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Senior guard Marisha Brown and freshman guard Diana Moore celebrate after teammate Carolyn Davis hits the winning shot Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks took on fellow Big 12 team Iowa State. The game went into overtime and Kansas won 86-85.
BASKETBALL REWIND
PAGE 7A
SOFTBALL
Kansas softball team gears up for tournament
BY HANNAH WISE
hwise@kansan.com
Inches of snow and freezing temperatures don't generally comes to mind when thinking about softball season. But for the Kansas softball team, these elements became a harsh reality.
The weather has forced the team to practice indoors on the Ray Evans Football Field at the Anschutz Sports Pavilion. The facility allows the team to get batting practice in and hold full practices for the infield and outfield. However, practicing on the turf creates a number of obstacles for the players.
"We can't dive on it or else we will get torn up," said sophomore outfielder Maggie Hull. The ball reacts differently on the turf than it does on the grass or the dirt. When teams are playing outside, a ground ball might hop slightly to the left or the right depending on the condition of the field.
Even though the conditions are different, Coach Megan Smith is not going to let the indoor practices be an excuse for lack of effort.
"We are ready to get out. At some point in time as a team you are done with practice and we are at that point. We are going to go out and work as hard as we can and there are some other schools that are in the same boat as we are," Smith said.
The team's chance to escape the Kansas cold is finally here.
8. Kansas State: Kansas State nearly won a bowl game last year, but loses its only offensive spark, running back Daniel Thomas, who ran for 1,585 yards and 19 touchdowns. Who will replace him? Will the quarterback play improve even a little! Coach Bill Snyder hasn't recruited anyone of note to replace Thomas' production.
9. Iowa State: I give the Cyclones the edge over Kansas here because of the schedule. Both teams have more holes than a block of swiss, but Iowa State gets to host the Layhawks on Nov. 5, and that might be the tiebreaker in the conference standings.
spark an impressive six-game winning streak heading into the Cotton Bowl, which the Aggies dropped to LSU. Tannehill starting from day one will help this year, along with eight other returning offensive starters.
10. Kansas: Good things are happening for Turner Gill and the football program, it just might take another year to see those improvements. Gill and his staff landed a stellar recruiting class for a disastrous first season. As many as 16 of those freshman will play in 2011 according to Gill, which makes me wonder how much talent he didn't have in 2010. Expect growing pains from the large batch of first year players next season, but be excited for 2012.
5. Texas: There is just too much talent in Austin to miss out on another bowl game. Coach Mack Brown landed the nation's fifth-best recruiting class according to ESPN, and the defense returns eight starters. Losing defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to Florida keeps me from putting the Longhorns any higher than fifth.
7. Texas Tech: I liked the hire of coach Tommy Tuberville last year and I think he can continue to improve the Red Raiders. Without a quarterback, though, it's hard to see how good Tech can be in 2011.
6. Baylor: Robert Griffin III is the best quarterback no one outside of Big 12 country has heard of. Griffin accounted for 30 touchdowns in 2010, with 22 through the air and eight on the ground. The defense is still a question mark, however.
Edited by Corey Thibodeaux