JAYHAWK
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Basketball
Inside Sports today
Kansas softball coach Tracy Bunge announced that six high school seniors have signed letters of intent to play for the Jayhawks next season. SEE PAGE 3B
Yesterday's game - Kansas vs. Athletes In Action
KANSAS
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RANKED NO.24
WWW.KUBASKETBALL.COM
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SECTION B. PAGE 1
AIA
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EXHIBITION
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1997
86
Breakdown in offense results in Kansas loss
Defense communication upperclassman example needed in future games
By Penny Walker sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
For a while there, the Kansas women's basketball team looked like it actually had a prayer of winning the game against Athletes In Action, but the visitors prevailed 86-74.
Five minutes into the game, the Jayhawks were up 13-4. Kansas was shooting 67 percent from the floor compared to Athletes In Action's 25 percent.
Ten minutes into its second exhibition game, Kansas increased its lead to 23-11. But after that, the offense broke down, and it would be nine more minutes until Kansas made another field goal.
"Oh my God, it was just awful," coach Marian Washington said.
Forward Lynn Pride ended the nearly 10-minute drought with a field goal, but the intensity that gave the 'Hawks 11 points in the first four minutes was not to return to the first half.
Washington said the offensive stall was frustrating to watch.
"I was upset. I was ... I'll tell you ... oh my," she said. "You try to fig- out what's going on, whether they're simply a little tired or whether you have a combination in there that just broke us down. You're just not sure."
"One thing that did happen was Athletes In Action picked up a notch," Washington said. "Their intensity went up, and we did not respond."
Kansas went into halftime trailing 33-45
The Athletes In Action team didn't take to the locker room during
halftime. The players stood in a line on the court as Dee Dee Deeken, who made five points and one rebound in the game, shared her testimony about her belief in Jesus Christ. The team is part of the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and hopes to use basketball to promote international goodwill.
When the Jayhawks returned to the court for the second half, guard Suzi Ravaint made a three-point shot in the first 20 seconds.
In the second half, Kansas matched its opponent's 41 points, and Athletes In Action was only able to maintain its first half 12-point lead.
"They really took it up a notch and left us watching." Washington said. "When we finally came to, we were down by, oh, 20 points, and then we had to try to take it bucket by bucket to get back in the game."
Pride led Kansas with 18 points, making 7-of-10 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws. She said the offense just clicked when the game began but that she felt it slipped midway through the first half.
Kansas shot 49 percent for the game, gaining 71 percent of its three point shots and 68 percent of its free throws.
"It just felt like we were getting farther and farther away from the game, as far as winning the game." Pride said.
Although Washington said she had seen good things in the Kansas offense, she thought the defense needed some work.
"People aren't going to wait for us to grow up," Washington said. "We've got to really work hard to get tougher and to do the little things. When we had breakdowns defensively, a lot of those times, it was simply because we didn't talk it out. We did not communicate with each other."
Raymant and center Nakia Sanford each scored 17 points for Kansas, and Sanford pulled down 8 rebounds.
Raymant said that the team hadn't communicated out on the court against Athletes In Action and that the upperclassmen really needed to set the example for the team.
"We're still trying to get to know each other," Raymant said. "We just need to talk a lot more, especially on defense."
The Jayhawks' next game is Nov. 26 against Penn State in University Park, Pa. Kansas is 1-0 this season after defeating Creighton on Sunday.
Guard Lynn Pride scores two of her team-high 18 points. Pride also grabbed two rebounds and had two assists in Kansas' second exhibition loss of the season. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Kansas coach Marian Washington spreads her arms in disbelief. Washington described a 9-minute stretch last night when the Jayhawks went without a field goal as awful. Kansas lost its last exhibition game of the season 86-74 to the Athletes In Action. Photo by Steve Puppe/KANSAN
Team's action too much for Jayhawks
Sports editor
By Kristie Blasi
kblasi@kansan.com
Sports editors
Kansas' exhibition opponents continued their trend of burying the Jayhawks with three-point shots.
The Athletes In Action made 53 percent of their 15 three-point attempts in their 86-74 victory against the Jayhawks last night in Allen Field House. This three-point onslaught came after the McDonald's Victorian All-Stars converted 43 percent of their attempts.
"Our guards can shoot," said Athletes In Action coach Sam Skarich. "We have a pretty solid team. If it's not working on the inside, we go outside."
The team is a collection of former collegiate and professional players who play during college basketball's
exhibition season. The Kansas game was the team's 15th in 17 days and its 13th victory.
The team's hectic schedule does not allow for much preparation or scouting.
"I think it's to our benefit because we go in with the attitude that the other team is going to be good and thinking that the player we're guarding is the toughest one," center Barb Franke said. Franke led Athletes In Action with 19 points, but it was not her first successful outing against the Hawjacks.
Franke's 1995 Wisconsin team ousted Kansas from the first round of the NCAA Tournament. She scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in the Badger victory.
She said this team had a different makeup than the other Kansas squad
she had faced.
"I can tell that they're young." Franke said. "But they have a lot of solid players, are really athletic and run the floor well. They are learning, and I think you will see improvement upon improvement."
But Skarich said he did not think that unfamiliarity hurt his team.
"They've been through the mill." Skarich said. "They just have to be perceptive and use their experience to make adjustments."
The coach said that his team adjusted the intensity level during the first half after falling behind 23-11 after five minutes of play.
"We weren't playing good defense," he said. "I thought they were going to run us into the ground early."
But Athletes In Action recovered and mounted a 30-6 run in the next 10 min.
utes of the first half.
"I credit our defense," Skarich said. "Once we were able to make Kansas play against our halfcourt defense, we got some things going."
Franke agreed that the defense was key because of the team's experience and offensive prowess.
"We're real solid shooters," she said.
"And we're mentally strong so we don't lose confidence in our shots. We know a little bit about basketball."
Team members also showed that they knew a little bit about the Bible during halftime. One of the players gives a testimonial and Gospel reading during the intermission at each exhibition stop.
"We're out here because we love basketball, and we want to share our love of Jesus Christ," guard Nicole Levesque said.
'Hawks look to topple Hilltoppers in NIT play
Basketball team faces young squad starting new season
By Tommy Gallagher
tgallagher@kansan.com
Associate sports editor
In the first round of the Chase NIT, Kansas will play Western Kentucky at 7:07 tonight in Allen Field House. The winner will play either UNLV or Eastern Michigan in second-round action Friday night.
To take a bite out of the Big Apple next week, the No. 2 Kansas men's basketball team first must defeat two opponents at Allen Field House.
Kansas forward Paul Pierce said the Jayhawks won the Maui Invitational last season playing under more time constraints.
With a win against the Hillippers tonight, Kansas would play three games in five days this week.
Pierce said. "We played three games in three days in Maui last season, so three games in five days shouldn't bother us at all."
The Jayhawks won their Maui Invitational games by an average of 21.3 points, hardly an indication of team exhaustion.
But Kansas coach Roy Williams, who is searching for win No. 250 tonight, still had some concerns about team preparation heading into the NIT. The Jayhawks practiced as usual yesterday, and Williams reminded his team to rest well and eat properly.
"I'd rather go out and play a game than practice, anyway."
Western Kentucky coach Matt Kilcullen posted a 27-4 record in 1994-95, his first season with the Hilltopers. The team was 13-14 and 12-15 the past two seasons.
While Kansas has been gauging its early performances, the Hilltopers will start a new season tonight after two frustrating seasons.
young. Bides is the lone senior on a team that features just six letterwinners.
Western Kentucky will face a tough challenge when playing at the field house. The Jayhawks have won 46 consecutive home games, the nation's longest current streak and have a record of 460-94 overall at the field house.
Guard Ryan Robertson said he loved the trip to New York during his freshman year, when Kansas lost to Tempel 75-66 in an NIT semi-final game. He said he would like to revisit the Big Apple next week.
The Hilltoppers return three starters from last season with guard Joe Harney, forward Steven Bides and center Ravon Farris, but overall, the team is
For opponents, the road to the NIT semifinals runs through the field house. For Kansas, a trip to New York must come through defense of its home court twice this week.
"Ireally want to go back just for the fact that it is New York and because it is a great time of year to be there," Robertson said. "The NIT is the most prestigious preseason tournament to be in. And playing in Madison Square Garden, I could go on and about the things that are special about that tournament."
The Starting Lineup
KANSAS
JAYHAWKS
WESTERN KENTUCKY HILLTOPERS
Radio: KJHK 91.7 FM
BOX SCORE
ATHLETES IN ACTION (86)
Sue Stewart 2-7 0-0 5, Vicki Link 3-3 0-0 6, Barb Franke 8-11 3-4 19, Stacey Johnson 5-10 5-6 15, Nicole Levesque 1-2 0-0 2, Jennifer Howard 6-7 0-1 7, Julie Rittgers 1-3 0-0 7, Temple Elmore 2-3 0-0 4, Dee Dee Deeken 2-3 0-0 5, Cathy Marx 3-6 0-0 6. Totals 35-55 8-15 86.
KANSAS (74)
Lynn Pride 7-10-4 18, Jaclyn Johnson 3-7 0-6, Nakia Sanford 6-12 5-6 17, Suzi Raymant 6-11 2-3 17, Jennifer Jackson 3-4 0-0 7, Casey Pruitt 0-1 0-0 9, Koya Scott 0-2 0-0, Shandy Robbins 1-4 0-3 0, Nikki White 2-6 2-6, Heather Fletcher 0-0 0-0, Totals 28-57 13-1974.
Halftime: Athletes In Action 45, Kansas 33. 3-Point goals: Athletes In Action 8:15 (Stewart 1-5, Johnson 0-1, Lavesque 0-1, Howard 5-6, Rittgers 1-1, Deeken 1-1), Kansas 5-7 (Raymant 3-5, Jackson 1-1, Robbins 1-1).
Rebounds: Athletes In Action 25 (Link 2, Franke 5, Johnson 4, Lavesque 3, Howard 1, Rittgers 1, Elmore 1, Deeken 1), Kansas 29 (Pride 2, Johnson 4, Sanford 8, Rayman 2, Jackson 3, Pruitt 2, Scott 1, Robbins 3, White 3, Fletcher 1). Assists: Athletes In Action 29 (Stewart 1, Franke 5, Johnson 3, Levesque 6, Howard 2, Rittgers 2, Deeken 1, Marx 9). Kansas 14 (Pride 3, Raymant 3, Jackson 3, Pruitt 1, Robbins 4). Total fouls: Athletes In Action 9, Kansas 16. Attendance: 566.
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