SPORTS WOMEN DOWN K-STATE IN DUEL MATCH THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN PAGE 3B 2009 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE SET TENNIS WWW.KANSAN.COM THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2008 PAGE2B WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PAGE1B Woes continue for women's team Senior forward Jamie Boyd hugs Trena Anderson, director of basketball operations, during a ceremony for the seniors following Kansas' 61-50 loss to Kansas State Wednesday night. Boyd and senior forward Taylor McIntosh were honored after playing their final game at Allen Fieldhouse. Seniors cherish final game despite loss to Kansas State BY ANDREW WIEBE awiebe@kansan.com After exceptional college careers both on the court and in the classroom, Wednesday night's 61-50 loss to in-state rival Kansas State was a bittersweet ending for senior forward Taylor McIntosh and Jamie Bowl. "They're getting the Big 12 Championship trophy in their locker room right about now," Boyd said. "We could have stopped that." What was supposed to be a triumphant senior night in honor of the duo's four-year careers in crimson and blue, ended with the Wildcats celebrating at least a share of the Big 12 Championship on Naismith Court. Although there was no fairy tale ending, dwelling on Kansas' disappointment would be a dishonor to two players who have meant so much to fellow teammates, coaches and fans throughout their four years in Lawrence. McIntosh and Boyd are Coach Bonnie Henrickson's first recruiting class to graduate. She said both define what it means to be a student athlete and would have a special place in her memories. "Those two deserve to get a win tonight," Hendrickson said. "I just hate it for them. I've never coached two better seniors, better kids than those two." Though spoiling Kansas State's championship aspirations would have been an ideal way to close out the season, McIntosh said the loss couldn't take anything away from her experiences and the relationships she had built while in Lawrence. She said she would continue to support Henrickson and the program whenever and wherever she was needed. "I just have so much respect for Bonnie and admire her so much." McIntosh said. Boyd, who started for the second time this season, said it was one of the greatest honors of her life to be a jayhawk for four years. She said that she had learned so much about herself during her four years in Lawrence that she had no doubt she can handle whatever obstacles the future holds. "These coaches mean a lot to me," Boyu said. "My teammates mean a lot to me. It's hard to talk about, but these people will stay with me the rest of my life." SEE SENIORS ON PAGE 10B Sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs holds her head in her hands as Wednesday's game against Kansas State comes to an end. Jacobs scored the last five Kansas points and brought the Hawks within two, 52-50 with just more than four minutes to go. Jacobs finished with 14 points in 36 minutes. Jon Goering/KANSA Jon Goering/KANSAN The Jayhawks drop to 11th after losing to K-State BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com Ever since a thrilling 62-61 victory against Nebraska on Feb. 17, Kansas has gone into a tailspin, losing four games along the way. The lajhwacks desperately tried to pick up a victory before the Big 12 tournament begins on Tuesday. They went on a 7-0 run late in Wednesday night's game to pull within two of the No. 19 Wildcats. Then, like every time since that last victory, the game slipped through Kansas' fingers and Kansas State cruised to a 61-50 victory, celebrating a share of the Big 12 crown on James Naismith Court. Guard Shalee Lehning torched the Kansas defense for a career high 29 points and also recorded 17 rebounds. However, the biggest shot in the game belonged to guard Kimberly Dietz. After sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs made her third straight shot to pull the score to 52-50, Kansas State coach Deb Patterson called timeout. Out of the break the Wildcats set a play for Dietz, and the senior drilled a deep, high-arching three-pointer from the top of the key. "That was a big shot off of what should have been a relatively easy defensive play" Coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We don't get the switch to deny and she hits a big three and then Lehning comes down and hits another lavup. "That kid tore us up." That sequence killed any momentum the Jayhawks (15-14, 4-12) had as they failed to score the remainder of the game. Jacobs made her first start of the season with a solid 14 points offensively, but her defensive assignment was to guard Lehning. The box score told that story. "It's very, very frustrating to know that I played a big part in that," Jacobs said. "In a way, I feel this loss is some part my fault, (actually) all part my fault. I take the total blame for not getting the seniors at win tonight." Kansas State's domination of the boards was another factor. The Wildcats out-rebounded the Jayhawks 37-28 and used 10 offensive rebounds to get 12 second chance points. Kansas committed only 13 turnovers, but Hendrickson has grown tired of searching for moral victories in her team's losses. "At the end of the day its, 'Did you win?' Henrickson said. "We're doing some good things at times, but not enough to win." After a fifth straight loss, Kansas dropped to the No. 11 seed in the conference tournament. That means the Jayhawks will square-off with the No. 6 seed Cornhuskers who they beat in February. Senior forward Taylor McIntosh intends to extend her career beyond the first round of the tournament and she thinks the key to doing that is in creating a clean slate. "It would have been nice to have some momentum going into the Big 12 tournament, but we just have to use this, fix it and move on," McIntosh said. "We can't dwell on this loss." SCF BASKETBALL ON PAGE 10B 》BASEBALL Kansas defeats Le Moyne in home-opening victory Jayhawks roll to 13-2 victory on three-game winning streak SHAWN SHROYER sshroyer@kansan.com A week ago Kansas was just trying to avoid being shut out. Suddenly the Jayhawks are finding a knack for knocking teams out of ballgames early. Already up 4-0 in the bottom of the third, Kansas senior catcher Ryne Price put an end to any thoughts of a Le Moyne (2-7) comeback. Facing Le Moyne left-hander Corey Nelson with the bases loaded, Price brought everybody home with a shot over the right field fence. The grand slam put Kansas up, 8-0, prolonging the inevitable, which was a 13-2 home-opening victory. Back to .500 for the first time since their second game of the season, Kansas (5-5) is riding a three-game winning streak. In the first three innings of their last two games, the Jayhawks have scored 16 runs. "It is good to see those guys break out and obviously we took advantage of the wind," Kansas coach Ritch Price said of the winds that gusted over 25 miles per hour during the game. "That helped us a little bit, but it was a But before Ryne put the game out of reach, his brother, sophomore second baseman Robby Price, got the rally started with a walk to lead off the inning. Senior outfielder John Allman followed with a single to right field and junior first baseman good, solid performance offensively, especially in these conditions." "The bats were awesome today. Our hitters are coming along. Johnny had a good game and Ryne had a good game." runnels behind Travis Metcalf for the Kansas career home run record of 29. However, he hasn't been swinging for the fences. Home team touched the bases with a walk. While no stranger to hitting home runs, Price had never hit a grand slam at Kansas until Wednesday. It marked Price's second home run in as many games and, more importantly, moved him just three home WALLY MARCIEL Kansas left-handed pitcher Preston Land loaded the bases with a walk. "No, I haven't had much success this year. "I success this year with runners in scoring position," Ryne said. "I was just looking to try to square something up for once and drive in some runs" And that's just what Price did with seven RBI for the afternoon. In addition to Price's big day at the plate, fellow senior Allman also broke out for his first big game of the season. Allman, who entered the game batting .172, went off for three hits, coming just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Marla Keown/KANSAN SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 6B Marka Kewin/KANSA Second baseman, Robby Price, hits in an RBI Wednesday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. Price was at bat two times and scored two runs while playing against Le Moyne College out of Syracuse, N.Y. KU beat Le Moyne. 13 to 2 0 114