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PAGE 10A
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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ANDY LARKIN/KANSAN
Senior Guard Asia Boyd fights to the basket between two Fort Hays State defenders during the first half of the Jayhawks' first exhibition game of the season.
Gardner's double-double leads to lopsided victory
SCOTT CHASEN
@SChasenKU
SCOTT CHASEN
The Kansas women's basketball team opened its season with an exhibition game against Fort Hays State on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks were simply too much for the Tigers, as Kansas led wire-to-wire, earning a 21-point victory.
Chelsea Gardner took over the game right away, scoring eight of the first 13 points for the Jayhawks. Gardner's early productivity caused Fort Hays State coach Tony Hobson to commit to double-teaming, and at times even triple-teaming, her in the post, which was not something he expected to do coming into the game.
"We're not accustomed to ever double-teaming in the post [because] Kate Lehman is the top post player in our conference and maybe in Division II basketball," Hobson said in the post game press conference. "But she doesn't play against players like Chelsea Gardner very often, so we wanted to give her a little help."
Despite facing multiple defenders, Gardner would end up with 23 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes of play. After the game, Gardner said she was pleased with how she had played against the added pressure.
Gardner wasn't the only one to make a big impact in the game. Freshman Lauren Aldridge joined Gardner and three other seniors in the starting lineup, and she played fairly well. Aldridge scored seven points, but it was her control of the offense that really impressed Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson.
"I thought I handled it well," Gardner said. "[I was] just looking out and trying not to score over the double team, [but rather] making the right passes out to my teammates."
"[Aldridge] played with confidence, ran a good offense and made good decisions," Henrickson said. "[She] called plays more than I thought [she would]; I've had young point guards who looked to me [to call a play] more, but she just went."
It wasn't a perfect night for the Jayhawks. They ended with 24 turnovers, a mark they hit just one time last year in a loss against TCU. Nerves may have played a role in committing so many errors, as Kansas' three freshman guards accounted for nine of the team's 24 turnovers.
"There were a little nerves," said freshman guard Terriell Bradley after the game. "[It wasn't until] my first shot fell that I got into a little rhythm."
The Jayhawks will look to improve on their ball handling, and they'll have their first opportunity to do so Sunday, as they'll take on Washburn at Allen Fieldhouse. The last time those two teams met, the Jayhawks won by 22, as Angel Goodrich recorded 11 points, six assists and six steals. The game against Washburn will be the last exhibition contest for Kansas before the Jayhawks open regular season play against the South Dakota Coyotes, who went 19-14 last year.
Edited by Emily Brown
Kansas' rushing game suffered in loss to Baylor
BLAIR SHEADE
@realblairsheady
ine Jayhawks started the game weakened at the running back position as junior running back DeAndre Mann didn't make the trip to Waco, Texas, because of an ankle injury. Freshman Corey Avery was the lead back, leaving the Jayhawks without a short-yardage power back.
Avery struggled to be a three-down back with 11 carries for 18 yards. Avery rushed for 1.6 yards per carry and didn't have a single rush over seven yards, which were both season-lows for the freshman.
In the absence of Mann, senior wide receiver Tony Pierson, who averaged two carries per game, handled nine carries from the backfield. Pierson's 31 yards on the ground led the Jayhawks. The more carries Pierson saw, the less he lined up at wide receiver. Pierson caught one pass for 1 yard.
Pierson and Avery aren't bruising backs and aren't effective in short yardage. On a 4th-and-3 in the third quarter, offensive coordinator John Reagan replaced Avery with senior linebacker Ben Heeney, who played running back in high school. Heeney was stopped behind the line of scrimmage for his first carry of the season and his college career. Reagan was trying anything to get the offense moving.
Reagan decided to focus on the passing game, while the rushing attack failed to hit 100 yards for the first game this season. Reagan was forced to pass because Kansas had to continuously play from behind.
Baylor took a commanding 13-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first quarter, which could be a reason for Kansas throwing 15 times in the first quarter. Once Baylor broke out into a two-score lead, the Jayhawks had a tough time keeping up — if you couldn't tell by the score.
The Baylor offense outrushed Kansas by 310 yards. Baylor's backup quarterback Seth Russell rushed for more yards than the entire Kansas team and all his carries came in the fourth quarter. One
The only bright spot about the game was the play of redshirt junior Michael Cummings. Beside his two fumbles, he completed 21 of 30 for 288 and two touchdowns. Cummings out-threw Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty, but Petty only played three quarters.
The strongest suit in the Kansas offense has been the running game this season. Kansas averaged 151 rushing yards per game, but the No. 12 Baylor Bears shut down the Kansas ground game Saturday.
The Jayhawks rushed as a team for a season-low 16 rushing yards in the 60-14 loss to Baylor.
of those carries was a 4-yard touchdown run.
—Edited by Ben Carroll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alex Smith insisted he was looking for Dwayne Bowe in the end zone, a rarity considering the Chiefs quarterback has yet to throw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver this season.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) hands off the ball to running back Jamaal Charles (25) in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The pass was batted at the line of scrimmage by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace. It bounced right into the hands of tight end Anthony Fasano, who had been blocked to the ground, and he rolled over across the goal-line for a touchdown that extended the Chiefs' lead to two scores.
Alex Smith carries Chiefs to victory over Jets, 24-10
ASSOCIATED PRESS
What happened next in their 24-10 victory over the lets on Sunday was even rarer.
Just the kind of play that's been going Kansas City's way during a three-game win streak — and the kind that has been going against New York during its eight-game skid.
"I don't know what to say," Smith said, smiling. "A freaky play."
The Jets' losing streak is their longest since 1996, when they went 1-15 in their final year under Rich Kotite. The franchise has never lost nine in a row, an embarrassment embattled coach Rex Ryan and his troops will try to avoid next Sunday against Pittsburgh.
"I thought it was typical of how this season's gone for us," Ryan said of the bizarre bounce that led to Fasano's touchdown. "That's what I thought."
Smith finished with 199 yards and two touchdowns passing, and Jamaal Charles
Starting his first game with the Jets (1-8) in place of Geno Smith, Michael Vick threw for 196 yards and a touchdown. He briefly left early in the fourth quarter after taking a massive hit from the Chiefs' Josh Mauga and walking unsteadily off the field, but returned to finish.
Simons had to play one the ground, but it was cool," Vick said. "Initially, I was dinged for a minute. But I respect the NFL rules and the concussion protocol. I went through it. I took all the appropriate steps and I passed all the tests and I came back."
New York actually moved the ball well through gusty conditions, utilizing Percy Harvin in the running and passing games. But the Jets kept misfiring deep in Chiefs territory, settling for a field goal just before halftime and then turning it over on downs at the Kansas City 3 early in the fourth quarter — Vick was injured on that fourth-down play.
ran for another score for the Chiefs (5-3), who won for the fifth time in six games on the same day that former running back Priest Holmes was inducted into their ring of honor.
Smith was inactive with a shoulder injury, so Matt Simms had to play one series.
In all, the Jets were stopped on fourth down three times in the fourth quarter.
"We had some opportunities and we didn't capitalize on them," said Vick, who will start next Sunday against Pittsburgh. "Whenever that happens, and the other team
The Chiefs set the tempo from the opening drive, moving 81 yards in relative ease. Charles was the workhorse, carrying six times and capping the drive with a 1-yard TD plunge.
does capitalize on theirs, you don't finding yourself winning the game."
With first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Smith's pass was knocked down by Pace. But the nice defensive play sent the ball right to Fasano, who caught the inadvertent pass on his rump, rolled over the goal line and gave the Chiefs a stunning — if not humorous — touchdown for a 14-0 lead.
After the Chiefs forced three-and-out, it took them just seven more plays to score again — this time on a play that encapsulated the way everything has been going right for Kansas City, and the way everything has been going wrong for New York.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs' defense was getting after Vick every time he dropped to pass.
Justin Houston, who had 4 1/2 sacks of Vick when he faced the Eagles a year ago, had two more on the elusive quarterback Sunday. Defensive tackle Dontari Poe also tracked Vick down for a sack, all before Mauga knocked him from the game with his crushing blow in the fourth quarter.
The only bright spot for the Jets was the play of Harvin, who caught 11 passes for 129 yards in his second game since getting traded from Seattle.
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