THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013
PAGE 5B
KANSAS 76,TCU 75
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND
The Jayhawks were able to convert a 23-point deficit in Fort Worth into a win for another comeback this season
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
In a 23-point come-from-behind victory on Wednesday night against TCU, the Jayhawks won the rebounding margin by 24. Kansas pulled down 58 rebounds over the course of the 76-75 win in Fort Worth, Texas.
Sophomore forward Chelsea Gardner grabbed 18 of those rebounds. That new career-high in rebounds for Gardner comes after Saturday's game in which she had just two rebounds.
Gardner likes to take pride in her blocked shots on the defensive end, and came up with a career-high there as well with 6 blocks.
In the second half alone, as Kansas made its comeback, Gardner had five points and 10 rebounds. Also in the second half, senior guard Monica Engelman came to life, and scored 18 points with four rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.
For the Jayhawks, there can't be much of a better sign than to see Engelman play this way and break out of a slump in a major way. Engelman scored a career-best 26 points in the game. It was her 3-point shot from the left-wing with 3:28 left in the second half that gave the Jayhawks their first lead of the game.
Senior Carolyn Davis also provided 13 rebounds, giving the Jayhawks 31 rebounds between their two starting post-players.
Kansas Coach Bonnie Henrickson has mentioned rebounding as one of her "toughness areas," and it has been an area of focus for the Jayhawks all season. This appears to be the type of performance on the boards that Henrickson has been hoping to see.
Henrickson said the team was soft in their last game against West Virginia. It was clear that Henrickson was talking about the team as a collective group, but
she used both Davis and Gardner as examples. The two post players demonstrated their toughness against TCU.
Everything starts in the paint for the Jayhawks right now. Senior guard Angel Goodrich is not putting up high scoring games, but she did dish out 10 assists against TCU. When Goodrich is struggling to score as she has been lately, it's important that the Jayhawk postplayers become a dominant presence inside.
Both teams shot below 40 percent in the game, making rebounds the most important stat of the game. Kansas collected 22 offensive rebounds and scored 23 second chance points, and they would need every one of them to make the 23-point come back.
A loss to TCU (7-15), a team that has still not managed to win a game in its new conference, would likely have ended any hope for an at-large bid for Kansas. Under pressure, the Jayhawks played an unbelievable
second half, and rebounding was a vital part of it.
The Jayhawks will likely have pressure to keep winning for the rest of the season in order to make the NCAA tournament, but for this team, that seems to be the only way it knows how.
Monica Engelman said after the loss to West Virginia that this team wasn't changing its expectations at all. A loss on Wednesday night would have destroyed those expectations, but the Jayhawks wouldn't let that happen, even if the shots weren't falling.
"I couldn't be more proud (of our team), to just to not give in and hang in and hang in," Henrickson said. "We just got stops, played aggressive and confidentially and played together and shared the ball. We got some offensive rebounds, got possessions, got some free throws and took the lead and kept the lead."
—Edited by Megan Hinman
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas guard Angel Goodrich (3) tries to drive around TCU guard Kamy Cole (11) during the first half of their NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas.
GAME TO REMEMBER
Monica Engelman, Senior Guard
Engelman posted a career-high 26 points, which ousted her previous best of 24 points, on 9-of-16 shooting. She drilled 18 of those points in the second half comeback.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I couldn't be more proud (of our team), to just to not give in and hang in and hang in.."
Bonnie Henrickson
Engelman
Kansas 27 | 49 - 76
TCU 49 | 26 - 75
Henrickson
JAYHAWK STAT LEADERS
Points
Rebounds
Engelman 26
Assists
Gardner 18
Goodrich 10
KANSAS
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
Chelsea Gardner 7 2-8 18 0 2
Carolyn Davis 19 6-11 13 1 5
Angel Goodrich 9 3-9 4 10 5
Monica Engelman 26 9-16 7 3 3
CeCe Harper 0 0-6 2 0 2
Asia Boyd 14 4-13 5 1 5
Bunny Williams 0 0-0 3 0 1
Markisha Hawkins 1 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 76 24-63 58 15 15
TCU
Player Pts FG-FGA Rebs A TO's
Veja Hamilton 8 4-9 9 3 0
Natalie Ventress 4 1-6 4 2 2
Latricia Lovings 0 0-3 4 1 3
Kamy Cole 18 5-12 2 0 1
Zahna Medley 35 10-22 4 5 3
Delisa Gross 6 2-6 4 1 1
Donielle Breaux 4 1-5 0 0 1
Ashley Colbert 0 0-0 1 1 0
Totals 75 23-65 34 14 12
KEY STATS
The Jayhawks committed just four turnovers in the second half after committing a season-high 19 in the first half.
58
rebounds for the game with 37 in the second half.
17
8
number of points off second-chance opportunities.
The Jayhawks gave up just eight points in the paint to t Horned Frogs.
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