Kansas travels to Manhattan today in an attempt to maintain a 24-year winning streak. No active player on either team was alive when K-State last defeated Kansas in Manhattan. For more information see Game Day.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19,2007 WWW.KANSAN.COM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE 1B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Sade Morris, freshman forward, pushes the ball up the court Sunday against Kansas State. The victory ended a 12-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
12-game streak ends in overtime
BY ASHER FUSCO
KANSAS 92 NEBRASKA 39
A glance at the box score does not tell much about Sharita Smith's final game against Kansas State. The senior guard failed to make a field goal and only scored four points, but helped lead Kansas to a 82-74 win.
Before Sunday's game, Smith had endured seven consecutive losses against Kansas State. After the double-overtime victory, Smith can finally add defeating the Wildcats to her resume.
ly turnovers.
I knew I had to step up late in the game. Beating K-State is what we were brought here to to."
Smith's biggest defensive stop came with just more than two minutes remaining in the second overtime. Lehning brought the ball downcourt, looking to trim the Kansas lead to within four points. Smith applied defensive pressure at
KELLY KOHN Freshman guard
"This is a feather in Sharita's cap," said coach Bonnie Henrickson. "She should feel great about this game."
half court, forcing a turnover and sending the crowd into a trenzy. Kansas never looked back and scored seven consecutive points to seal the victory.
Smith should dered most of the work on the defensive end.
Smith made her presence felt on the defensive end. The 5-foot-8 guard forced Kansas State guard Shalee Lehning to commit four cost
but she received offensive help down the stretch on a number of occasions.
As the game progressed, it looked like the inexperienced Jayhawks
SEE VICTORY ON PAGE 6B
>> SWIMMING AND DIVING
Jayhawks break school records
BY DANIEL MOLINA
The Kansas swimming and diving team arrived in College Station, Texas, last week for the start of a much-anticipated Big 12 Championships. Four days and a handful of broken school records later, the jayhaws ended the competition with 448.5
points, their highest finish in three years.
The squad jumped to its third place standing the first day and never relented, withstanding a pair of charges from rival Missouri during the four-day event.
The squad jumped to its third-place standing the first day and never relented,withstanding a pair of charges from rival Missouri during the four-day event.
Jenny Short, sophomore Danielle Herrmann, junior Lauren Bonfe and sophomore Maria Mayrovich, obliterated a Kansas record with their third-place finish of 1:41.01.
Two more records fell Thursday when the same relay team swam a 3-42.54 in the 400 yard medley relay, good for third place. Short's opening
Kansas' record-breaking habits became apparent the first day of competition.
leg of the race,
the 100-yard
backstroke,
set a new KU
record.
The 200 yard medley relay team,
consisting of senior co-captain
In diving, senior Shelby Noonan placed fifth in the three-meter board.
With the team positioned securely behind
heavyweights Texas and Texas A&M two members of the medley relay teams made strong pushs for indi-
SEE SWIMMING ON PAGE 3B
NOT EVEN CLOSE
Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Russell Robinson react to a play late in the second half of the game against Nebraska Saturday.
Anna Faltermieer/KANSAN
— it's only the ninth appearance for the Wildcats on ESPN's "Big Monday" since the program began in 1992.
Jayhawks set to maintain streak in Manhattan tonight
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
Before the postgame traffic had cleared, the players were already fielding questions about tonight's big game.
Saturday's 92-39 Kansas victory was certainly impressive, but the team didn't have much time to feel good about it.
The Jayhawks take on the Wildcats in Manhattan at 8 p.m. and there's no shortage of good story lines. For starters;
"That's when we break the streak," he said of tonight's game at the Wildcats' "Madness in Manhattan" rally back in October. The Jayhawks have never lost at Bramlage Coliseum, which opened in 1989
In case that's not enough, Kansas State coach Bob Huggins guarantees a victory.
- The Wildcats lost 97.70 in Lawrence just 12 days ago.
The Kansas players are familiar with the prediction.
"He can predict anything he
wants" sophomore guard Mario Chalmers said. "When the final bell rings, we'll see who wins."
With just one day to prepare for the game, neither coach has the luxury of preparing a full game plan. Instead, they'll stick to the plays and formations that they've been using all season.
"We'll find out how tough we are," coach Bill Self said. "The first game wasn't a true indication of how intense this rivalry is going to become."
The players are bracing themselves for their first game at a pro-Wildcat Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcat fans scooped up all the seats through season ticket sales. They're hoping that Huggins keeps his word and puts an end to the Jayhawk streak.
"It will end someday," Self said. "Hopefully we can prolong that another day."
Edited by Carissa Pedigo
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillipssekansan.com. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Witherspoon,'red team' give fans a show in final minutes
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
In the final seconds of Saturday's game, coach Bill Self gathered his players and told them to run out the clock. As the huddle broke, junior Jeremy Case turned to walk-on and fan-favorite Brad Witherspoon with a different plan.
"J're my said to me, I'm going to penetrate, and I'll find you. Be ready." Witherspoon said after the game.
T h e
result was
Witherspoon's
first collegiate
"After I made it, everything was just a blur after that. They told me the crowd was going crazy but I couldn't hear anything."
The prior 39 minutes were a mix of dominating layhawk defense and off-the-mark Cornhusker shooting. Nebraska finished the day hav-
"After I made it, everything was just a blur after that," Witherspoon said. "They told the crowd was going crazy, but I couldn't hear anything. I just ran back down the court."
BRAD WITHERSPOON Junior guard
basket and a standing ovation from the fans that stuck around to watch.
Indeed, Kansas' 92-39 blowout of Nebraska was so anticlimacid that the biggest aplause of the day went to the junior guard who, nearly five months ago, was just another student on Mount Oread.
ing made just 15 percent of its three-point shots and 33 percent of its free throws.
"This isn't a true indication of them at all," coach Bill Self said. "The snowball started going
downhill and it didn't stop."
The layawhacks have defeated the Cornhuskers twice this season, by a combined score of 168-95.
Nebraska coach Doc Sadler joked about playing so poorly in front of the 1952 national
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 4B