Lehning had at halftime in the previous meeting of the two squads. Junior Sade Morris, who guarded Lehning in the game, is day-to-day with a concussion, so coach Bonnie Hendrickson may have to look somewhere else to contain the guard
Kansas is on a serious skid, losing to two teams in the bottom third of the Big 12 standings. A win here isn't absolutely necessary, but if the Jayhawks can pull it out, it may equate to two or three more wins down the road.
How the game is important...
Magic number...
SOCCER
Cressy named nation's top deaf female athlete in '08
Freshman soccer player Emily Cressy, a Ventura, Calif., native, has been named the 2008 Female
Athlete of the Year by the USA Deaf Sports Federation. Cressy was named Big 12 Rookie of the Year and was a freshman All-American
Cressy
as well. A forward, Cressy scored eight goals and contributed three assists. Four of her eight goals were game-winners. Cressy started the season strong, scoring three times in the first three games before cooling off.
Kansas finished the season 13-8-2 and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years.
Purdue track and field athlete Joshua Hembrough was the male athlete honored. The USA Deaf Sports Federation is the sole national association of deaf sports in the United States.
FOOTBALL Sayers gets honor for athletics administration
Former Jayhawk football great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers will again be on the receiving end of an accolade — this time for his accomplishments away from the gridiron.
Sayers — fifth on Kansas' career rushing list — will be inducted into the John McLendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame June 19 in Orlando, Fla.
Setting records in college and as a pro with the Chicago Bears, Sayers saw his playing career end prematurely in 1971 due to injury It was then that a new career began for Sayers.
Following his retirement, Sayers returned to Kansas to earn a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in educational administration while serving as assistant athletics director.
Sayers went on to become the first African-American athletics director in Division I. He took the position at Southern Illinois in 1976.
— Stephen Montemayor
Landis' two-year ban ends; he plans to join Calif. race
Cyclist Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory because of a doping scandal, will race in next months Tour of California. Landis' two-year ban from the sport will be ending next week.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Floyd Landis is coming back to cycling, and says his sport will be better for it.
Landis' feel-good story came to halt when he was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory following a doping scandal and protracted fight in courts around the world. He said Thursday he feels "like a kid again" knowing that his two-year ban from cycling will end next week.
"In my mind, it's already behind me," Landis said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I'm not dwelling on that at all."
Landis was barred for using synthetic testosterone in the latter stages of cycling's showcase race three years ago. He contends the testing system is flawed, but he has no means left to fight other than to resume racing.
He will ride for the OUCH cycling team and debut at the Tour of California next month, starting what he plans to be at least two years with OUCH, which opens its training camp Friday.
“This isn't some kind of statement to shut down the critics or any kind of changing-the-world project of mine," Landis said. "This is me doing what I've trained myself to do for the last 15 years, and I hope that the people that follow bike racing get a better show than what they've had the last couple years."
His return comes on the heels of seven-time Tour champion Lance Armstrong resuming his own racing career. Armstrong is currently in Australia at the Tour Down Under, his first competitive race in three years. They'll be linked at the Tour of California, which Armstrong is planning to make his next race — and cable channel Versus said Thursday it will show all nine days of that event.
"I don't think our two returns to the sport are that similar, other than we haven't raced in a while."
Landis said. "I wish him the best. I think it's great for cycling, and Tour of California will be a good show"
Armstrong's plan is to ride in France this year. Landis isn't sure if he'll ever return to the sport's premier event.
"I don't have any goals to, but I wouldn't say that I don't ever want to," Landis said. "I would prefer to see how racing in the United States goes and if I really do enjoy it as much as I expect to, I'll set new goals."
For now, the first goal is the Tour of California.
Landis says he feels as good as ever, in large part because his right hip is now pain-free. He underwent hip resurfacing surgery two years ago, relieving the bone-on-bone pain that plagued him for years, even during that 2006 Tour.
OUCH is sponsored by Dr. Brent Kay, a devout cycling enthusiast from California who has worked on Landis' hip for many years and is a close friend of the rider.