12
Thursday, March 17, 1994
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
5x2
Jayhawks too tall to be cut by Lumberjacks in NCAA's
Sampson's 34 points lead Kansas
By Matt Siegel
Kansan sportswriter
NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Penn State, here comes the No. 15 Kansas women's basketball team. The Jayhawks defeated Stephen F. Austin State University 72-63 last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
With the victory, the No. 9-seeded Jayhawks advanced to the second round, where they will play Penn State on Saturday, the Midwest Regional's No.1 seed, which defeated Fordham 94-41.
"I felt coming in, our backs were against the wall," Kansas coach Marian Washington said. "Facing a great ball club on the road, we wanted to play the game the way it needs to be played. And that is a determined defense and to be mentally tough."
In the second half, it seemed that the momentum had swung in favor of the Lumberjacks. Kansas squandered an 18-point lead as Stephen F. Austin tied the game with 4:48 left to play.
Charisse Sampson stepped up for the Jayhawks, just as she had throughout the game. Stephen F. Austin fans were on their feet and cheering, but Sampson quieted them with a three pointer from the right wing. Kansas led the rest of the way.
But that's when sophomore guard
"I just wanted to play" Sampson said. "I just wanted to win. If I didn't score any points it wouldn't have mattered — just as long as someone scored and put the ball in the basket."
But Sampson did score. She tossed in a career high 34 points for the Jayhawks. One play in the second half seemed to epitomize the night for Sampson and the Jayhawks. With 6:20 remaining in the game and the Lumberjacks clawing their way back into the game, Sampson rebounded a missed shot on the right side of the lane, spun to the middle and put up a soft shot while being knocked to the floor. The basket counted, and Sampson converted the three-point play on the foul.
Washington said that rebounding was the key to the game. The Jayhawks outrebounded the shorter Lumberjacks 57 to 32. Sampson led the team, finishing with 15 rebounds.
"Everything that was told to us about Stephen F. Austin was how they crashed the boards," Washington said. "If they didn't get the first shot, they would get second and third attempts. All week long we were committed to blocking them out."
Kansas also blocked out a crowd of 3,426 that for much of the second half was standing on its feet. Three Kansas players finished with more than 10 points and 10 rebounds. Kansas players had said they were entering the game fighting for respect. Stephen F. Austin coach Joe Curl said the Jayhawks had earned his respect.
"For the rest of the tournament I'm a Kansas Jayhawk fan," Curl said. "I hope they go on and win the national championship. They are a classy bunch of girls."
The Lumberjacks finished the season 23-7, and Kansas improved its record to 22-5. Although Curl said he was disappointed with the outcome, he said he was proud of the way his team performed.
"When it was tied with just under 5 minutes left to play, I gathered my players on the floor in the huddle and told them if they didn't believe let us know, and we would get them out of there," Curl said. "All five of the players said, 'Coach we will get the job done.'"
Washington said this game was important for several reasons.
"This was a big game for us," Washington said. "Our players pulled themselves together, and they were determined not to lose. You saw that from them tonight. It was a great win for us,
But Kansas would not allow the Lumberjacks to steal a victory.
Kansas 72, Stephen F. Austin 63
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (23-7)
Player fgm/fga ftm/fta tp
White 1-6 7-8 9
Tillis 6-20 8-8 21
Rabe 0-0 0-0 0
Preston 3-5 0-0 6
Armour 2-4 0-0 6
Lewis 1-6 0-0 2
Harris 0-2 0-0 0
Roberts 2-5 3-4 7
Bonnett 6-12 0-0 12
Totals 21-60 18-20 63
KANSAS (20-3)
Player fgm/fga ftm/fta tp
Aycock 4-15 3-15 11
Trapp 3-9 3-4 9
Tate 5-10 2-4 12
Muncy 1-3 0-0 2
Sampson 12-21 8-10 34
Slatter 0-3 2-2 2
Halbleib 1-7 0-0 2
Dixon 0-1 0-0 0
Canada 0-0 0-0 0
**Totals** **26-69** **18-25** **72**
and we are looking forward to our next big challenge, Penn State. We had to have our players come to play and I thought they did just that."
Halftime Stephen F. Austin 26, Kansas 38
3-point goals Stephen F. Austin 18, Armour 2-3, Tillis 1,兰屿 01, White 0-1, Kansas 2-6 (Sampions 3, Halleible 0-1). Robbenda Stephen F. Austin 32 (Tillis 10), Kansas 57 (Sampson 15, Tate 12, Aycock 10). Asaistia Stephen F. Austin 13 (White 4), Kansas 13 (Sampson 4, Aycock 4). Total fouls Stephen F. Austin 19, Kansas 18. Attendance 3,426.
Charleston poses unknown threat
The Cougars, 24-3, come into the tournament with a national-best 16-game winning streak. They haven't lost since Jan. 15. They haven't been seen a whole lot, and that's the problem for Wake Forest coach Dave Odom.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The team that wasn't expected to be here became the team that wouldn't leave.
"We watch the ACC on television, and our guys are in awe of the names and the pros," Kresse said in an opening statement that lasted nearly 10 minutes and included the word "super" at least 10 times. "It's been a media blitz for us, but it's been super. We have made time to practice, but we haven't had time to eat and sleep, and we've gotten to go to the bathroom just three times a day."
Odom said he was concerned
The College of Charleston, the unlikeliest of the 34 at large teams selected for the NCAA tournament, dominated yesterday's news conferences at Rupp Arena, and coach K里斯 still may be giving interviews somewhere in the building.
The Cougars, in just their third year at the Division I level, open the first round today against Wake Forest, a team from a league the coach and players are familiar with because of television. That's the same reason so few people seemed to know anything about the College of Charleston.
about the way people seemed to be disregarding the College of Charleston.
"We're coming off two weeks of, playing North Carolina a certain way, so we have to make an adjust, ment ourselves," he said. "There is no chance of overlooking Charleston. No chance."
Kansas ran into that very problem in 1992 when the Jayhawks were knocked off as a top seed by Texas-El Paso in the second round.
"Our past success can help us; but we have also learned that you have to play one game at a time and not look past anybody," senior forward Steve Woodberry said. "The one year we did that, they knocked us out of the tournament. Sometimes a loss can help you prepare."
Kansas coach Roy Williams said he had only mentioned that loss to the team twice.
"The only reason it comes up is because people who don't know a whole lot about basketball start talking about games down the road," he said. "That's where you end up if you do, going down the road and home."
Tennessee-Chattanooga coach Mack McCarthy has his team play a tough out-of-conference schedule against the likes of Purdue and Michigan, one a nine-point loss the other by eight.
"I felt that it would be a challenge to my team and our fans and that in the long term it would be helpful to play the best," he said.
Jayhawks hope to untie Moccasins in Big Dance
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
Williams said he was going to commit to the open job in Chattanooga but decided later to coach at Kansas.
The public-address announcer could have said this before Kansas' game today: "Now, the Tennessee-Chattanooga Moccasins, coached by Roy Williams, will face the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament."
"I met with Tennessee-Chattanooga in the Delta Crown Room at the Atlanta airport." Williams said.
"It was the same place that I met with Bob Frederick for the first time," he said of meeting the Kansas athletic director.
Kansas enters the game with a 25-7 record overall and with a 1-1 record in Big Eight Tournament, losing to Oklahoma State. The 13th-seeded Moccasins are 23-6 and won the Southern Conference Tournament.
This game, in Lexington, Ky., and all tournament games will be televised on CBS—local channels 5 and 13.
Lucky for Kansas fans, Williams left the South and now is coaching the No. 13 Jayhawks in the "Big Dance" at 2 p.m. today as a No. 4 seed in the Southeast region.
Williams said he was at a disadvantage against Tennessee-Chattanooga coach Mack McCarthy because McCarthy knew Kansas' system better than Williams did Tennessee-Chattanooga's.
"Mack knows the North Carolina system well, and I stole those ideas and brought them out here," he said.
"This is my last chance. It still hurts when I walk, but I have three weeks of basketball left in my life."
Patrick Richey Kansas senior forward
The Jayhawks left for Lexington at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday after practice and had a practice session yesterday in Rupp Arena. Meanwhile, Williams said his assistants were busy gathering videotape and information about the Moccasins.
The Moccasins have been to the NCAA Tournament six times, and this is their third consecutive appearance. Tennessee-Chattanooga senior guard Chad Copeland averages a team-high 20.7 points a game, and junior center Roger Smith, at 6-foot-10, leads the team in rebounds, averaging 10 boards a game.
Kansas was a lock for the NCAA Tournament, especially after becoming the first Division I team this season to win 20 games. However, the Moccasins had to win its conference tournament to guarantee an invitation.
"Sometimes I wish I could be like the Loyolas or Drexels and experience
the excitement of earning a place in the tournament," Williams said. "But we're not going to have that because it is going to be expected. You're always going to have those expectations at Kansas, and I like it that way. I like the tradition."
Kansas senior forward Patrick Richey is listed as probable for the game. He is recovering from a hip injury he suffered during the Jayhawks' game against Kansas State on Friday.
"It bothers us more than our opponents would like to say," Williams said of the injury. "I'd like to think of the team as a puzzle. And the puzzle is not complete when a piece is missing."
"This is my last chance," he said. "It still kind of hurts when I walk, but I have three weeks of basketball left in my life. I've learned that we have to take the tournament one game at a time. If you have enough in you, you move on to the next game."
Richey said he was still sore, but he wanted to play.
Kansas freshman guard Jacque Vaughn hopes to continue the Jayhawks basketball season for three more weeks, beginning with today's game against the No. 13 seed Tennessee-Chattanooga Moccasins.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Junior catcher Brandon English, slides into third base. The Kansas baseball team won their 10th straight home game yesterday against Pittsburg State, 16-4. The Jayhawks will play at 3 p.m. today against Creighton in Nebraska.
Jayhawks
increase home winning streak
By Mark Murray Special to the Kansan
The game was the 10th consecutive victory for Kansas at Hogland-Maupin Stadium. The Jayhawks improved their record to 13-4, while the Gorillas fell to 12-8.
The Kansas baseball team broke a school record yesterday with a 16-4 victory against Pittsburg State.
Sophomore pitcher Clay Baird improved his record to 2-1 and pitched five hitless innings.
The Jayhawks struck quickly with a three-run first inning.
Junior catcher Brandon English batted in one run with a triple. English finished the game
"Our focus was to work on the little things that we work on everyday in practice," he said. "We didn't want to let up."
3-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. English said that even though the Jayhawks were not playing a Big Eight Conference game, they still had to work on the fundamentals.
The Jayhawks continued their hitting with a four-run third inning. Sophomore infielder Clint Hardesty and senior catcher Kent Mahon each batted in two runs.
The scoring rampage continued into the fourth inning with three more runs. Sophomore catcher Ted Meadows batted in two runs with a hit to the warning track in center field. Freshman outfielder Justin Headley finished off the inning with an RBI.
"Coach told me that I was only going to go four innings today," he said. "But I was hoping to go further. However, other guys needed work too, so we got them in there."
Kansas coach Dave Bingham said that the game plan was to use the three pitchers no matter how well they were doing.
Baird finished the fifth inning but did not return to start the sixth. Baird said he felt that he could have gone the full nine innings with the pitch count that he had but knew that he would not.
cruising along after the fourth so he left him in there for the fifth.
"He wasn't going to go more than five today," Bingham said. "Whether he had a no-hitter or not. Some players on the bench said stats were important to Baird, but it didn't matter."
The Jayhawks finished their scoring in the sixth inning with five more runs.
The Gortillas did have a bright point, scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning.
Freshman Tim Lyons and sophomore Scott Tittonung pitched the final four innings with Tittonung getting the save.
The Jayhawks next home game is at 7 p.m. March 25.