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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
NEW SEASON, NEW FACES
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jayhawks look for new identity
STELLA LIANG
sliang@kansan.com
At the start of the new season, the women's basketball team has to find its identity without departed players — especially at the point guard position. Angel Goodrich, the point guard and leader of the teams that made back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, has left a large hole to fill.
Sophomore guard Lamaria Cole has been handed the reins to the starting point guard position this season. Cole, who made appearances in eight games last year, was often turnover prone in her limited minutes last season.
In the two exhibitions games the Jayhawks have played in, Cole has shown improvement and quickness. Against Pittsburg State, Cole scored 12 points, dished out three assists and committed three turnovers. She had a quieter game against Emporia State, but had four assists to one turnover that afternoon.
After the game against Pittsburg
State, Cole said she credits watching Goodrich play last season.
"Last year I didn't play under control at all." Cole said "After watching Angel play and seeing how she controls the ball, I learned a lot from her."
Backup senior guard CeCe Harper gives the Jayhawks another option at the point guard position. Against Emporia State, she scored 15 points and had two assists while running the offense for much of the second half. From the point guard position, she also had the unique statistic by gathering four offensive rebounds.
rebounds Both players need to continue improving their ball-handling skills if they want to replace Goodrich's production. Goodrich left as the school's all-time leader in assists with 771, while breaking the 1,000-point scoring mark. Goodrich was picked by the Tulsa Shock in the WNBA draft.
To continue their recent run of success, the Jayhawks also need to find a way to replace the production of fellow graduated players Monica
Engelman and Carolyn Davis, who both also scored more than 1,000 career points. Davis also reached the milestone of grabbing over 700 rebounds.
The team lacks experience overall after losing the three starting seniors from last season. Junior forward Chelsea Gardner and junior guard Natalie Knight are the only two consistent starters from last season.
Kansas has also added a five new freshman. The freshman will likely see limited minutes as they continue to figure out the college game. Only two freshmen, Dakota Gonzalez and Jada Brown, saw minutes in the Emporia State exhibition game. Neither scored a point, and they combined for three rebounds and one assist.
In the preseason poll, Kansas was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team league. The Jayhawks open the season Sunday at home against Oral Roberts at 2 p.m. on Nov. 10.
— Edited by Dylan Lysem
Senior guard CeCe Harper drives to the basket against Emporia State in an exhibition game on Nov. 3. The Jayhawks won 61-53.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
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CONFERENCE PLAY
(BBALL BIG 12 PREVIEW)
Baylor Bears stick out as Big 12's leading competitor
VS
The 2013-14 Baylor Lady Bears come into the season without the intimidating presence of Britney Griner, but are ranked 10th in the NCAA standings. Once again, they are the favorites to take home the Big 12 Championship. Senior point guard Odyssey Sims has been named to the preseason Wooden Award List for the third straight season, and to the AP All American team last season.
The Lady Bears will host first round games in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Baylor won both their games at home last season and have aspirations to do the same this March. "I am very pleased that we were selected to host games in the 2014 NCAA Women's Basketball
HOME: Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.
AWAY: Jan. 5 at 3 p.m.
Championships. It is a tribute to our fans, our team and administration that we were chosen to host again. Both times we've hosted our fans have been very supportive and I know that has a bearing on selections." coach Kim Mulkey said in a press release.
Baylor may not have the dominant player Griner was anymore, but they still have an experienced nucleus surrounded by young talent and the will to win. The Lady Bears have been at the forefront of Women's College Basketball for years now and plan to stay on top in the 2013-14 season.
Ben Felderstein
ADDITIONS:
- Brenna Hayden
- Khadijah Cave
DEPARTURES:
• Britney Griner
HOME: Feb. 15 6 p.m.
AWAY: March 17 p.m.
Iowa State has added four top-notch freshmen who will look to make an impact within the next two years. Jadda Buckley is probably the best recruiting coming in; she is ranked in top 50 in the class of 2013. She was a two-time first-team all-state selection, and she averaged 14 points per game. Seanna Johnson, is another freshman looking to make an impact. She is a three-time state champion in Minn., and she was named Class 3A basketball player of the year twice in Minn.
The Iowa State Women's basketball team looks to rebuild after losing two of its three top scorers from last season due to graduation. They will have to rely on junior guard Nikki Moody who has started for the Lady Cyclones the past two seasons. Last season, Moody averaged almost seven and a half assists, leading the Big 12 and ranking third nationally. The Lady Cyclones were able to make the NCAA tournament last season as the five seed in the Spokane bracket. They defeated 12-seed Gonzaga in the Round of 64 before losing to fourth-seeded Georgia in the next round.
Last season, the Lady Cyclones defeated Kansas in both regular season games. This year they look to continue that. It is unsure how much the loss of their top scorers from last season will affect them this season. They are a good team and could possibly win the Big 12 title.
Michael Portman
DEPARTURES:
- Anna Prins
- Chelsea Poppens
- ADDITIONS:
- Jadda Buckley
- Jadda Duhoye
- Seanna Johnson
- Lexi Albrecht
ADDITIONS:
- Leticia Romero
- Breanna Lewis
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In the preseason, the Wildcats defeated the Washburn Ichabods easily, but struggled a little more with the Sea Wolves of the University of Alaska Anchorage. The team is easily transitioning into the new season, despite only bringing back five women from last season's WNIT semifinalist team. Six freshmen, who can hopefully impact the team very early, will join the returning five.
The Kansas State University women's basketball team's season starts on Friday, and they look to defy the odds. At the beginning of October, the team was named ninth in the Big 12 by the coaches, which is a ranking they hope to beat by the end of the season.
One such freshman is guard Leticia Romero. Romero, a Spain native, scored in double figures for both of the Wildcats' preseason games. She even led the team in scoring against the University of Alaska Anchorage.
The team hopes to continue coach Deb Patterson's streak of making the postseason every year for the past eleven seasons, despite starting the season low in Big 12.
Joey Anguiano
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