monday, february 23, 2004
sports
the university daily kansan 3R
Women's basketball wants to learn from mistakes
By Jessa Newell inewell@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
The eyes said it all for Kansas forward Crustal Kemp.
Emerging from the locker room, Kemp, known for rarely showing emotion, had glazed eyes. Twice she stopped in the middle of questions, holding back her emotion and frustration.
Kansas could not overcome a late Texas A&M run, losing 69-63 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
The jayhawks held a lead as large as nine with just 12 minutes remaining, but went more than seven minutes without a field goal, leaving the team with more questions than answers.
"When you go out there and put in effort and still don't seem to get anything, it's kind of hard to figure out what's going on," Kemp said. "Normally, we get our spirits up somehow and try to get through it."
It might be tougher for the team this time around.
Kansas again experienced a disappointing loss in the Big 12 Conference, this one coming against last-place A&M.
"We felt like we should have won this ballgame - could have
"We felt like we should have won this ballgame could have won this ballgame."
Lynette Woodard Interim women's basketball coach
won this ballgame, "interim coach Lynette Woodard said.
A lack of execution down the stretch doomed the Jayhawks, with the Aggies stealing away the game that Kansas had largely controlled.
The first half featured eight ties and five lead-changes, with Kansas entering the break on top. Kemp finished a spin move between two defenders with a layup to give the Jayhawks a 31-30 lead, and later added a free throw to give Kansas a two-point edge at the half.
Freshman Lauren Ervin sparked the Jayhawks in the second half, starting a run with her play—and her emotion.
After she failed to gather an offensive rebound, Ervin raised her arm above her head and swatted the ball away from an Aggie. The 6-foot-4 forward gathered it in and connected on a layup, drawing a foul and yelling out her
Kansas fed off the energy.
satisfaction.
After a pair of free throws by A&M's Lynn Classen, the Jayhawks scored the next three baskets, highlighted by junior guard Larisha Graves' jump pass to Kemp underneath for two.
Sophomore forward Tamara Ransburg scored off an inbounds play two minutes later to make it 44-35 with 12:32 remaining, but it would be Kansas' last field goal for more than seven minutes.
"There was a stretch there where we had point-blank layups, we missed free throws, and we lost a couple of defensive assignments," Woodard said. "We got punished for it."
The Aggies capitalized, using an 8-0 run ending with a Tamea Scales' lay-in to regain a 50-48 lead.
Kansas had the advantage momentarily at 53-51, but A&M bench player Mindy Garrison provided the dagger. The sophomore guard hit three-point shots on consecutive possessions — from the same spot on the left side of the arc — to boost the lead to four.
A&M guard Toccara Williams made the lead stand. The senior scored eight of her 21 points with
2:43 left to hold off any possible Jayhawk run.
"Toccara Williams did a great job with their senior leadership," Woodard said. "We had shut her down pretty good in the first half, but she came back strong at the end."
Ransburg continued to thrive in her role off the bench for Kansas. The forward scored 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. Coming off the bench the last three games, she has led the team in scoring in all three contests, averaging 16.3 points per game.
Kemp and Graves contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the loss.
Kansas, at 9-15 and 2-11 in the Big 12, will travel tomorrow to Colorado. Now in 11th place, Kansas is looking to stay out of the Big 12 cellar, with Texas A&M holding that spot with a 2-12 conference mark.
Woodard said she thought the Jayhawks had at least one win left in them.
"Hopefully we'll get one, if not the next game, the one after." Woodard said. "We've got to keep learning from the mistakes we're making."
—Edited by Collin LaJoie
Tamara Ransburg, sophomore forward, blasted through the Texas A&M defense to make a two-point shot. Ransburg scored the most points on the women's basketball team, 15. Despite its effort, the team lost 63-69.
Abbv Tillerv/Kansan
Softball team returns victorious, readies for home games
By Dana Silverman
dsilverman@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Expecting warm weather and sunny skies for its Southern California tournament, the Kansas softball team was greeted instead by cool, rainy weather. However, the sun shone on the Jayhawks as they rallied together to come from behind in the first game of the tournament.
Down 4-0 against University of California Riverside in the fifth inning, Nettie Fierros, sophomore infielder, followed senior outfielder Sylvia Pfeiffer's single and sophomore infielder Destiny
Frankenstein's double with a single of her own to score her two teammates. The pinch hit brought the Jayhawks within two.
Not letting the rain slow them down, the Jayhawks scored two more runs in the sixth inning to force extra innings. Jessica Moppin, sophomore infielder.
Humphreys
led off the inning with a single. Nicole Washburn, freshman first baseman and outfielder, reached
base on a fielder's choice and the two girls advanced bases because of an opponent error. Pfeiffer followed with another big single to tie the game at four runs.
As international tiebreaker rules state, a runner was placed on second in the eighth inning. UCR was unable to score with two on base, giving the Jayhawks another chance to score. Moppin advanced teammate Sandy Smith, senior infielder, on a sacrifice, then Washburn was able to score Smith.
Kassie Humphreys, freshman pitcher, struck out ten batters and allowed only four hits in eight
innings as she pitched the win.
"I saw a side of Humphreys I really liked today," coach Tracy Bunge said in a news release. "She was emotionally juiced and responded well, dominating the last three innings."
Frankenstein and Pfeiffer had strong swings to combine for half of the lavyhawks' ten hits.
"It was also great to see Pfeiffer and Frankenstein swing the bat more consistently. It was a defining game for us and we handled the adversity." Bunge said.
with another big swing, Pfeifer put Kansas on the board in the second game with a home run in the third inning. Serena Set-
tlemier, junior pitcher, followed with another home run in the fourth inning — her sixth of the season. Settlemier sat out last season with an arm injury and has come back strong leading the team in batting averages at .345.
Kansas added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Settlemer to put the 'Hawks up 3-0.
Senior pitcher Kara Pierce struggled in the seventh inning and gave up a two-run home run to opponent Central Florida to bring UCF within one run. Despite a strong offensive effort in the bottom of the seventh by UCF, the Jayhawks held on for a 3-2 victory.
Pierce was awarded with the win.
"It was an ugly win, but we'll take it." Bunge said.
The remainder of the games were canceled because of weather conditions. The Jayhawks were also scheduled to face Cal-Poly and host University of California Santa Barbara and No.2 Cal.
The Jayhawks arrived back in Lawrence with a 9-4 record. They will be defending an eight game winning streak as they host Nebraska and Utah March 6 and 7 for their first home games of the season.
—Edited by Collin LaJoie
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