Contributed by Kylie McMains/The Daily O'Collegian
Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis got into foul trouble early and played just 16 minutes. She scored nine points for the night.
her in check in the second half, allowing her to score just two more points the rest of the night. In the second half the Jayhawks evening up the rebound total, grabbing 19 compared to Oklahoma State's 20.
"I thought the post players made some ad-
I think we're very excited. I'm very win comes we get closer and closer as a team and more confidence in each other. That is what we need right now, we need to stay together and just have that confidence," Jackson said in an interview with 1320 KLWN.
Edited by Jacque Weber
SOFTBALL
Bond of Hull sisters strengthens play on the field
BY HANNAH WISE hwise@kansan.com
Sophomore twins Rosie and Maggie Hull have been playing together since they could throw a ball.
"Softball is a game where it is hard to go out and play by yourself." Rosie said. "You needed another person to play catch or
you always had your teammate there and your best friend there to help you."
Their father was instrumental in the beginning of their softball career by taking them out to play catch together from an early age. Growing up, they learned to throw with both arms and hit on each side of the plate, even though they are both right handed off the field. Now, Rosie throws with
"We would just switch gloves all the time and it wasn't until high school when we decided to stick with one," Rosie said.
her right and Maggie throws with her left.
The twins' shared experiences have helped them grow as athletes. During their junior year of high school, Maggie tore her ACL playing basketball. A month later, Rosie also tore her ACL
playing basketball at almost the same spot on the court as Maggie had.
"I can't tell you, when it happened it was like it happened to my other half," Maggie said. "Literally, I felt like I knew exactly when she went down that it was ACL. I could just tell from the pain that she was in."
They did rehab together. They were on crutches together. It bonded them more than ever before. As twins, Rosie and Maggie have learned over the years to stop trying to fight their differences and embrace their similarities.
FACTS ABOUT THE HULL TWINS MAGGIE ROSIE
"We have really been through it all together and we know how hard the other has worked our entire lives and so we can just share in this joy together," Maggie said.
Their differences stand out most on the softball field.. Rosie is a slapper and leads off the batting line up for the Jayhawks. Maggie is a power hitter and sits in the sixth spot.
"When you're out there on the field and you're in uniform and sometimes there are batting helmets and all this stuff," Rosie said. "It is cool to be out on the softball field and to see our differences about the game be brought out when we are at the plate."
They had a strong freshman
season for the Jayhawks. Rosie managed 55 hits and 21 runs with a .350 batting average, Maggie had 38 hits, 13 runs and a .253 batting average.
The offseason gave them the opportunity to be stronger and faster. After just ten games, they are on track to surpass their previous season stats. Rosie has 12 hits and 12 runs with one home run. Maggie has 12 hits and 11 runs with two home runs. They are two major offensive threats for the Jayhawks and can only become stronger over their junior and senior seasons.
Their number one goal going into recruitment was to play softball for the same school. Being able to both play for Kansas was a dream for the Hulls.
Maggie really is my number one fan," Rosie said. "She is the one who gets it, the one who is always pulling for me, always so happy when I get hits and when I do my best. It's the same for me I am just as happy when she gets up and does the job as when I do it myself."
And when Maggie found out that Rosie was going to get the hit-away signal for the first time in her college career, she was so excited. That hit-away signal resulted in Rosie's homer.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux
knows.
Maybe smaller schools like BYU and San Diego State can make a run? They've hung around the top 10 all season, beating up on powerhouses like Air Force and Wyoming.
Teams with talent are underachieving, small schools are confusing people with their stellar records yet JV-like schedule, and the top eight or so teams have separation anxiety with the rest of the pack. The top four teams all went down last week, the first time that's happened since 2003
When you drop down the rankings a bit, you see teams like North Carolina and Kentucky, a pair of teams with more McDonald's high school All-Americanes than the McDonald's All-American game this year. They've underachieved somewhat, but who wants to bet against those teams early in the tournament? The talent could surprise anyone for one game.
Look up at East Lansing, Michigan, home of Michigan State and future Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. The guy could be in a coma and make the Final Four, accomplishing the feat six of the last 12 years. Izzo's squad has been mediocre to bad all season, sitting on the bubble since Christmas it seems. Want to bet against this probable 11-seed?
So when the experts on ESPN tell you who's primed for an early upset, or which dark horse will make a deep run, don't listen. They don't know this year, and neither do we. If you must donate your $5 and fill out a bracket, don't waste your time doing research this year. Do what every bracket champion does: Pick the coolest mascot and hope for the
coolest mascot and hope for the best.
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Edited by Brittany Nelson
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