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KANSAN.COM
Women's basketball will face Texas Southern in its regular season opener on Sunday at home
DYLAN SHERWOOD
@dmantheman2011
Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle dribbles in the lane Sunday against Emporia State. The Jayhawks defeated Hornets 68-57
After two trial runs against two Division II opponents, the Kansas women's basketball team will finally start its season on Sunday when it faces Texas Southern.
MISSY MINEAR/KANSAN
Coach Brandon Schneider and the new era of Kansas women's basketball will kick off as he goes for win No. 1 at Kansas on Sunday. Schneider is 401-138 as a head coach in 17 seasons, which includes a five-season stretch at Stephen F. Austin, where he went 95-66. He was 306-72 at Emporia State, making him the winningest coach in program history.
Normally the first game of the season might be considered a bit of a warmup game, even though it isn't the exhibition. However, this year shouldn't be too easy for Kansas, as its opponent, Texas Southern, is picked to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
["Texas Southern] is a very, very talented team [and] should've been a NCAA Tournament participant a year ago," Schneider said. "[But they] had the fighting incident that kept them from participating in the SWAC Tournament."
Texas Southern returns four players from last year's squad who contributed, including senior guard Diamonisha Sophus, who is the top leading scorer from last year's team, averaging 11.2 points per game. Also returning are junior forward Ashley Ferguson, senior forward Toni Chedle and senior center Kiana Vines, in addition to senior guard Jazmine Parker, who was named to the SWAC Preseason First Team.
"We are gonna have to find some different ways to keep them out of rhythm and hopefully disrupt them," Schneider said.
This will be the third match up between the two teams, and Kansas leads the overall series, 3-0. Kansas defeated Texas Southern, 69-44, on Nov. 18, 2014. Sophomore guard Chayla Cheadle led the way for Kansas with 15 points, sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge had seven points, while junior forward Jada Brown had four points along with nine rebounds. Parker had 34 points for Texas Southern.
"They play up-and-down. They really don't have any set plays. It kind of made it fun for me [last year] just not to think about anything and just play,"
Cheadle said.
The two teams also matched up on Dec. 12, 2013, and Kansas won, 105-78. Cheadle said she believes the team is playing well after the first two exhibition games.
"It's gonna get better, especially with the game against Texas Southern," Cheadle said. After defeating Pittsburg State and Emporia State, Schneider said he believes that there are things that the team needs to work on before Sunday's regular season opener.
"We are very,very inconsistent right now in a lot of phases inconsistent with our effort, putting a body on people when a shot goes up,when we go to
And Schneider said he be-
the offensive boards, execution," Schneider said. "For us to have success we just can't afford that. We don't have the big of margin for error."
lieves every game is an important one for his young team.
"There's not a team in the country who doesn't want to start their season 1-0," Schneider said. "I think this is the
next one. It was very important to me that we won both exhibition games"
Tipoff at Allen Fieldhouse is at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
EVERYDAY DRINK SPECIALS
Head coach Brandon Schneider yells during the second half against Emporia State.
MISSY MINFAR/KANSAN
Men's golf will start spring season with national rank and 6 top-six performances
EMMA GREEN
@emmalee_green
Placing in the top six teams in every tournament it competed in this fall, the Kansas men's golf team proved its ability to be consistent, leading to a No.46 national ranking.
I think as the fall progressed they got more and more confident with their play, and I think they raised their level of expectations.
... Before, it was try to get in the last group going into the last round. Now it's each time we show up."
JAMIE BERMEL
Out of the six tournaments the Jayhawks played in, they won both the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisc., and the Price's Give 'Em Five Invitational in El Paso, Texas. Led by senior Connor Peck, junior Chase Hanna and freshman Charlie Hillier, who each competed in every tournament, the Jayhawks' 14-man roster has an additional three golfers from last year, including four freshmen.
"I think we had more depth
One of the seniors, Ben Welle, won the Ram Masters Invitational, which was his first victory since his freshman season, when he won the Mesa Thunderbird Classic.
and a little more consistency. Obviously, the kids that played last fall got a little more experience in the summer and another half season under their belt," said coach Jamie Bermel. "I thought the seniors played well, and I thought Charlie Hillier, the freshman from New Zealand, was a nice addition."
"I thought Ben Welle had a great fall. I didn't play him in the first event at Duke. He didn't look very good in qualifying, and I left him at home," Bermel said. "I think that really changed his focus and his attitude, and then he came out and won the next week"
Placing well, if not outright winning, was something the Jayhawks became accustomed to this fall after struggling through the spring half of last season, when they only had two top-five finishes compared with this fall's five. "I think as the fall progressed they got more and more confident with their play, and I think they raised their level of expectations," Bermel said. "Before, it was try to get in the last group going into the last round. Now it's each time we show up."
The team will have to try to
"We've got a couple guys that have some nagging injuries, and I think a lot of it could be from overuse from playing and practicing so much," Bermel said. "We'll get healthy and get a little stronger, and hopefully when January rolls around they'll be excited to be out there again and get back to practice."
The Jayhawks' first competition after the break is the Desert Intercollegiate in February, and they will compete in five tournaments before the Big 12 Championship in April, followed by the NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championship in May if any golfers advance that far.
carry this momentum into the spring portion of the season, as it takes a three-month hiatus over the winter. Golfers use these off months to catch up on school, build up strength in the weight room and recover from any injuries that occurred during the season.
"Last year, unfortunately, we were the first team that didn't make it to the regional. We got skipped over for East Carolina, so we were close last year," Bermel said. "Obviously, we put ourselves in good position this year to go out in the spring and take care of business."
- Edited by Amber
Vandegrift