THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2010
Jayhawks sweep Buffaloes
VOLLEYBALL | 8B
Seniors Karina Garlington and Jenna Kaiser led the Jayhawks in offense in their three-set win over Colorado on Saturday. They take on the Aggies at home on Wednesday.
WJ W.KANSAN.COM
LAST-MINUTE MIRACLE
PAGE 1B
Comeback for the record books
Senior punter Alonso Rojas celebrates Kansas' 7-point lead against Colorado as the clock counts down the final seconds on Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium. Kansas defeated Colorado 52-45 after a strong comeback in the fourth quarter.
Howard Ting/KANSAN
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
Sure, there was cheering and celebrating outside of Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. There usually is when your team scores 35 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to end an 11-game conference losing streak.
But something wasn't quite right. A collective "Did that just happen?" look donned the faces of more than a few Kansas fans as they left the stadium.
Thorson
And it wasn't just the fans who were stunned following the 52-45 come-from-behind victory.
"I'm not really sure what day it is right now"
senior tackle Brad Thorson said. It all seemed normal enough at first, though.
Colorado scored on its first three possessions before taking a 35-10 halftime lead. It was nothing new for Kansas fans, as many of the 40,851 in attendance headed for home while the band performed its usual halftime show in front of another dwindling crowd.
Colorado could have been swapped out for Kansas State or Texas A&M. It looked like an all too familiar scene for the 2010 season: Kansas gets taken out early, the fans retreat to their tailging, the onslaught continues in the second half and fans wonder how much worse it will get.
Coach Turner Gill had different plans, however.
Trailing 35-10 at half, he told his players, "You all need to come out here and get ready for the biggest comeback ever."
And so they did.
Former third string quarterback junior Quinn Mecham brushed off two first half interceptions to throw for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the final thirty minutes. Freshman running back James Sims also got the halftime wake-up call, running the ball for 117 yards in the
second half, including four touchdowns in the final 19 minutes.
After Sims' second touchdown of the day shrank the Buffalo lead
of the day, manu-
to 45-24 with
11 minutes left in
the game,
Gill decided to
attempt a surpise
onside kick and keep
the momentum with the
Jayhawks. The recovery,
Gill said, was the
turning point of
the ball game.
"We were
win if we got that opportunity."
The offense capitalized on that opportunity on the ensuing drive, with senior wide receiver Johnathan
COLORADO VS.
KANSAS ONE-HOUR
REPLAYS
WHEN: Midnight, Tuesday and 1:30 p.m., Friday
CHANNELS: FOX Sports Kansas City and FOX Sports Midwest
we were
21 points behind at that time and once we got that, that gave us some momentum," he said. "I really, really, thought wed have a great chance to
Wilson catching a 38-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 45-31.
Freshman cornerback Tyler Patton returned a Colorado fumble the following possession 28 yards
I really enjoyed myself."
for another Kansas touchdown, the team's first defensive touchdown since playing Texas Tech last season.
"We're always told, whenever there's a ball on the ground, to scoop it and score it just in case," Patmon said.
The play was reviewed but not reversed, and the Jayhawks continued to erase the 35-point deficit that was staring them down as the final quarter began.
A incomplete pass from Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins in the Kansas endzone ended the game, giving the Jayhawks the biggest comeback in school history. And
they only needed 11 minutes to do it.
It was also the second-most points scored in a fourth quarter comeback in FBS history, just behind a 1990 game in which BYU scored 36 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Washington State 50-36.
"I'm so proud of these players," Gill said. "They showed a lot of character. This win means a lot for our football program, and I think it means a lot for our home and our fans and everyone who came out."
Next time, the itch to bolt for the hill might not be as strong.
Edited by Joel Petterson
See a full photo gallery of Saturday's game at kansan.com/
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
All Kansas players score in win over Washburn
BY KATHLEEN GIER kqier@kansan.com
The Kansas women's basketball team finished the exhibition portion of their season with an 80-46 victory against Washburn. All 11 Jayhawks who suited up for the game played and scored in a well-balanced rout of the Lady Blues who were ranked No. 9 in the ESPN Division II Preseason Coaches' Poll.
"If everyone can score then you have to guard everybody," sophomore guard Monica Engelman said. "What I like about the team is we are unselfish and I think that is going to help a lot. Everyone can score so everyone is an option so that will help us."
"I think that whole group is confident offensively and they share the ball. I think that is why everyone scores because we let go of it," she said.
"We work on it during practice just doing reps on offense and defense," freshman guard Keena Mays said. "Whenever we get in the game it is just natural."
Coach Bonnie Henrickson is impressed with this year's team and their balance on offense.
There was a big shift from last week's performance to this game. Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis carried the team with 35 points and 17 rebounds. But everyone's scoring this week took the pressure off Davis and showed the whole team's potential.
The Jayhawks have been working on ball rotation in practice, which made this game smoother.
"We threw it so much to Carolyn
"Whenever anybody needs to step up, just the starters whenever they need a sub or whatever we have bench depth and we can go to the bench and we can carry on the same intensity and energy," Mays said.
last week, which was fine and it was the right thing to do, but I think those young kids have a lot of confidence and it was good to see some of those kids step up and make some shots." Henrickson said.
Having the ability to rotate the lineup will be an advantage for the Jayhawks this season.
Though the Jayhawks had an impressive offensive game, their defensive efforts should not be overlooked. Kansas was able to keep all the Washburn players under double digits in scoring for the whole game and held the team to under 20 points in the second half.
Engelman stepped up as a leader this game and finished with a game high 20 points.
"It feels good but I have to give the credit to my teammates in practice and the coaches getting me prepared and coming early and staying after getting some shots up," Engelman said.
During practice, Henrickson has been focusing on decreasing turnovers and focusing on defense.
"I thought defensively in one week we showed a lot of progress," Henrickson said. "I thought the kids got the message from last Sunday, but I didn't think we were as active and didn't use our speed, athleticism and length like I had hoped we would, but I thought message heard and message accepted."
on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. against South Dakota at home.
Edited by Kelsey Nill
Kansas will take the court again
KANSAS RECRUITS
BIO: Boyd is the No. 39 ranked prospect in the 2011 ESPNU HoopGurlz 100. She is a four-star prospect on a five-star scale and the second-ranked player in Michigan.
STATUS: Verbal commitment, expected to sign a letter of intent on Wednesday
**NAME:** Asia Boyd
**HOMETOWN:** Detroit, MI
**POSITION:** Guard
**HEIGHT:** 6'0"
**NAME:** Donielle Breaux
**HOMETOWN:** Missouri
City, TX
POSITION: Guard
HEIGHT: 5'10"
RIGHT: 5'10"
**BIO:** Breaux is a three-star prospect. Her Cyfair Premier club team director Chris Johnson said Breaux "can flat out score the ball in a number of ways."
**STATUS:** First verbal commitment for the 2011 Jayhawk recruiting class
Source: ESPN.com
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Sophomore guard Monica Engelman fires up a three in the first half in Sunday's win over Wash- burn. Engelman led the team with 20 points in the game.
COMMENTARY
'Thank God for the incredible comeback
BY MAX VOSBURGH myosburgh@kansan.com
What Turner Gill said after Kansas' improbable 52-45 comeback win against Colorado was everything you need to know about the state of this football program.
"I first want to say 'thank God,'" he said.
One year after being ranked for half the season, this is what has become of Kansas football. Thank God Kansas was able to beat Colorado at home.
A year and 20 days ago, Kansas was ranked 25th in the BCS. Now, a new coach is thankful for beating Colorado at home. Prior to this game, the Jayhawks had won three of the last four games against the team that is now 0-5 in the Big 12 conference this year.
But if you were around Gill after the game, you might have thought the Jayhawks had just won the National Championship.
"We just said we loved each other." Gill said. "We just all hugged each other. We're going to continue to move on a little bit and yell and scream and continue to celebrate. This is a great win for our program, and a great win for our players."
Kansas scored 35 points in the fourth quarter to come back against Colorado. The Jayhawk defense allowed Colorado to score on every possession but one through the third quarter.
"Next week we're going to have to do the same thing against Nebraska and I feel like this team right now is ready to shock the world," junior linebacker Steven Johnson said.
The layhawks played football for only one quarter on Saturday and if they do that against Nebraska, they won't win and they won't be shocking anyone. The comeback was incredible, but it masked what was an embarrassing performance for three quarters.
"It felt great," Sims said. "I would just like to thank my offensive line. They blocked for me, and they believed in me and I believed in them."
Freshman running back James Sims scored four times. Three of those touchdowns came in the fourth quarter.
Sims' performance was admirable and it could be a real springboard for this freshman as he continues to develop.
What really gets to me is that this reaction to a win at home versus Colorado, regardless of how it happened, truly shows you how far this program has fallen in the last couple years. It took a miracle to win and Gill calls it a huge victory for this program.
I'm waiting for the day that Gill has the Jayhawk ready so they're not down by 30 or 40 points at home in a conference game. Credit to the players for not giving up, but only if you're at peace knowing you're one of the worst teams in a BCS conference will you thank God for winning at home against a team almost equally as bad.
If Kansas really did turn a corner in the last five years, let's not be satisfied with wins against bad teams.
Edited by Kelsey Nill