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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5. 2013
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Junior forward Chelsea Gardner waits for a rebound during the Wednesday night game against Arkansas. The Jayhawks lost 64-53.
Turnovers, personal fouls plague Kansas
STELLA LIANG
sliang@kansan.com
CeCe Harper shined in a losing effort by the Kansas (4-4) women's basketball team against Arkansas (9-0).Harper continually slashed toward the basket for layups, finishing with 19 points and 7 assists, both team highs, in the 53-64 loss.
Kansas came in with three losses in its last four games, all on neutral courts or on the road. The team returned home, where it was previously undefeated, but that streak did not carry on.
After a promising start to the second half where the Jayhawks and Razorbacks traded the lead, Kansas couldn't cut down on mistakes and Arkansas capitalized. The Jayhawks committed a total of 22 turnovers and 20 personal fouls. In one stretch in the middle of the second half, while the game was close, the Jayhawks committed back-to-back turnovers. Soon after, they had a shot blocked and were called for a
shot-clock violation.
“It’s not forty minutes of toughness, but there are moments that define.” Henrickson said. “We’ve had moments, and we have not taken care of them.”
Last season, the team had room for error because it had its playmakers. Now, there is less. Henrickson said the responsibility falls solely on the upperclassmen.
"It's those kids that are coming back, your juniors and your seniors that have got to play better," she said. "Anything you get out of a freshman is gravy."
The one player that is stepping up right now is Harper. Harper took on much of the burden of scoring and attacking the basket, while running the offense from the point guard position. The previous starting point guard, sophomore Lamaria Cole was not on Henrickson's good side after coming in for two minutes and committing a turnover. Henrickson said Cole's attitude toward that mistake was worse than the turnover, and Cole
did not return.
While taking on a larger role on the court, Harper is stepping up to the challenge and taking the responsibilities that are falling on to her.
Kansas did start to make a comeback late in the game, however. After junior Natalie Knight hit a two-point jumper with four minutes to play, the lead was cut to five. About a minute later, junior Chelsea Gardner made a bucket to get within three, but that was as close as Kansas would get.
"Honestly, I don't even think about it," Harper said. "I'm just trying to do whatever the team needs me to do at any time."
The Jayhawks were down for much of the first half, but cut the lead down to one at halftime. After trading buckets to start the second half, the Jayhawks saw themselves down by eight points with about 10 minutes to play.
Gardner finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds, but was limited due to foul trouble.
The Razorbacks were led by senior forward Keira Peak, who scored 20 points and 9-16 shooting. Arkansas had a balanced scoring night, with three other players scoring in double digits. Freshman guard Jessica Jackson had 15, junior guard Cali Berna had 14 and junior forward Jhasmin Bowen had 10.
Arkansas was held below their scoring average of 76.4 points a game. Previously, the team has been outscoring its opponents by an average of 35.9 points per game, and leads the nation in scoring defense.
On the Kansas end, the Jayhawks have some issues concerning fundamentals and roles that need to be figured out.
"End of the day, you've got to do your job, and we've got too many kids not doing their job," Henrickson said. "It's a responsibility. You can't rationalize it. You can't justify it. You just have to do your job."
Offense struggles against Arkansas
WOMEN'S BASKETBALI
EVAN DUNBAR
Edited by Jessica Mitchell
edunbar@kansan.com
After losing two-of-three in the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Jayhawk women's basketball team needed a win against an Arkansas team that leads the country in scoring defense and is third in field goal percentage.
The Razorbacks (9-0) lived up to their billing defensively, defeating the Jayhawks 62-53 in Allen Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Kansas (4-4) shot only 41 percent from the field and was held 12 points below their season average in scoring.
The Jayhawks also had 22 turnovers, five more than their season average. Coach Bonnie Henrickson said some were mental errors by the team, but most were caused by Arkansas' stingy on-ball defense.
"How many times did we just throw it to another guy in a red jersey? That's just focus and concentration, and we have got to be better," Henrickson said.
Kansas took a 3-2 lead at the 17:37 mark in the first half, but didn't have one again until a 30-29 lead with under a minute left in the half. The Razorbacks made two free throws to lead 31-30 at the half.
In the second half however, the Jayhawks cannot grasp the lead. After senior guard CeCe Harper scored a putback layup to make it 43-41 Arkansas, the Jayhawks had a scoring drought of over four minutes, not getting a basket until senior guard Markisha Hawkins scored with 8:08 remaining in the second half. Kansas would get no closer than three points the rest of the game.
"You've got to do your job, and we have got too many kids not
doing their jobs." Henrickson said.
doing their jobs, Henrickson said. Along with the offensive struggles, the Jayhawks had trouble on defense containing the Razorbacks senior standout Keira Peak. Peak scored 20 points in the game, and her defensive pressure hounded the Jayhawks throughout the night.
"We have to defend and rebound early and often and be solid on that end of the floor while we develop an offensive flow and rhythm and timing, and we have not done that," Henrickson said.
The Jayhawks' one bright spot on the night was senior guard CeCe Harper, who tallied 19 points, seven assists and five steals to lead the team in all categories. Henrickson said Harper continuously tried to push the pace of the game and be aggressive, and that more players need to be doing the same.
"She's trying to initiate some offense and drive it and the rest of us look like we're stuck in the mud a little bit," Henrickson said.
Harper kept the Jayhawks close late into the game, with multiple coast-to-coast layups and steals. Harper said she wants to be an example for the younger players on the team and keep them positive during this rough stretch of games the Jayhawks have had and help them realize that everyone needs to contribute for the team to be successful.
"We all need to get experience from game-to-game and just understand that we all have to do more," Harper said. "It can't just be two or three players, it needs to be everyone in a team effort."
The Jayhawks will look to move back above the .500 mark on Sunday as they take on Texas Southern at 2 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
Edited by Ashleigh Tidwell
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