8A SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2009
WOMEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Pittsburg State went 20-9 last year, with an impressive 8-3 record on the road, so don't expect the in-state opponents to falter with ease. If Kansas passively approaches the home opener, senior center Nicole McCombs, who led the Gorillas with 15.7 ppg last season, could dominate the paint with easy put-backs off of rebounds.
Henrickson looks to counter that possibility with a collective focus on defense.
"We've got to do a better job of protecting the paint and not fouling" Henrickson said.
The only way Kansas can make efficient defense really count is by utilizing each possession.
"We need to limit our turn-overs, get more possessions and make them turn the ball over more." Boogard said.
"We're trying to make it to the NCAA Tournament," Morris said. "It's time to have the season that we've always dreamed."
But the rumbles of Allen Fieldhouse this Sunday will only be the start of something much more.
Edited by Lauren Cunningham
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I feel like there's a lot more people noticing our program, just because of the way we ended last season and the way we showcased ourselves. I think it's exciting to hopefully have a lot more people in the stands for our first game."
Junior center Krysten Boogaard
KEY TO THE GAME
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
KEY TO THE GAME Defense in the paint: The Jayhawks need to win the battle in the paint in order to come away with a victory against Pitt. State this Sunday. In past seasons Kansas has struggled in defending its paint without committing fouls. The Gorillas have talent beneath the basket, and if the Jayhawks don't make the necessary adjustments, they could start their season with a surprising loss.
Point guard play: Former Kansas point guard ivana Catic is the only missing starter from the 2008-2009 team. That leaves a big question mark on the roster as the Jayhawks begin a new season. Although two of the three current point guards are playing their first game under coach Bonnie Henrickson, expect the talent of the newcomers to help the Jayhawks power past the Gorillas. Freshman guard Angel Goodrich has a knack for finding open players. That, along with the experience of junior college transfer Rhea Codio, should give the Jayhawks a little bit of a spark.
Andrew Taylor
Team reaches end of season Saturday
CROSS COUNTRY
BY SAMANTHA ANDERSON
sanderson@kansan.com
The season is winding down for the cross country team with the Big 12 Championships this Saturday. The runners will be competing in the event after a season of a new coach and new practice schedule, which included earlier practices and more of an emphasis on weight training.
"The conference meet is the most important meet of the year," said assistant coach Michael Whitesey. "It's where you want to stack up against everyone in the conference and show your best."
Last year both the men's and women's teams finished in 8th place.
"We want to improve on how we did in the past," senior Kellie Schneider said. "We want to get in the top five."
This year they hope to improve, as results have shown they have been all year. When they ran on the same course at the beginning of the year in the Missouri Cross Country Challenge, many of the runners cut off significant amounts of time. The top five returning finishers on the men's
side cut 1:30 off their time. The top four returning finishers on the women's side cut on at least 30 seconds with sophomore Rebeka Stowe showing the most improvement by cutting off 1:20.
"They've all gotten a lot faster since the beginning of the year," Whittlesey said. "We are really starting to establish who our one through five runners are, especially on the women's side. We know exactly how we run best as a team and collectively and we've been able to finetune our race strategy based off how people are performing in each meet."
Some of this has to do with more experience. The returning runners are getting older and learning how hard they can push themselves.
"I think that the quality of the workouts that he's had are much better," senior Bret Ingrund said. "He does a better job of explaining things, also, and why we're doing stuff and is just able to connect with the team a lot better."
This weekend's competition will prove what effect the new training will have on the team.
Edited by Lauren Cunningham
Sophomore Rebeka Stowe, front, and sophomore Kara Windisch, back, run to the finish of the 5K women's race Sept 5. Stowe and Windisch finished first and second respectively at the Bob Timmons Invitational at Rim Rock Farm.
Adam Buhler/KANSAN
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
control some of the clock and keep Tech's offense off of the field."
Sure, running the ball is a priority for Kansas each week. After all, coaches and players always preach the need for a balanced offense in order to be most efficient.
But when facing a team such as Texas Tech, running the ball successfully not only gains yards, it also keeps the Red Raiders' offense on the sideline.
"When the defense is out there a lot, especially against the Texas Tech offense, the ball is getting thrown everywhere so you're having to run around the whole game," sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson said. "Running the ball and clock control is really big against teams like Tech."
Yet it's something the layhawks have struggled with in their last two games — both of which were losses. Kansas finished with minus 8 yards against Colorado, and followed that performance with 81 yards against Oklahoma.
Those games share another common theme: Kansas dug an early hole that forced the Jayhawks to pass more in order to play catch-up.
"Certainly when you feel like you need to score faster, pounding it out three, four, five or six yards at a time isn't necessarily what you see as the best solution," offensive line coach Reagan said.
During practice this week senior quarterback Todd Reesing said one of Kansas' weekly focuses
was to re-establish the run game
an area of the offense that served as the team's strength in the first two games.
Sharp opened the year with back-to-back 100 yard performances and even led the Big 12 in rushing yards after two weeks.
Then he suffered an injury before Kansas' game against Duke on Sept. 19, and the run game hasn't been nearly as potent since. Freshman running back Toben Opurum filled in adequately but the fayhawks visibly missed Sharp's big-play threat.
In turn, Kansas' offensive line hasn't blocked as effectively in the Big 12 as the unit did during the nonconference season.
"But just like anything," Reagan
said, "the struggles are more than just a two part problem."
Now Kansas wants — and most likely needs — to kick-start its rushing attack to compete with Texas Tech and avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time since 2006.
"We're focusing this week on the run game because we want to get this going," Reesing said. "We want to get Jake and Toben some more carries and get them going in the right direction. We're going to try and get that phase of the offense going."
Edited by Jonathan Hermes
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8
MERCK
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Company = ZWX Merck & Co. Inc. All rights reserved. Written 1/14/2013.
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