Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
Photos from the Kansas men's and women's basketball games during winter break. See what you missed.
SEE PAGE 2B
'The Stilt' Returns
Wilt Chamberlain will return to Allen Field House this weekend to have his jersey retired.
SEE PAGE 6B
Monday
January 12, 1998
Section:
B
Page 1
Broncos, Pack cruise
Denver dumped Pittsburgh and Green Bay beat San Francisco yesterday to advance to the Super Bowl.
SEE PAGE 8B
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Y chromosome missing in best game of week
Chancellor Robert Hemenway could propose a steep tuition hike, rename Fraser Hall after himself and appoint Ted Kaczynski as chairman of the chemistry department all on the same day, and it wouldn't cause as much of an uproar as his announcement last spring that he will not cancel class if Kansas wins the men's NCAA basketball championship.
At the University of Kansas, people take sports seriously. It's our job as the Kansan's sports staff to give you all of the information you need to be a well-informed fan.
We have several changes in store for this semester. There will be more scores, more graphics and more behind-the-scenes information about all Kansas athletic teams.
Enough about that. Let's talk basketball.
Saturday morning I watched the Kansas men's basketball team dismantle a sorry Texas Longhorn squad. A dunk here, a dunk there, some threes from guard Billy Thomas, and the third-straight Big 12 Conference blowout for the Jav Hawks
Eric Weslander
sports@kanasan.com
Ho-hum.
The night before that I watched the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls live from Madison Square Garden. It was Friday night in New York City, and all of the stars were out, from Elle McPherson to Spike Lee.
Sparks flew. Emotions ran high. Dennis Rodman yuked it up, Michael Jordan scored a whole bunch of points and the Bulls escaped with a narrow victory.
Ho-hum.I say.
In fact, there wasn't any testosterone.
The most exciting basketball game I saw this weekend had no dunks, no overinflated egos, and no testosterone surplus.
I'm talking about the unranked Kansas women's basketball team surprising No. 16 Nebraska on Saturday in front of an enthusiastic Allen Field House crowd.
Kansas was down on its luck, coming off two disappointing Big 12 losses to Kansas State and Baylor. The favored Cornhuskers were led by All-America candidate Anna DeForge.
If the women's basketball players wanted to win some fans, this was the time to do it. It was the fifth annual Fill the Field House, an event designed to generate support for the often-overlooked women's team.
Despite a lot of publicity for the event, only 4,500 people showed up, virtually none of them students. (When the band played the Alma Mater, the only person swaying was an old man behind whom I suspect had hit the Wild Turkey for breakfast.)
But the team was excited, and they got the crowd into it.
The Jayhawks stormed to a 28-13 lead in the first half behind the sharp shooting of guard Suzi Raymant, who finished with a career-high 22 points. At halftime, Kansas held a comfortable 11-point lead.
See JAYHAWKS on page 6B
The Kansas track and field team began its indoor season Saturday with the Kansas Invitational. See page 6A
ABOVE THE RIM
Forward Paul Pierce, center Eric Chenwoth and forward Lester Earl attempt to tip in the ball in Kansas 'game against Nebraska. The frontcourt helped Kansas win 10 games in the absence of injured players T.J. Pugh and Raef LaFrentz. by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Kansas melts break with winter wins
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Despite injuries to two starters during the winter break, No. 4 Kansas added 10 victories to its win column, and several players reached personal milestones.
The Jayhawks defeated Texas 102-72 on Saturday in Austin, Texas, in their first Big 12 Conference road game this season. Kansas improved to 3-0 in the conference and 19-2 overall.
Forward Paul Pierce had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and guard Billy Thomas connected on eight of 11
three-point attempts, tying a career-high 27 points.
"Idon't think we're by any means satisfied," Robertson said. "I think we're getting better. I remember back to last year when we were good the entire year, and this year you can definitely see a steady improvement."
Kansas guard Ryan Robertson said Wednesday that the team would not become complacent after getting off to a good start in Big 12 play.
The Jayhawks have been impressive early in conference play, defeating Nebraska by 20 points and Colorado by 49 without big men Raef LaFrentz and T.J. Pugh.
"That's exciting, and it's a positive
for this team," he said. "It's scary. When Raef gets back, and when we can substitute another layer of guys, that will be very tough for the opposition to handle."
LaFrentz broke his right (nonshooting) hand Dec. 26 in practice as the Jayhawks prepared for the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii. He is expected to miss the next four weeks. The target date for his return is Feb. 8, a home game against Missouri.
Pugh has a stress fracture in his right foot and could play either Wednesday at Texas A&M or Saturday against Kansas State in Allen
See PLAYERS on page 6B
What break?
The Kansas men's basketball team didn't see much time off during the holiday vacation. Highlights:
Kansas 73, UMass 71
Kansas 73. UMass 71
A thriller in Allen Field
House nearly breaks the
Jayhawks' streak of 49 con-
secutive home wins.
Kansas 103.
Middle Tennessee St. 68.
Billy Thomas sets the
Kansas record for career
three pointers
Kansas 96,
Pepperdine 83
Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce each score 23 points and Ryan Robertson has 10 assists as Kansas wins at home again.
Kansas 94, TCU 78
After sitting out the fall semester because of NCAA regulations, Lester Earl makes his debut with five points and six rebounds.
Kansas 74,
Southern California 69
Raef LaFrentz grabs his 1,000th career rebound — becoming the third Kansas player to do so — in the Jayhawks' first road game.
Raef spelled backward.
...is fear, which is what comes true for the 'Hawks when LaFrentz breaks his right hand (non-shooting) during practice Dec. 26.
Kansas 69, Ohio St. 56
Kansas 89. Vanderbilt 82
Billy Thomas scores a career-high 27 points, hitting six of nine three-point shots.
Pierce scores a career-high 34 points, adding seven rebounds and six blocked shots as Kansas survives a second-half scare.
Hawaii 76 Kansas 65 Kansas takes its second loss of the season in the Rainbow Classic tournament final.
Kansas 96, Nebraska 76
The Jayhawks open their
Big 12 season at home.
"I'm coming back!"
Kansas officials announce that Wilt Chamberlain will return to Lawrence to have his jersey retired Jan. 25.
Kansas 111, Colorado 62
Kansas routs its second Big
12 opponent in guard
Kenny Gregory's first start.
Kansas 102, Texas 72
Just before classes start again, the Jahywhips whip the Longhorns to extend their Big 12 record to 3-0.
Andrew Rohrback / KANSAN
Kansas freshman Jacklyn Johnson dives for the ball in the Joy-hawks' victory against Nebraska. The game marked the fifth annual Fill in the Field House. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
'Hawks knock off No.16 at field house
Kansas pulls off upset of Nebraska
By Kevin C. Wilson Kanson sportswriter
A raucous crowd of 4,500 fans showed up Saturday to cheer on the Kansas women's basketball team in an 83-74 upset victory against the 16th-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in the fifth annual Fill the Field House.
Guard Suzi Raymant led the attack with a career-high 22 points, and the Jayhawks used an intense swarming defense to gain their first victory in Big 12 Conference play.
Despite the fact that many students had not yet returned from winter break, the
crowd was the sixth-largest ever to see a women's basketball game at Allen Field House.
"I want to thank the fans; it makes a difference having them there helping us out," said Coach Marian Washington. "Anytime you have a lot of fans, it's exciting. The players played hard and had a good time."
Raymant, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, shot 7-of-14 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, and led the Jayhawks to their second-highest scoring output of the season.
10 shots. which is good for me."
Point guard Jennifer Jackson, who scored 11 points and dished a career-high six assists, attributed the high score to an aggressive attitude and the support of the fans.
"After the first two losses in the conference, we were tentative," Jackson said. "We decided to come out and attack. I had
The Jayhawks, 9-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12, limited the Cornshukers to 1-of-15 shooting from three-point range and a dismal 4.8 percent from the field.
"We wanted to make them beat us from the outside — they didn't," Washington said.
This unexpected defensive pressure forced the Cornushkers to commit 19 turnovers and catapulted the Jayhawks to their 11th-straight victory against Nebraska.
Forward Lynn Pride led the Jayhawks' defense with five steals. She also had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kansas applied a full-court press at times to stifle Nebraska's potent scoring attack.
"Nebraska likes to press and use different defenses," Washington said. "We decided to press back and see how they handled it."
"We played a great game," Washington
The Jayhawks began the winter break by defeating University of Missouri-Kansas City 70-56 on Dec. 20 in the Sprint Shootout in Kansas City, Mo. They recorded their second victory of the break when they upended Oregon 59-53 on Dec. 29.
said. "We beat a nationally ranked team and put up a lot of of points. It was a tough win. After losing two on the road, to respond means a lot."
1
The Jayhawks stumbled in their next two games, losing at Baylor 65-59 on Jan. 3 and Kansas State 53-47 on Jan. 7.
Jackson said although her team finished 2-2 for the break, there was reason for optimism.
"We went to Oregon and got a really tough win on the road," she said. "We were not too happy about opening the conference with two losses, but we are getting better. I think Nebraska is the turning point."
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