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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
four games.
"I think this was another example for our team that emotionally we've grown up," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
In the first-half, neither team took a very large lead but Kansas controlled the game. Freshman forward Nicollette Smith made 2-of-3 three-pointers and added a pair of free throws to lead all scorers at the half with eight points. Kansas went into the halftime up 31-26.
Center Krysten Boogaard, who
came in averaging 16.8 points the last four games, was held to just two first half points thanks to the Cornhuskers' double teams. However, with the freshman struggling, senior forward Taylor McIntosh stepped up and provided a low post presence.
"Welcome back, Taylor," Henrickson quipped. "On a night when Krysten was human, it was great to see Taylor step up and play with some confidence."
McIntosh poured in 11 points,
pulled down seven rebounds and
also recorded four assists, two blocks and two steals. To get her points, McIntosh shot a
perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, a stat envied by everyone on the Cornhuskers bench.
Nebraska shot a dismal 17-of-34 from the charity stripe, while Kansas took advantage of its trips, going a solid 10-of-13.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18,2008
"I think free-throw shooting is the funniest thing in coaching." Nebraska coach Connie Yori said. "You don't always understand it - why do you make them on this day and then don't make them on that day? This is
The Jayhawks opened up a nine-point lead with six minutes to go, but Cornhusker guard Yvonne Turner scored eight points in under two minutes to bring her team back.
the day we didn't make them, and it was costly for us."
With 1:30 to play, Turner hit a free throw to put Nebraska up 58-56 but McCray responded with a strong drive and layup. Then guard Sade Morris stole Turner's pass, got fouled and hit her first free throw.
Morris missed the second, but McIntosh grabbed the board and laid it in to go up 61-58.
Cornhusker forward Kelsey
Griffin responded with a pair of free throws, then guard Tay Hester rebounded a missed McCray jumper and was fouled by Morris.
Hester started 0-for-5 from the line but swished her first one through the basket. After the second bounced off the iron, Kansas guard LaChelda Jacobs corralled the rebound and passed it to a waiting McCray with 12 seconds left.
Henrickson said she knew McCray wouldn't give up the ball, so she watched her star player drive to the basket and draw a blocking foul from Griffin with 1.4 left on the clock.
McCray celebrated like the game
was already won and Nebraska used two time-outs in a row to try and ice her.
"It calmed me down," McCray said of the time-outs. "I just used it to get a breather because I was kind of tired from screaming and jumping up and down after I drew that contact."
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
After the buzzer sounded, McCray was swarmed by her elated teammates at half court.
"It was real big because this was one of the home games we needed," McCray said. "This was a must-win game."
— Edited by Jessica Sain-Baird
Young team improves as season progresses
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
Sometimes free throw shooting just can't be explained. Just ask Nebraska coach Connie Yori. As during the course of a 20-point victory in Lincoln in January, Yori's team made an astounding 30 of 32 free throws to blow out the Jayhawks.
Sunday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse, the Cornhuskers never found their touch from the line, eventually losing 62-61 while making 17-34 free throws.
"I think free throw shooting is the funniest in coaching," Yori
said. "You just don't always understand it. Why do you make them on this day and not on this day? And today was the day we didn't make them, and it was costly for us."
Although the Jayhawks will count this as the victory that may turn their season around, the Cornhuskers will mark it down as an opportunity lost. While Nebraska missed 17 times from the free-throw stripe, sophomore guard Danielle McCray delivered when Kansas most desperately needed it.
With 1.4 seconds remaining and the score knotted at 61, the Big 12's third best free-throw shooter stepped to the line with the game
in her hands. After making the first. McCray intentionally missed the second to seal Kansas' third conference victory in its last four games.
"We just knocked down and were praying that they would miss theirs," McCray said.
While McCray took home the glory, lesser-known Jayhawks stepped up to put her in the
freshman forward Nicollette Smith said. "She hit a lot of tough shots for us."
"They're an improved basketball team. They are a young team that has made a step."
Jacobs finished with
with 10 points, six assists and four rebounds and gave Kansas a ball handler with the athleticism to combat Nebraska's Yvonne Turner. Although Turner picked the sophomore's pocket in the backcourt and scored to
CONNIE YORI
Nebraska coach
cut the jayhaws' lead to two with just under four minutes remaining, Jacobs staved calm.
"I knew that for us to win the game, I couldn't have another turnover," Jacobs said. "So I just stayed focused, stayed composed, and we
position to do so. Most noticeable was mercurial sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs, whose aggressive and composed play late in the game helped keep the Jayhawks from folding.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Kansas' resurgence after starting Big 12 Conference play 1-7. Though Nebraska missed 17 priceless opportunities to change the outcome, Kansas battled and showed a resilience that they didn't show last month in Lincoln.
Freshman center Krysten Boogaard congratulates sophomore guard Danielle McCray after McCray sinks the first of her two free throw attempts, which gave the Jayhawks a 62-61 lead with just more than one second to go in the game. McCray led the Jayhawks with 13 points and 10 rebounds, recording her fifth double-double of the season.
"We knew it was going to be a great challenge to come in here and beat them," Yori said. "They're an improved basketball team. They are a young team that has made a step."
"Like Danielle has grown up emotionally, she has started to grow up emotionally," Henrickson said.
Coach Bonnie Henrickson said that in the past she may have had to take Jacobs out of the game to calm down after such a frustrating and costly turnover. Henrickson said it was a testament to Jacobs mental and emotional growth that she was able to buckle down and help pull out a victory.
Edited by Sasha Roe
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came out with a big win."
That emotional growth has fueled
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"I think she stepped up big today."
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Junior guard Katie Smith and the rest of the Kansas bench locks arms as sophomore guard Danielle McCray steps to the line to shoot two with 1.4 seconds to go in the game. The 62-61 victory by the Jayhawks over the Cornushers kept the teams hopes of qualifying for the tournament alive.
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Sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs goes up for a shot in the lane over Nebraska guard Dominique Kelley during the second half. Jacobs finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting and six assists in 29 minutes.
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Retro jerseys bringing '80s back
BY LUKE MORRIS
Imorris@kansan.com
Legwarmers and rope chains aren't the only fashion items inducing '80s flashbacks on campus. Stores on campus and in Lawrence started selling replica basketball uniforms from Kansas' 1988 national championship season two weeks ago.
jersey sale locations
1988 throwback jerseys are on sale at:
—KUStore.com and inside the Booth Family Hall of Athletics
—KU Bookstore, second floor in the Kansas Union
—Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road.
D3 Sports, 2040 W.31st St., Suite D
—Jock's Nitch, 837 Massachusetts St. and 1443 W. 23rd St.
-University Book Shop, 1116 W.23rd St.
Sports Dome, 1000 Mas sachusetts St.
The dark blue throwback jerseys feature a variation of the previous font that the font Trajan replaced on jerseys this season. The throwback jersey also has red-, yellow- and blue-striped trim and features a patch recognizing the 20th anniversary of the 1988 championship. Jerseys feature a few number choices, but most feature the number 25, which Danny Manning wore that year.
The shorts are back too, but they look a little different from their 20-year-old counterparts.
"Fortunately, Adidas had enough foresight to make them a little longer," said Toni Retonde, assistant store manager at Jayhawk Bookstore, 1420 Crescent Road.
Retonde said that her store sold its first shipment in a week, and received a new, larger shipment Thursday.
Prices for jerseys range from $75 for the official replica to $40 for a screen-printed mesh version. Shorts cost between $40 and $55 at local stores and online. Youth jerseys are also available, but Retonole said that the adult jerseys were more popular.
Kansas Bookstore, second floor of
the Kansas Union, has sold about 50 jerseys and pairs of shorts, according to Mario Bonilla, lead clerk for gifts and clothing.
"We've had phone calls for them and maybe 2 or 3 weeks before that. We had to call a few back and tell them we had them in," Bonilla said.
O t h e r
1988 items
that stores
are selling
include a DVD of Kansas' Final Four games from that year, T-shirts and pint glasses celebrating the championship and a poster of the front page of The University Daily Kansan the day after the Jayhawks won the title.
The men's basketball team wore the throwback jerseys Saturday against Colorado, but they weren't the only ones in Allen Fieldhouse sporting the trend.
"It's a cool piece of history to be able to say you own the retro jersey," said Chelsea Montgomery, Hays sophomore, who wore the throwback jersey her boyfriend bought her.
Montgomery, who was only five months old when Kansas won the national championship in 1988, said owning the jersey was like owning
Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
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