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THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
New players' presence helps to round out team
MIKE GUNNOF/KANSAN
MIKE GUNNUTANSON Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis lays the ball up for two points in the second half against UT-Arlington last season. Davis will be one of the captains this year.
KATHLEEN GIER kgier@kansan.com
A freshman guard from Olathe, Natalie Knight, rolled her new Adidas travel bag through the halls of the Wagnon Student Athlete Center. Still unfamiliar with the facilities but eager to play, Knight arrived with the four other freshmen.
They were given one week to officially practice with the team before jetting off to Europe for a set of preseason games.
Despite the early pressure, Knight is pleased with her experience at Kansas so far. "It is exciting to be here," Knight said. "I have always known I wanted to play for KU."
"We have thrown them into the fire with how quick we are asking them to play," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
"It is a family environment here." Gardner said.
Gardner is one of three freshmen from Texas. She is joined by Donielle Breau, a guard from Missouri City, Mo., and Catherine (Bunny) Williams, a forward from Duncanville, Texas. Gardner and Williams come from the same AAU team.
Chelsea Gardner, a freshman forward from DeSoto, Texas, attributed her decision to come to Kansas to the teammates, coaches and playing style.
"When you see one of them, you see all of them," Henrickson said. "Thev travel in nacks."
Henrickson is already impressed by the chemistry among the freshmen.
The way recruiting worked out, the Jayhawks landed one athlete for each position. Henrickson has noted the speed, length and basketball IQ i.e early strengths of the incoming class.
"It is exciting." Henrickson said. "We are excited about this group because I feel like we are really filling some needs."
graduation and two athletes transferred. Seven players return to the line-up.
Kansas lost two seniors to
The returning players are led by juniors Angel Goodrich, Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman.
Davis led the team in scoring last season, averaging 19 points.
These three will be the captains this season.
Edited by Marla Daniels
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The women's basketball team poses in front of the St. Peters Basilica in Rome. The team traveled to Italy to play four games against international competition.
Team documenting travels through Italy in online blog
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The women's basketball team traveled to Italy from Aug. 9 to Aug. 19 to play four games against international competition. The tour started in Rome and continued to Florence, Venice and Lake Como, with one game played in each city. Between games, the team has been shopping, taking walks in the parks and enjoying the Italian cuisine. During free time they have been updating Twitter and talking on Skype. The Jayhawks have been taking turns writing a daily blog, which is available on the KU Athletics website.
From the airport, the team went to tour the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. Sophomore forward Tania Jackson blogged about the experience: "We got a tour by a very insightful man by the name of Fabio (yeah, same name as our host, haha!). There's so much history behind the Coliseum I never knew about! We took lots of pictures and just really enjoyed ourselves. On top of that it was beautiful outside. It was the perfect weather."
DAY 1
DAY 2
On their first full day in Rome, the Jayhawks toured the Vatican City and attended a Mass in Latin. They broke into groups and headed out for shopping and treats. In her blog, freshman guard Natalie Knight expressed how much she enjoyed gelato: "I'd have to say the gelato here is probably the best ice cream I have ever had, which probably isn't a good thing because we have our first game tomorrow and all we have done is eat, sightsee, and shop!"
DAY 3
The team celebrated freshman forward Bunny Williams'
18th birthday in Rome. In their first game in Rome, junior guard Monica Engelman led Kansas to victory with 19 points and five steals. Kansas defeated Roma Selezione 66-38.
All five freshmen, guards Asia Boyd, Donielle Breaux, Natalie Knight and forwards Chelsea Gardner and Williams, played in the first game. Williams described the experience on her blog: "What more can I ask for? I'm in Italy on my birthday, playing the game I love with my teammate, coaches and school I love. The sweatshirt said it all: 'The Best Day Of My Life'."
DAY 4
When the team arrived in Florence, they visited the Academy Gallery and saw Michelangelo's sculpture "David," Junior guard Angel Goodrich described her experience at an Italian McDonald's on her blog: "The rest of the day was good, but before anything else could happen, I had to get some food. The closest thing to satisfy me was McDonald's except I'm not saying, 'I'm lovin' it,' I'm only saying, 'I'm likin' it.' I think I have eaten more patties then Spongebob Squarepants has made in all his episodes because that is
the only thing I can eat without comparing it too much to the U.S.I do not think I could live off of just pizza, pasta and sandwiches like Italians do."
DAY 5
The team made a stop in Pisa, where they started the day by visiting and climbing to the top of the leaning tower. Junior forward Carolyn Davis led the Jayhawks to a second victory over Roma Selezone with 25 points, shooting 12-19 from the field. Keena Mays recorded what she and Williams did in their down time on day five: "Bunny (Williams) and I are just hanging out in the room now watching Italian MTV. She has me saying 'Arrivederci!' meaning 'see you later' in Italian every five minutes. This girl wakes me up every morning saying 'Arrivederci!' Arrivederci!' even though it makes no sense for the occasion. She says it is her favorite word and she likes the way it rolls off of her tongue. Whatever the case is, she gets it stuck in my head and I catch myself saying it all throughout the day."
Edited by Marla Daniels
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