KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 / SPORTS
7B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Nebraska a daunting foe for Kansas
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothman
Jerry Wang/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Freshman guard Monica Engelman attempts a shot under pressure from Iowa State guard Kelsey Bolte. Engelman hit 4-for-13 from the field and dished out six assists in the 57-54 loss against Iowa State on Thursday.
Senior guard Sade Morris didn't hesitate a second when asked how a struggling Kansas team could upset an undefeated Nebraska squad, which is ranked third in the nation, in Lincoln, Neb., tonight.
"Take care of the ball," Morris said.
On Feb. 10, Kansas nearly snuck away with a victory when it hosted Nebraska. The Jayhawks led 53-48 with 8-11 remaining, but junior forward Nicolelette Smith committed a foul five seconds later. Nebraska took advantage and followed that mistake with a 7-0 run.
But despite the loss against Nebraska and losing five of its past six games, Kansas is keeping a strong mindset.
"Nebraska kept fighting and we coasted," freshman forward Carolyn Davis said after the game.
"You've got to be resilient," Henrickson said. "It's a bounce-back league. You don't play at this high of a level and ever think you're going somewhere to lose."
Then the Cornhuskers turned up the heat with full-court pressure and coach Bonnie Henrickson used Morris at point guard. But Morris, a natural shooting guard, succumbed to Nebraska's play and surrendered seven turnovers. Nebraska swiped seven of its 10 steals in the final eight minutes and Morris yielded three of Kansas' four turnovers in the final three minutes.
The Cornhuskers' undefeated record has a clean ring to it: 27-0
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**WHEN:** 7 p.m.
**WHERE:** Lincoln, Neb.
overall and 14-0 in the Big 12.
Yet such an immaculate record is exactly why a shocker in Lincoln would boldly stamp a much-needed signature victory on Kansas' NCAA tournament resume.
At 5-9 in the Big 12, the layhawks will finish with a sub .500 record in the conference. If they can play the role of undefeated season spoilers Wednesday, they would make a strong case as a tournament-worthy team, even if they were to lose Saturday against No. 15 Texas A&M.
Just don't think that one loss will come easily. Nebraska is fourth in the nation in scoring differential, clobbering opponents by an average of 20.9 points per game.
"We're always talking about what we've still got to play for," Morris said. "Going to Nebraska's home-court and beating them would be a great feeling. Just to be that one loss that they haven't had."
"They know what to do to get a win," Morris said. "We've got to be willing to stick together longer and grind it out, even when it gets tough. Even if it comes down to the last 10 or 20 seconds."
"Make sure that it's going to be caught and something can be done with it," Morris said. "Not, 'Oh I hope she catches it', or 'Man, I hope she crabs that.'"
For the jayhawks to keep it close against the Cornhuskers they will likely need to consider the magnitude of each pass made.
decisions with its passes, it will limit turnovers and expand its opportunities to land an upset.
"There isn't a kid that's going to get on that bus and think we don't have a chance in Lincoln," Henrickson said.
Edited by Drew Anderson
If Kansas can make good
Key to the game
Shooting
The Jayhawks managed to keep their first game against the No. 3 Cornhuskers Feb. 10 close for much of the second half thanks to fantastic shooting. Kansas made 69 percent of its shots in the second half and even made 11 straight at the beginning of the half. But that shooting outburst was not enough to overcome the Jayhawks' meager 26 shooting percentage in the first half. Since that game Kansas has not shot better than its average shooting percentage of 45 percent en route to four losses and one victory.
Keep an eye on
Aishah Sutherland
Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland has averaged 9.9 rebounds per game in her last three contests. That's more than two boards above her season average and it's good enough to lead the Jayhawks in each of those games. Unfortunately it hasn't been enough for Kansas to win the rebounding battle during the last three games. The Jayhawks have now won just two out of nine games in which they have been out-rebounded.
Opponent to watch
Kelsev Griffin
Sutherland
Nebraska senior guard Kelsey Griffin is the frontrunner for the Big 12 Player of the Year award and is also a contender for the National Player of the Year. She's averaging nearly 20 points per game, good for second in the Big 12, and she also grabs 10.6 rebounds per game, which is first in the Big 12. The Jayhawks held Griffin below her season scoring average in a Feb. 10 loss to the Cornhuskers as she played just 26 minutes. Since then, Griffin has scored below her season average once which occurred.
(2) 3.3.2.2
Griffin
season average once, which occurred in a victory against Iowa State.
Prediction
Nebraska 67, Kansas 51
Flying Saucer
— Andrew Taylor
BASEBALL
Kansas walks its way to defeat The Razorbacks' victory comes after series of Jayhawk mistakes
BY BEN WARD
bward@kansan.com
twitter.com/bm dub
There's a reason why a walk in baseball is also dubbed a free pass.
Kansas pitchers issued 14 walks to Arkansas batters Monday, seven of whom eventually came around to score. Razorback pitchers allowed only one walk in the contest.
"I actually thought it was more than that," coach Ritch Price said of the walk total.
Adding to the extra opportunities were two hit batsmen and two wild pitches, but the high walk
Poppe
total alone proved too much for the jayhawks to overcome.
"Our pitching staff is based off of pounding the strike zone, and we like to keep walks to a minimum." Thomas Taylor, redshirt freshman pitcher, said. "Obviously that was an extreme problem today."
Though they were down 4-2, the inning started well for the Jayhawks, with freshman Tanner Poppe recording two quick outs and jumping ahead of the third hitter two balls and no strikes.
The fifth inning in particular served as a microcosm of the additional chances Kansas (4-2) gave to Arkansas (6-1) all game long.
Weston White/KANSAN
But then Poppe tossed four pitches
Johnathan Puebla, a graduate student from Sarasota, Fla., throws a pass to a teammate during ultimate frisbee practice Tuesday afternoon in the field next to Robinson. Puebla said this was his first year on the ultimate frisbee team and started playing after coming to a practice.
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Arkansas took advantage of the extra out, as sophomore outfielder Jarrod McKinney launched a three run home run. Overall, the Razorbacks scored five in the inning, expanding their lead to 9-2 and essentially sealing the victory.
straight out of the strike zone. And then another four balls to the next hitter, which got him pulled in lieu of sophomore Colton Murray. Murray induced a line drive to right field, directly at junior Casey Lytle — who let the sure third out pop out of his mitt.
KANSAS 3,
ARKANSAS 15
LP — Tanner Poppe:
1.2 IP, 4 R (2 earned), 4 BB,
2 K
Though layhawk pitchers did allow 11 hits, the game was lost in their inability to consistently find the strike zone.
"I just thought we had really bad command," Price said. "We were behind in the count, and when you're behind you have to throw fastball, fastball and those guys can hit."
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■ The Jayhawks scattered nine hits in the contest, with four players notching two a piece - but the star on offense was junior outfielder Jimmy Waters. Waters plated the first run of the game with a two-out double in the first inning, and later blasted Kansas' first home run of the season in the eighth.
Edited by Kate Larrabee
"I had a few jitters there at the beginning," Taylor said. "But after the first two batters, I kind of got through them and figured it out from there."
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Game notes
■ Despite a spell of wildness beginning the ballgame, freshman Thomas Taylor was strong in his first start for Kansas. The Overland Park native went the first three innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks while striking out four.