SPORTS
MONDAY, MARCH 27, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
PAGE 1B
BASEBALL
'Hawks halt home streak
Chris VanKat/DAILY NEBRASKAN
Nebraska baserunner Jake Opizt slides past Kansas shortstop Ritchie Price. Price had three RBI from Sunday's victory.
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
LINCOLN, Neb. — After losing two games in a row to No. 2 Nebraska on Saturday, Ritch Price decided to make a change to the Kansas baseball lineup.
"He provided me with an opportunity and I capitalized on it and came up with some big hits." Simpson said. "People in front of me and behind me did a great job of getting on base, giving me the opportunity to step up."
Before Kansas won on Sunday, the streak was at 21 games.
The Kansas coach moved sophomore outfielder Brock Simpson to right field and also moved him to the leadoff spot for Sunday's 7-6 victory against Nebraska (17-3, 2-1 Big 12).
Simpson responded. He led the offensive attack, going 4-of-5 with three singles and a triple to help the Jayhawks stop the 'Huskers win streak at Haymarket Park.
Kansas (17-10, 2-4 Big 12) exploded for its biggest lead of the series when it put up three runs in the top of the third inning. A Simpson triple kicked off this lead. Senior shortstop Ritchie Price followed up with an BRI single.
"We've let Kody down the last couple of weeks. He's been pitching awesome, but we haven't been giving him any run support," Ritchie Price said of senior pitcher Kodiak Quick. "So I was just happy we were able to score some runs while he was on the mound today."
"We had some guys really clutch up with some big two-out hits to put some crooked numbers on the board, but he's an exceptional young man," Price said of
After Saturday's losses, Price said his team would have its hands full again on Sunday with Nebraska starting pitcher Johnny Dorn (5-2). At the same time, Nebraska coach Mike Anderson regarded Quick (4-2) as the best pitcher on the Kansas staff.
For the first time in the series, Kansas retaliated. For the third time on Sunday, Simpson had a hand in it.
Dorn, who surrendered six runs,
twing a career worst.
Nebraska would see to it that this particular lead was short lived. In the bottom of the third inning, the 'Huskers tallied three runs of their own. Nebraska first baseman Brandon Buckman highlighted the inning, homering to right field. The solo blast into the wind was the first home run Quick has allowed this season.
Two walks and a base hit later, junior Nick Jaros was called upon to pinch hit. Jaros saw just one pitch before tagging a single to centerfield, which scored a pair of runs.
As Nebraska right fielder Luke Gorsett booted around a Simpson single, freshman first baseman Preston Land scored to tie the game at four in the fourth inning.
SEE BASEBALL ON PAGE 3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
One and out in WNIT
Freshman guard Ivana Catic drives the lane against a Northern Iowa player on Thursday, March 16, in Allen Field. The Jawahvers will try to replace the three former starting seniors with seven incoming freshman next season.
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
rschneider@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SWITTERWRI
Kansas 59 Northern Iowa 49
Kansas scored its first postseason victory in seven years with a victory against Northern Iowa in the preliminary round of the WNIT on March 16 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Despite facing UNI's 6-foot-7 forward Cassie Hager, it was Kansas' play in the post that was key in the victory. Senior forward Crystal Kemp scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. While strong play from Kemp was expected, the unexpected scoring came off the bench from freshman forward Marija Zinic. Zinic was one shy of a career-high, scoring 13 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor.
UNI's defense against Kemp enabled Zinic to get numerous looks at the basket.
"They doubled Crystal the whole time," Zinic said. "Basically, I was wide open. I was just trying to find a way to make the wide open shots."
Senior guard Erica Hallman said Kansas coach Bonnie Hendrickson told the team in a time-out that it must find a way to end the UNI run.
Kansas' defense, which struggled during the conference season, stepped up in the postseason. The Jayhawks held the Panthers scoreless for an eight-minute stretch in the second half. UNI's 49 points was the second lowest point total allowed this season by Kansas.
In previous games, opponents had used a zone defense to shut down UNI's Hager. Instead, Hendrickson decided to have Kemp match up one-on-one against Hager. Kemp held Hager to 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field.
"She told us to take the fight out of them when it was 41-41 and we just didn't look back," Hallman said. "We got stops and went down to the other end and scored."
SEE RECAP ON PAGE 6B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Team to rely on new faces
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
mphillips@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
For next season's women's basketball team to repeat this season's success, which included a victory in the WNIT, it will have to rely on some new faces.
Senior forward Crystal Kemp and senior guards Kaylee Brown and Erica Hallman accounted for 65 percent of the team's scoring this season. Coach Bonnie Henrickson must find a way to replace those points as well as the leadership the seniors provided.
To help accomplish that,
Henrickson is bringing in
a freshman class next
season of seven players,
in addition to the nine
players that will be returning.
That number includes
freshman forward
Soph-
Kansan file photo
Senior forward Crystal Kemp and senior guards Kaylee Brown and Erica Hallman accounted for 65 percent of the team's scoring this season. Coach Bonnie Henrickson must find a way to replace those points as well as the leadership the seniors provided.
ronia Sallard, who missed the final games of the season with an unspecified medical condition.
Catic was the team's only true point guard, finishing the season with an average of five assists per game. She averaged 30 minutes a game, which will make her the most experienced player on next season's roster.
Among the returning players, sophomore forward Taylor McIntosh and freshman guard Ivana Catic were the only two that were regularly in the starting lineup during the season.
Kemp.
McIntosh's play was inconsistent. She had four games in which she scored in double-digits, but also three games where she did not score. Next season, she will have to adjust to having more defensive pressure, because opponents will not have to worry about
Joining McIntosh inside will be freshman forward Marija Zinic.
Zinic started the season slowly but finished strong, and logged 31 minutes and a teamhigh 17 points in a WNIT loss to Mississippi.
Her progress came as she became more familiar with the English language. Zinic is originally from Serbia and Montenegro and had never set foot in the United States until a few weeks before the season. Next season she will be able to attend fall practices without having to worry about a language barrier.
At the guard position, Catic will take one of the starting spots, and the favorites to fill the other two positions will be junior guards Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith.
"Shaq," she came to Kansas as the National Junior College Player of the Year, but cracked the starting lineup only three times, and was suspended for two games in the middle of February.
It won't be impossible for the Jayhawks to repeat the success of this season, but with 12 freshmen and sophomores on the team, there will be an adjustment period as the players learn their new roles.
Her athletic skill will have to be combined with an ability to run the offense and play in the jayhawks' defensive system.
Those points could be provided by Mosley. Nicknamed
— Edited by Janiece Gatson
THE COLUMN
Seniors you're leaving too soon
You can imagine what it must be like to be a senior at the University of Kansas right now. As students return from their final spring break, they find the last eight weeks of school and emotions racing rapidly through one's mind and changing from minute to minute.
JIMMY CHAVEZ
jchavez@kansan.com
What also is prevalent is the fact that Kansas bowed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. This year's senior class will not have the opportunity to enjoy the feelings that come with the Jayhawks making a run at the Final Four.
This year's senior class was the last group of students at Kansas the last time the Jayhawks advanced to the Final Four. In 2003, Kansas played for the National Championship, before wilting under the pressure of a "Carmelo-ized" Syracuse team, aided by the sharp shooting of freshman Gerry McNamara.
Nevertheless, many seniors must want to stay one more year. Then again, they also look at the calendar and begin the countdown to May 21.
This team could be ranked No. 1 in October. The signs and pieces are there for the team to, come next April in Atlanta's Georgia Dome, enjoy the sweet taste of a championship, sweeter than any Georgia peach.
Bill Self took a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores and led them to 25 victories, along with both the Big 12 regular season and tournament championships. This was done while some fans were grumbling about the team being more likely to end up in the dreaded NIT. When you think of that now, it's comical. You see the dilemma now.
Two reasons why one would want to stay?
Then those graduating in a couple of months will know they left a year too soon. Next year's senior class, and everyone else for that matter, may get that title run that invoke memories of the scenes in Lawrence in 2002 and 2003.
But that's all just food for thought now, especially as senioritis really starts to set in.
First, getting a job can be as suspenseful as any national championship game.
Second, the only thing apparent about this year's first round exit was that it wasn't like last year against Bucknell.
This year's loss to Bradley was a loss that shouldn't shock many. Bradley, a mid-major from an up-and-coming conference, proved themselves worthy when they beat a very talented Pittsburgh team in the second round. It's a shame, because despite the Braves' domination in Detroit, Kansas fans have to take a strong look at what took place this year.
That loss was nothing short of shocking and resembled a punch in the gut, or perhaps a kick in other regions.
Chavez is a San Antonio senior in journalism.
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