KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, MARCH 25. 2010 / SPORTS
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BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
If the Jayhawks find themselves in a fiasco similar to last season's final seconds against the Redbirds, they won't have McCray to pass to by default. However, the absence of the Big 12 preseason player of the year could actually be a blessing in disguise.
"They can lean on me, Carolyn or anybody. Anybody can seal the deal by shooting a three, getting an and one or even a layup," senior guard Sade Morris said.
Henrickson, perhaps indirectly, has camouflaged her plans for the last-second shot. She holds faith in several different options, both inside and out.
It may come to fruition differently than last season, but after two strong victories in the opening rounds against Prairie View A&M and Creighton, a second consecutive season in the WNIT championship seems fathomable.
"We've done it before last year. We can do it again," Morris said.
- Edited by Anna Archibald
Keep an eye on
Carolyn Davis
Freshman forward Carolyn Davis is poised to play in her second straight game.She hasn't accomplished that feat since games against Baylor and Nebraska on Feb.28 and March 3, as multiple injuries have limited her playing time.In those two games, she averaged just over seven points.In the two games she has played since then, she has upped that average to 28 points while also corralling 11.5 rebounds per game.Davis consistent presence in the lineup should help guide Kansas tonight against Illinois State.
Davis
Opponent to watch
Nicolle Lewis
Illinois State senior center Nicole Lewis has paced her team with 16 points per game so far in the WNIT. During the season, Lewis shot well over 50 percent from the field. Her 64 blocks throughout the season are significantly more than Jayhawk sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland's team-leading 36 blocks. Lewis along with Illinois State senior forward Ashleen Bracey, who leads her team with 15.1 points per game, should have their work cut out for them as they attempt to contain Kansas' impressive post players.
Lewis
Winning in the paint
Key to the game
So far in Kansas' two-game stint in the WNIT, it has out-scored its opponents by an average of 12 points per game in the paint. Davis and junior center Krysten Boogaard have led that charge by combining to score 64 total points in victories against Prairie View A&M and Creighton. In addition to out-scoring their opponents in the paint, the Jayhawks have averaged 10 more rebounds per game in the WNIT than their opponents.
Davis
Andrew Taylor
Boogaard
Prediction
Kansas 77, Illinois State 72
Celtics punch return ticket to playoffs, defeat Nuggets
NBA
BY HOWARD ULMAN
Associated Press
BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are back in the playoffs. They want to be playing their best when those games start.
"The Paul Pierce you saw out in Denver wasn't the Paul Pierce that usually shows up to play," he said. "Right now I'm as healthy as I've been all year and this is our time to start playing well."
They were very good on Wednesday night.
Paul Pierce scored 27 points, Kevin Garnett added 20 and Rajon Rondo had a triple-double as Boston clinched a postseason berth with a 113-99 win over the Denver Nuggets.
It was the Celtics' fifth win in six games and began a six-game stretch at home, where they're just 22-12, worse than their 24-13 road record.
Pierce, who missed 10 games with knee, foot and thumb problems, and Garnett, sidelined for 10 with a hyperextended right knee, have been healthy for a while. Pierce scored just five points in a 114-105 loss in Denver on Feb. 21 while playing with a sore thumb.
"We have been able to get the job done on the road, but this is where we eat. This is where we set our table," Pierce said. "Hopefully, we can just start playing well in this building and gather some momentum going into the playoffs."
Atlanta for third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Celtics remained tied with
The Celtics dominated inside and the Nuggets, one day after losing to the Knicks in New York, slipped a half-game behind the Dallas Mavericks and into a third-place tie with Utah in the Western Conference with their third con-
"I'm just really focused on getting to the ... middle of April and being at our best" for the playoffs, Boston coach Doc Rivers said.
Boston led by 21 points twice in the third quarter before Denver cut the lead to 87-80 going into the fourth. But the Celtics stayed ahead by seven to 16 the rest of the way.
Rondo had 11 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds.
last four or five games," Denver acting head coach Adrian Dantley said. "They got points in the paint. They outhustled us on the boards."
"Right now I'm as healthy as I've been all year, and this is our time to start playing well."
Denver coach George Karl missed his ninth game since announcing that he had been diagnosed with cancer. The Nuggets are 5-4 in that span. Karl has had treatment for throat and neck cancer and was hospitalized this week with blood clots in his lungs and a leg, according to a blog by his girl
Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 32 points and J.R. Smith added 21.
The Celtics played aggressively from the start, beginning with Garnett's dunk on an alley-oop pass from Kendrick Perkins for the first basket of the game. Capitalizing on the absence of defensive star Kenyon Martin, who missed his 11th consecutive game with left knee tendinitis, Boston scored 58 points in the paint.
PAUL PIERCE Celtics forward
"We've been talking about it the
friend, Kim Van Deraa.
"It's tough playing without your head coach and the guy (Martin) that has the biggest presence and the biggest voice on the team," Ch aun ce y Billups said.
"There is nobody stressing on it. We just have to man up and get ourselves through it."
Denver is just 17-19 on the road with four games left on the current trip.
The Celtics' strong inside presence and attacking style were just two positive signs. The win was their fourth straight at home, where they began a season-long six-game homestand in 12 days, culminating with a Sunday afternoon meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers on April 4.
MLB
Giants defeat Royals in split-squad match
night.
Bowker, who leads the majors with 18 RBIs in the spring, hit a grand slam in the sixth off Brad Thompson.
Bowker had a solo homer in the fourth off Kyle Farnsworth. Bowker added a two-run double in the second that scored Buster
SURPRISE, Ariz. — John Bowker hit two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs and a San Francisco Giants split squad defeated a Kansas City Royals split squad 7-0 Wednesday
Posey and Travis Ishikawa
Farnsworth, who is competing for a spot in the Royals' rotation after not starting since 2000, gave up three runs and four hits, but struck out eight and walked none in five innings.
Associated Press
A Friend Dies. Who Cares?
Toxic drinking is an epidemic on campuses all across America. It means consuming so much alcohol the drinker passes out. But while "sleeping it off," the victim may be quietly dying. When you come right down to it,students themselves are the best ones to tackle this problem. So, in growing numbers Stony Brook students have joined together in the Red Watch Band movement.
Working with experts, they fine-tuned a course in techniques to handle these alcohol emergencies. Red Watch Band members can act fast, when every second counts. They know the quick steps they can take to rescue a passed-out student from a drinking death, and can immediately summon professional help.Everyone completing the course is given the distinctive red watch for identification.
Since its inception at Stony Brook University in March 2009, approximately 40 schools across the country have signed on to implement this lifesaving program.
To prevent toxic drinking deaths, go to redwatchband.org