6B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF DALY KANSAS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tough defense keys victory in 76-55 rout of Iowa Hawkeyes
More than 5,000 fans watch impressive performance
BY JAYSON JENKS jjenks@kansan.com
After Krysten Boogaard picked off an Iowa pass, LaChelda Jacobs jogged the ball up the left side of the court right past coach Bonnie Henrickson. And Henrickson, after watching the Jayhawks not only take control of the ball, but also the game, let a wry smile creep across her face.
"I think we've got them brain-washed defensively. They understand how good they can be with that kind of work." Henrickson said. "And it requires work. You can't just go out there and just play it because that's how we teach it."
In front of 5,186 fans — many of whom were screaming elementary school students — the lahawys turned in one of their most impressive performances in Henrickson's four-plus years.
son," Iowa forward JoAnn Hamlin said. "I think they played better defense than a lot of the teams we're going to see in the Big 10."
And it all started on the defensive end. The Jayhawks held the Hawkeyes to 38 percent shooting, including just one made threepointer.
"We haven't seen that this sea
True, Iowa center Megan Skotby scored a career-high 33 points against Kansas. But the Jayhawks effectively limited the rest of the Hawkeyes — no other Iowa player scored more than seven
Aiding the Jayhawks' defensive efforts were the shrill yells generated from the elementary school students, who attended the 11 a.m.
"I think we've got them brainwashed defensively. They understand how good they can be with that kind of work."
BONNIE HENRICKSON Kansas coach
lowa center Megan Skoubty turns to shoot over Kansas center Krysten Boogaard during Tuesday's game. Skoubdy scored 33 points in Tuesday's game, but the Kansas defense held the rest of the Hawkeyes to just 22 points.
For Henrickson, it started on the perimeter. The Jayhawks' defensive pressure disrupted Iowa's offense as the Hawkeyes finished the game with 23 turnovers.
For Danielle McCray, Kansas high-pressure, aggressive defense took form in practice.
"When someone is all over you in practice, you kind of rush." McCray said. "We felt that if we're rushing, why can't we make you rush?"
tipoff as part of a health and fitness field trip.
Not only were they loud, but the pint-sized student section chose the right times — as the shot clock ran down — to make their
voices heard.
"I think we should play at 11 every day," Henrickson said. "They can take online classes or something."
"When we heard them yelling."
In fact, the elementary students were so loud that the Jayhawks actually struggled with communication at the beginning of the game. But after adjusting to the sound, Kansas flipped the increased noise into a positive.
Nicollette Smith said, "I think we buckled down even more."
Kansas' ability to shut down Iowa translated to success on the offensive end. The Jayhawks' aptitude for reading passing lanes led
to 11 steals, which, in turn, led to 73 Kansas points off turnovers.
Simply put, the Jayhawks are shaping into the defensive-minded team that Henrickson wants them to be. Tuesday morning provided a
perfect example.
"We played great defense today," junior Sade Morris said. "That's all I can really say."
Edited by Scott R. Toland
INTERNATIONAL
Japanese league chooses teen as first female player
BY ERIC TALMADGE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOKYO — The knuckleball — the fluttering, hard-to-hit pitch that's rare in the major leagues — is propelling a 16-year-old girl to the pros in Japan.
Eri Yoshida was inspired to learn how to throw the knuckler after seeing a video of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. She broke the gender barrier by being drafted for an independent league team as Japan's first female professional baseball player.
The high schooler was chosen by the Kobe 9 Cruise in the Japanese League, which starts its inaugural season in April.
The Cruise are a far cry from Tokyo's Yomiuri Giants. Making the squad is more like earning a tentative slot on a farm team than warming up in the bullpen for the Red Sox.
Even so, the 5-foot, 114-pound Yoshida has smashed the glass ceiling with her unorthodox, sidearm pitch in baseball-crazy Japan, where women normally are relegated to amateur, company-
sponsored teams or to the sport of softball.
"I'm really happy I stuck with baseball," Yoshida said in a news conference after she was chosen with 32 other players in the new league's draft. "I want to pitch against men."
Yoshida is hoping to find enough success to one day challenge the likes of the long-established Central and Pacific leagues, home to the best and brightest Japanese players and increasingly a fertile ground for talent headed to the majors in the United States.
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Yoshida said she wants to emulate Wakefield, who has built a successful major league career throwing a knuckleball, which is difficult to learn and even harder to throw with success.
Wakefield and Seattle's R.A. Dickey were the two most prominent pitchers who were primarily knucklers to appear in the major leagues last season.
Eddie Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox was the first highly successful knuckleballer and won 20 games three times in four seasons before he was kicked out of baseball following the 1920 season for his role in the Black Sox scandal.
High school student Eri Yoshida, 16, was drafted by an independent league's professional
Three Hall of Famers relied on the knuckler: Hoyt Wilhelm, Phil Niekro and Jesse Haines, and the pitch also was associated with Tom Candiotti, Charlie Hough, Joe Niekro, Steve Sparks and Wilbur Wood.
Yoshida started playing baseball when she was in the second grade, tagging along with her elder brother, now 19, and played first base on a boy's team in junior high school. She also joined her high school baseball club, but quit because the training was too tough. Then she joined a private club.
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team on Sunday, Yoshida, who throws a sidearm knuckleball, was selected by the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent Japanese league that will start its first season in April. Yoshida said she wanted to follow in the footsteps of Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who throws a knuckleball.
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