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SPORTS ERSITY DAILY KAN
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY MARCH 7,1995
Buffaloes leave Jayhawks cold
SECTION B
Colorado women clinch Big Eight tournament title
By Jenni Carlson Kansan sportswriter
SALINA — As near-blizzard conditions raged outside, the No. 23 Kansas women's basketball team fell victim to ice-cold shooting in the Big Eight Conference Tournament's championship game last night.
The Jayhawks hit just 18 of 55 shots in losing to No.3 Colorado 61-45.
The Buffalooes won their second tournament title in four years, adding to their three consecutive regular-season Big Eight titles.
Marian Washington said she linked Kansas' 32.7 percent shooting performance to the fact that the team played its third game in three days
"I thought we played and gave everything we had, but we simply didn't have our legs today," Washington said. "We didn't get the lift on our shots. That was all an indication that we did not have our legs."
The Jayhawks played two close games to get into the championship game. Kansas fought off second-half charges by Missouri on Saturday and Oklahoma on Sunday which left the team drained.
"Playing two games in a row really wore us down," said Kansas junior guard Charisse Sampson, who led the Jayhawks with 14 points. "I feel Colorado's competition wasn't as intense as ours, which gave them better legs."
Colorado's road to last night's game included a 73-38 rout of Iowa State and a 76-58 victory over Oka-
homa.State.
"If you've got a bench, it's not that bad," Washington said of playing on three consecutive days. "We truly do not have the depth. There's not much you can do about that."
Colorado has one of the deepest benches in the conference. The Buffaloos' bench out-scored the Kansas bench 19-7.
But Colorado's bench was put to the test early in the first half.
Senior center Isabelle Fijalkowski, the Buffaloes' leading scorer, was whistled for her second foul just 1:22 into the game. She did not play the remainder of the first half.
Then with 1545 remaining in the first half, Colorado freshman forward Jen Terry collapsed in the lane, gripping her left knee.
Terry went directly to the locker room; a torn anterior cruciate ligament was diagnosed.
Even with two of their starting players watching from the bench, Colorado held a 16-point lead at halftime, 34-18.
The Buffalooes extended their lead to 25, 45-20, with 10:50 remaining in the game.
In that game, Kansas came back to take the lead and Colorado needed overtime to steal a victory.
"They can come back and explode," Barry said. "It's like a dam breaking. It wasn't until there was about five minutes left that we thought, 'They can't come back from this.'"
Colorado held Kansas senior forward Angela Aycock to seven points, which tied her season low.
Aycock said the team had opportunities to score but did not capitalize and execute well.
Aycock's tournament performance earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.
She joined Oklahoma's Mandy Wade, Fljalkowski, Scott and Colorado senior guard Shelley Sheetz, who was the tournament's most valuable player.
With the Buffalooes getting the Big Eight's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, Kansas must wait until Sunday, when the at-large bids are announced.
The Jayhawks have a 20-10 overall record.
Washington said there was a chance Allen Field House could be one of the tournament's opening-ground sites after the Jayhawks' Big Eight tournament performance.
"We're pushing for it," Washington said.
Tears of a clown cried after finale
Kansas senior center Greg Ostertag, senior forward Greg Gurley and senior walk-on guard Scott Novosel participate in a pregame ceremony with their parents in Allen Field House. Sunday's game against Oklahoma State was the final home game for the three seniors.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Ostertag lets feelings show; Seniors' dreams come true
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
Despite his fun-loving nature and goofy behavior, even Kansas senior center Greg Ostertag succumbed to the emotion of senior day.
Ostertag shed tears before and after his last home game on Sunday when the No. 2 Jayhawks won the Big Eight Conference championship.
Senior forward Greg Gurley also cried when he was introduced with his parents before the game.
"It was something I would have dreamed of as a little kid," Gurley said. "My final game at home with the league championship on the line against a great team."
But all the emotion couldn't slow down senior walk-on guard Scott Novosel. When Novosel left the game after starting and playing almost three minutes, he jogged off the court pumping his arms in excitement to the crowd.
"One thing I told Coach Williams is that I know he's had better walk-ons in the past, and he'll have more talented ones in the future," Novosel said. "But, he'll never have one as appreciative as I am. I've grown up and lived all my life in Kansas."
"This is the stuff my dreams are made of to start for the Big Eight championship."
Each senior was given a standing ovation by the crowd when he left the game.
The jubilant Ostertag had recovered from the emotional pregame ceremony and ran off the court waving his arms and jumping up and down.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The crowd was waving its arms in celebration when the Jayhawks' three seniors cut the first strands of the net on the north basket.
Both Gurley and Novosel climbed the ladder to cut the net, but Ostertag, the comedian, cut the net while standing on the ground.
Williams received the loudest cheer when he cut the final strand and waved the net in front of the crowd.
When the excitement had faded after cutting down the net, an emotional Williams talked about his relationship with Gurley and Gurley's toughness playing with a back injury.
"He's had a back that would have caused a lot of kids to quit playing." Williams said. "Never one time in practice, never one time in a game has he ever complained and said, 'I couldn't do this because of my back.'
"I think its fitting that a youngster like that has this kind of moment that he can cherish, because he's put up with a lot of pain for a lot of years."
And even though Williams said 99 percent of his gray hairs were caused by Ostertag, Williams was going to miss him.
After the net was down, Ostertag told the crowd how much Williams meant to him.
"For the past four years, he's been like a second father to me," Ostertag said. "Don't be fooled. Just because he's little doesn't mean he can't get into my face."
BRIEF
Wet weather the latest of baseball team's foes
The baseball game between Kansas and Northwestern University scheduled for yesterday afternoon was canceled because of rain. A possible makeup date for the game was not set yesterday, Kansas associate sports information director Chris Padgett said.
Kansas' next game is at 3 p.m. today at Hoglund-
Maupin Stadium against Southwest Missouri
State University. The Jayhawks will attempt to
avenge a 5-0 loss to the Bears on Feb. 28 in
Springfield, Mo. Kansas junior pitcher Clay Baird
(1-2, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start for the Jayhawks.
Today's game is free for all students with a valid KUID. Reserved seats are $4, and general admission seats are $3 for adults and $2 for children.
Kensan staff report
Kansan staff report
Kansas track stars will jump for title
Two seniors qualify for the NCAA championships
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
Kansas seniors Nick Johannsen and John Bazzoni were invited to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships yesterday, but they weren't exactly jumping for joy.
Kansan sportswriter
They'd do their jumping in Indianapolis — not for joy, but for the national title.
Johannsen, the best high jumper on the Kansas team, has his sights set on a top-five national finish and All-American honors.
"I got really excited when I qualified for the meet last year," Johannsen said. "When I got there, I wasn't excited to jump. This year, I want to save all of my excitement for the high jump"
Kansas jumps coach Rick Attig seems to have his sights set a little higher. He said that both Johannsen and pole vaulter Bazzoni had a realistic shot at individual titles.
"It's a weird deal with the way that qualifying works," Attig said. "Sometimes there will be an athlete that hits
the automatic mark early in the season and then doesn't get anywhere near that height again.
"Those national rankings are really meaningless at this meet — some of those guys peaked way too early. I
think that both of our guys are very capable of placing in the top three, if not winning the thing."
Qualifying for the NCAA meet is a tedious process that involves waiting for the selection committee to announce their invitations. That's what happened to Bazzoni and Johanssen, who learned of their invitations at practice yesterday.
visional qualifiers. The athletes with the top 14 heights at the end of the season are invited to the NCAA meet.
Bazzoni's 17-8 1/2 mark at Saturda,
Qualifier in Lincoln, Neb. easily put him
"I think both of our guys are very capable of placing in the top three, if not winning the thing."
"We were pretty sure
Rick Attig
Kansas jumps coach
hat Nick would get in," Attig said. "John's early mark was close, but after he jumped 17 feet 8 1/2 inches, we felt pretty good. But we still had to wait until today."
place in the conference.
Over the course of the season, an athlete's scores are recorded and compared to the NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Few athletes can hit the automatic mark, but scorps above a second lower height are considered pro-
"I really had some better jumps at some of the lower heights," he said. "I really thought I should have jumped higher. This will be great this weekend, though. I'll get to go home and jump in front of my family and friends."
Johannsen qualified for the meet at the Big Eight Conference championship meet, where his season-best high jump of 7-3 earned him second
"I really like my chances to improve my marks," Johannsen said. "This week, we really just went back to basics. I worked on my takeoff and that's really all. I'm very confident going into this meet. I see this meet as a chance to redeem myself. I've got a shot to jump a personal best and become an All-American."