6B SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2007
Mosley speeds with poise
BY ASHER FUSCO
OKLAHOMA CITY — As a rule, Kansas' Shaquina Mosley is the quickest player on the court. Tuesday night, Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley was an exception to the rule.
Both under 5-foot 7, the two small guards engaged in a fast-paced, back and forth battle in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Riley, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, is a carbon copy of Mosley: slight of build but effectively reckless on her way to the hoop. Both guards showcase impressive foot speed and coordination coupled with relentless competitive fire.
Riley utilized her quickness and ball handling to exploit the zone defense Kansas used to neutralize her ability to penetrate.
"In the past, she might have played above her speed limit," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "She has gotten so much more posed."
Riley scored 15 points, but her most important contributions were intangible. The mere threat she presented forced Kansas to overcompensate and leave other Cowgirls wide open.
Kansas 71, Oklahoma State 62
Granted several easy opportunities, senior forward Rashidat Sadi bursed three three-pointers and tallied 13 points in the opening half alone. Junior guard Danielle Green capitalized on her opportunities by
Kansas 36 35 71
Kansas 36 35 — 71
Oklahoma State 41 21 — 62
**Kansas** — John 3-5-8-10-14; Morris 2-4-0-0-4; McCray 6-11-0-1-0-16; Mosley 8-20-1-1-1, McIntosh 6-11-7-8-19; Smith 0-1-0-0-0; Zinc 0-1-0-0 Totals 5-13-5-16-1971
Oklahoma State — Silva 0-0 0-0
scoring 19 points and making five trips to the free throw line.
Riley affected the game on the defensive end as well. With just more than seven minutes remaining in the game, she intercepted a pass and darted down the court with the ball for an uncontested lapup. The basket gave the Cowgirls a 55-52 lead and seemingly put them in control, but the Jawhaws prevailed because of Mosley's clutch shooting and junior forward Taylor McIntosh's tough rebounding Kansas received little respite from Riley's energetic onslaught, as she played the entire game.
"I knew she was quick, so I couldn't step away from her." Mosley said. "I must wanted to contain her."
Another factor working against the underdog Jayhawks was the decidedly pro-Cowgirl crowd at the Cox Convention Center. Riley only made matters worse for Kansas, repeatedly pumping up the crowd and high-fiving the Oklahoma State
0; Green 5-8 8-10 19; Smith 0-2
0-0; Hood 3-8 3-5 9; Hardeman
0-7 2-2 1; Sadiq 4-15 2-2 13; Riley
6-17 1-2 15; Cordero 1-2 0-0 2;
Chism 1-3 0-2 2; Totals 20-62 16-
23 62.
Records — Kansas 11-19, Oklahoma State 20-10.
cheerleaders.
Mosley tried her best to counter Riley's efforts, adding another impressive game to her senior season. Mosley scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. However, Riley matched Mosley steal-for-steal and basket-for-basket throughout the close game.
The opening-round matchup may not have looked like anything more than a contest to determine who would receive the privilege of facing Baylor in the second round, but it meant more than that. Tuesday night's action showed that a torch is being passed. Whenever Kansas' run through the Big 12 Tournament ends, Mosley will have to reluctantly hand the title of most exciting player in the conference to Riley.
Kansan sportswriter Asher Fusco can be contacted at afusco@kansan.com.
Edited by Katie Sullivam
top 3 players
Junior forward Taylor McIntosh
played as minu
a double-
double with 19
points and 13
rebounds.
Macintosh
Senior guard Shaquina Mosley
both of-
continued to lead the Jayhawks
fensively and defensively.
Mosley scored 18 points and had three steals in 40 minutes of play.
Mosley
Freshman forward Danielle
Freshman forward Danielle McCray shot 100 percent from
three-point line, going 4 for 4, and finishing with a total of 16 points
McCrav
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Senior guard Shaquina Mosley puts up one of the 20 shots she attempted in Tuesday night's name. Mosley finished with 18 points.
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Green finished the with 19 points and Mosley with 18.
VICTORY (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"Danielle is a talented kid, she's great on and off the court." Mosley said. "I knew it was going to be a tough matchup with her because I used to guard her in practice."
Kansas' focus was to limit penetration from guards Andrea Riley and Green... But Oklahoma State found other ways to score. By doubling Riley, Cowgirl forward Ridahat
Sadiq was often left open on the perimeter. Sadiq made the Jayhawks pay and scored 11 points in the opening half, including three wide-open three-pointers.
Freshman forward Danielle McCray kept the layhawks in the game by exploiting the Cowgirls' 2-3 zone defense and shot a perfect 3-for 3 from three-point range.
McCray had 13 points in the first half, but disappeared for most of the
second. That was until the Jayhawks needed for the most.
With 2:55 remaining she hit a three-pointer from the left corner to give Kansas its biggest lead at 61-55.
Kansan sportswriter Case Keefer can be contacted at ckeefer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Ryan Schneider
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