WEIGHTLIFTING A student doesn't let her small stature get in the way of being an Olympic weightlifter. PAGE 2B
SPORTS
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Freshman guard Taylor McIntosh drives down the middle of the lane against two defenders. The Jayhawks played host to Western Illinois last night at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won 58-41.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004
www.kansan.com
Westerwinds blown off court
BY BJ RAINS
brains@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Earlier this week, Western Illinois women's basketball coach Leslie Crane said that her team had its hands full when it came to trying to beat Kansas. She was right.
The Jayhawks used a strong defensive team effort and 17 points from junior forward Crystal Kemp to knock off the Westerwinds 58-41 last night at Allen Fieldhouse.
"It was good to get a lead and be able to hold it," said Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson.
Kemp was the offensive leader for the Jayhawks. She scored 12 points in the first half, when she played all 20 minutes for the first time this season.
"I was just trying to keep us in our offense," Kemp said. "I wanted to keep the momentum up, that we sometimes lose as the game goes on."
The Jayhawks held the Westerwinds to only 13 points in the first half. Defensive pressure, especially in the
first half, was a key for the Jayhawks, Henrickson said.
"We really disrupted their offensive sets," Henrickson said. "I thought we applied a lot of pressure on the perimeter, which kept the ball out of the big kids' hands."
Zane Teilane, the Westwinds leading scorer at 17.4 points per game, scored only 12 points. Jessica Cook, Western Illinois' second leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, scored only two points, another credit to the Kansas defense.
"That was the difference," Crain said. "They had a defensive game plan and stuck with it."
The Westerwinds had only six field goals by someone other than Teilane and made only 12 field goals in the entire game. During one stretch, the Westerwinds did not score for more than 10 minutes.
"We really worked hard in practice this week on our defense," Kansas junior guard Erica Hallman said. "We came out aggressive tonight, and we had the same intensity level throughout the entire game."
Freshman guard Taylor McIntosh led
The Jayhawks hit their first three shots. Kemp hit a fading jumpshot as the shot clock expired for the Jayhawks' first basket of the night.
the team with 10 rebounds. She had the tough task of trying to out-rebound Teilane, who stands 8 inches taller than she.
She added a layup on the their next possession.
After junior guard Kaylee Brown hit a long jumper right inside of the three-point line, the Jayhawks had a quick 6-2 lead.
A few minutes later, the Jayhawks went scoreless for more than three minutes and after a driving layup by the Westerwinds, the Jayhawks lead was only 4, at 13-9.
But the Westerwinds scored only four points in the remaining eight minutes of the first half and were forced into nine turnovers by the Jayhawk defense.
Kansas closed the half on a 13-0 streak and led by 18 at the break. Western Illinois made only five field goals in the first half, shooting a dismal 21.7 percent from the field.
Henrickson and her staff will give the Jayhawks a much-needed break after playing seven games in 19 days. They will have two days off before returning to practice on Saturday to prepare for Dartmouth on Dec. 18.
— Edited by Ashley Doyle and Neil Mulka
Jared Soares/KANSAN
Rugged rugby player loves hard knocks
SPORTS COMMENTARY
SHANE KUCERA skucera@kansan.com
Editor's Note: Athletes at the University of Kansas are more than just victories and statistics — they're real people with opinions on sports, life and love. Each Thursday, Kansan sportswriter Shane Kucera sits with a student athlete and discusses issues beyond the playing field.
Jenny Peck, Plymouth, Minn., senior, partially tore her ACL and her meniscus — cartilage in the knee — last season while playing for the KU women's rugby team. She kept playing until the end of the season, even after the doctor said her knee was so torn up she probably had no ACL tendon left.
Peck, this year's rugby team captain, plays through pain and loves inflicting it on others.
She's far from a girl concerned with
a broken nail; she lives week-to-week nursing bruises, black eyes and sprains.
It depends on the teams that you play. Some teams are really intense and you're going to end up getting black eyes or a sprain of some sort and other games you'll just walk away with a scrape or two.
This week, Peck tells about her life on and off the field:
A: I can honestly say that there hasn't been a game that I haven't gotten five to 10 bruises.
Q: How physical is the sport?
A: I love it because it's such a good release of aggression, especially after a bad day.
Q: Do you like tackling other girls?
A: Yes, I've gone to the doctor and he thinks I'm in an abusive relationship.
Q: Do people ever ask why you have bruises all over your body?
A: I wouldn't say they're tougher. I'd say we're just a different variety of women.
Q: Would you say the women on the team are tougher than average?
I think that we're women that are not intimidated by playing a tough sport — there are definitely tough
"I can honestly say that there hasn't been a game that I
haven't gotten five to 10 bruises. It depends on the team that you play. Some teams are really intense and you're going to end up getting black eyes or a sprain of some sort and other games you'll walk away with a scrape or two. I love it because it's such a release of aggression, especially after a bad day."
ater a bad day."
Jenny Peck
Plymouth, Minn., senior
women on my team.
Q: Do a lot of players break bones or get teeth knocked out?
A: That's more in men's rugby. In women's rugby we don't want to get hurt so we play with our heads.
John Tran/KANSAN
Q: Can you tell me more about your
Jenny Peck, Plymouth, Minn., senior, is the captain and president of the KU Women's Rugby team. Peck has played rugby for eight years. The team travels and competes with schools through the Big 12 Conference.
aggressiveness — do you like to go after urin?
SEE RUGBY ON PAGE 3B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Former assistant returns
BY MIRANDA LENNING
mlenning@kansai.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Wayne Simien is the second-best player to graduate from Leavenworth High School — according to Texas Christian coach Neil Dougherty.
The TCU coach and former Kansas assistant also graduated f rom Leavenworth High School.
At his high school basketball camps,
Dougherty teased Simien,
joking that he would never be as good of a player as Dougherty was himself.
kansan.com
Don't forget to check Kansan.com for mens' and womens' basketball updates throughout winter break.
- Updated stories,
photos and more...
"He said I would never be as good as him in setting this record or that record." Simien said.
But Simien got back at him during his senior season at Leavenworth.
Dougherty said it would be an emotional experience to be back in Allen Fieldhouse to see his former players.
Dougherty will make his first trip back to Allen Fieldhouse since taking the TCU coaching job after the 2002 season. Kansas takes on the 5-2 Horned Frogs at 8 tonight.
"I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be much more than just a game. Not only because of what I feel for the state of Kansas, but KU in particular," Doughey said.
Dougherty may still own most of the scoring records at Leavenworth, but Simien has something that he doesn't.
"His team won state," Dougherty admitted. "But I have the records and he has the ring."
Dougherty still keeps in contact with the players that he coached as an assistant at Kansas — Simien, Keith Langford, Aaron Miles and Mike Lee.
"They are still my guys," Dougherty said. "They will always have a special place in my heart."
Dougherty has already been on the phone with Langford, joking about the TCU game.
SEE ASSISTANT ON PAGE 3B
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