THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
SWIMMING & DIVING|8A
Team sits in third place at competition
Kansas comes up short the first day at the Big 12 Championships, but looks to finish strong on the second dav.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2011
WWW.KANSAN.COM
KANSAS 73,OKLAHOMA STATE 66
PAGE 10A
Jayhawks win shootout
Kansas 32 | 41----73 Oklahoma State 35 | 31----66
Jayhawk Stat Leaders
Points
Angel Goodrich
14
14
Aishah Sutherland 14
Rebounds
Assists
Aishah Sutherland 7
Monica Englemar 7
Contributed by Kylie McMains / The Daily O'Collegian
Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis got into four trouble early and played just 16 minutes. She scored nine points for the night.
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Late run pushes Kansas past the Oklahoma State Cowgirls
An eight-point run late in the game gave the Kansas women's basketball team a lead that the would not surrender as they held on to beat Oklahoma State 73-66.
Sophomore guard Angel Goodrich sparked the run, draining a three-point shot with 2:26 remaining in the game. Sophomore guard Monica Engelman made another three to extend the Jayhawks lead to five with 1:18 left in the game.
"I just remember being on the right side of the floor. I think they were overloaded most of the game once we had it on one side and I knew once I got the ball I needed to be ready. The other one's where I got the ball I didn't get a good pass, so once I got that pass I had it in my pocket and let it go." Goo-
pocket and tie for gourd drish said in an interview with 1320 KLMW
"I think as every win comes we get closer and closer as a team and more confident in each other."
drich said in an interview with 1520 KLEWN.
The Jayhawks won without a big game from their leading scorer, sophomore forward Carolyn Davis. Davis got into foul trouble early and was limited to just 16 minutes for the night. Davis, who averages 18.7 points per game and set her career high in her last game against Missouri, managed just nine points against the Oklahoma State.
"We had four kids in double figures. We didn't stand around and say Carolyn's not playing; what are we going to do. That shows growth, maturity, toughness, poise and composure, and we answered runs," said Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson in an interview with 1320 KLWN.
In the first half Oklahoma State freshman center Vicky McIntyre lit up the Jayhawks with 16 points. The Jayhawks held 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 evened up the rebound total, grabbing 19 compared to Oklahoma State's 20.
The Jayhawks trailed by three at halftime, and were greatly outrebounded. The Jayhawks grabbed 11 rebounds compared to 24 by the Cowgirls in the first half, 10 of which came off the offensive glass.
justments in the second half and tried to be a little bit more physical with her and body up to her a little bit more," Henrickson said in an interview with 1320 KLWN.
"I thought the post players made some ad-
Redshirt freshman forward Tania Jackson stepped up with Davis on the bench. Jackson scored 12 points and made all three of her three-point shot attempts. Jackson's three three-point shots were a career high for her.
"It did (feel great). I have been kind of dry the past, what whole season, so it just felt good to shoot all three and make all three. I think that was just a good feeling to have
TANIA JACKSON Freshman forward
and it kept me going. I just felt good about making and sinking them so I kept on shooting;" Jackson said in an interview with 1320 KLWN.
Goodrich and junior forward Aisha Sutherland led the Jayhawks in scoring with 14 points a piece. Goodrich also had five assists in the game. It was
first time Goodrich was able to play in her home state of Oklahoma because she was injured in her last trip down.
"How good was Angel Goodrich? I mean just good decisions, defensively pressuring the ball, takes a charge late, hits the three opposite of us. Just poise, composure, and a lot of toughness," Henrickson said in an interview with 1320 KLWN.
Sutherland was key for the Jayhawks as they tried to hold onto their lead with less than a minute left. With less than 33 seconds left in the game Sutherland went to the line three times and made four of her six shots. Sutherland also led the team in rebounding with seven boards.
Monica Engelman added 10 points to give the Jayhawks four players who scored in double digits.
The win lifts the Jayhawks to 18-9 on the season and 5-8 in Big 12 Conference play. It knocks Oklahoma State to 15-11 on the season and 3-10 in Big 12 play.
"I think we're very excited. I think as every 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
her right and Maggie throws with her left.
"We would just switch gloves all the time and it wasn't until high school when we decided to stick with one," Rosie said.
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."
FACTS ABOUT THE HULL TWINS MAGGIE ROSIE
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.
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 bating 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
COMMENTARY
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
NCAA bracket still a toss-up
It's that time of year, finally. Conference tournaments are nudging closer, bracketing "experts" are predicting the now field of 68, and Selection Sunday is less than 3 weeks away. Before you begin studying trends, dissecting matchups, and attempt to win your NCAA bracket pool, I've got some advice: Take your printed out bracket and throw it away. Save the $5 entry fee and buy a six-pack or something. Because you're not winning your pool, not if you follow college basketball at all. Anyone who has followed the sport this year knows of the circus we all seen lately within the top 25 rankings.
I hate to agree with the ESPN talking heads and sports radio blowhairs across the country, but they're right this year. This tournament is going to be crazy. Crazier than usual. Anytime you have five teams with legit arguments to be No. 1 this late in February, it's pretty obvious that parity rules the land in 2011. I don't know who No. 1 should be. Ohio State? Kansas? Duke? Who 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.
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-Americans 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.
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.
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 best.
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Edited by Brittany Nelson