6B
SPORTS / WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
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JAYHAWKS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
possession," Henry said. "Shooting free throws is so easy. It's just a focus thing."
Throughout most of the game, Texas A&M was the most physical team. The record crowd helped fuel the team. It was only when the Aggies failed to score in the final four minutes that the crowd went silent.
Collins, who had seven points on 2-of-9 shooting, was not surprised that the Jayhawks stayed in the game, despite how poorly they played in the beginning. He said the way they finished that game was why the Jayhawks were an elite team.
THE BAD
Collins didn't have a good game and he didn't come to the rescue like he usually does. After the game he said he wasn't injured, so it was just mental.
The rest of the team must have had the same issue.
The poor offense may have been a product of the poor defense early in the game. The Aggies were making most of their shots. Senior guard Donald Sloan had 10 points in just the first eight minutes.
"It was a sloppy game," Collins said. "Our offense wasn't doing anything right."
Self said the big men of Texas A&M outplayed his own bigs. The Aggies had 41 rebounds on the night and 20 of those were offensive. The Jayhawks had 33 rebounds and eight of those were offensive.
It didn't help when sophomore
forward Marcus Morris got in tour trouble early on.
"If Marcus isn't going to play much and Sherron has the night that he had, it's amazing to me that we won the game." Self said.
That's where the last four minutes came into play.
In the last four minutes, the Aggies had three rebounds and the Jayhawks had eight. Aldrich said it was as simple as keeping the ball for themselves and making good use of it.
"If we play defense, the offense will take care of itself," Aldrich said. "Towards the end, we started to defend. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds, which is unacceptable, and that's on our bigs."
He then joked about what prac tice might entail this week.
"I'm sure we're going to work on some rebounding drills in the next few days," Aldrich said.
Using the rebounding effort as a prime example, Aldrich said that despite their lead in the conference and 25-1 record, the layhawks were far from perfect. They haven't dominated an opponent since Missouri on Jan. 25.
Collins said he didn't care as long as they won, but Self said it could burn them out in the long run.
Coming from the championship expertise of Aldrich, the bottom line is the team is still a work in progress.
"There's guys that have been on our team when we won it two years ago: Sherron, I, Brady and Tyrel," Aldrich said. "Those guys will tell you we still have a long way to go."
Edited by Kirsten Hudson
Daniel Johnson/KANSAN
Snatching a win
Chris Stock, a law student from Westford, Mass., plays intramural basketball Monday night at the Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. Stock and his team, the Adverse Possessors, won their game on the final night of the regular season. Playoffs for the season begin next week.
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Missouri players caught in fight
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Freshman Missouri quarterback Tyler Gabbert has a broken nose after a weekend fight outside a Columbia pizza parlor.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Gabbert, his brother, Blaine, and linebacker Andrew Gachkar got into a fight with another group of men outside Gumby's Pizza around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. No one was arrested.
A police report says the players and the others involved likely had been drinking, but no one was ticketed or arrested. Of the three players involved, Gachkar is the only one of legal drinking age.
Both quarterback Blaine Gabbert and Gachkar are starters. Tyler Gabbert is in his first semester at Missouri after finishing high school early.
Associated Press
Royals' right-hander healed and playing
Police say the fight involved taking too long in the bathroom
MLB
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Brian Bannister's 2009 season is described as up-and-down, but the Kansas City Royals' right-hander labels it incomplete.
Bannister strained his right shoulder during the season and did not pitch after Sept. 2. He
spent the offseason strengthening the shoulder and has thrown five times off the mound, including Tuesday in the Royals' volunteer minicamp.
He was 1-3 with an 8.20 ERA in his next five starts, and 3-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 11 starts from June 9 to Aug.6.
Associated Press
WOMEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
But she sunk all nine of her free throws and helped complete a crucial road victory for her team.
turnovers on their home court and never found more than spurts of comfort and consistency.
"We all have to believe that what we're doing together will pay off."
throws when it had to. Freshman guard Monica Engelman struggled from the field, converting just three-of-ten shot attempts.
BONNIE HENRICKSON Coach
E ve n though it brought the lead to within three on multiple instances, Kansas evaded full-court pressure, held its ground defensively and sunk free
Senior guard Sade Morris shot just 5-of-22 against Texas Saturday, but rose to the occasion at Colorado. She nailed a rare three-point shot during
the first-half run, just her sixth three of the season, and finished with 18 points and five assists and rebounds. All of Kansas' key cogs
were clicking at the Coors Events Center Wednesday.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
"There's really great chemistry in practice in what has been a tough week for us," Henrickson said.
Moving to 15-9 overall, the victory snapped Kansas' previous four-game losing streak in Boulder but, more importantly, added new credence to its NCAA tournament bid.
Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland (1) competes against the University of Colorado's junior forward Brittany Sparks (22) for a rebound during the CU versus KU game at Coors Events Center Tuesday. Kansas defeated Colorado 79-72.
"We all have to believe that what we're doing together will pay off," Henrickson said. "Don't doubt. Don't give in. Push forward."
Edited by Katie Blankenau
Davis drastically improves during her first season with Jayhawks
Freshman forward doesn't miss a shot against Colorado
ataylor@kansan.com
BY ANDREW TAYLOR
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Davis/ CU Independent
With Kansas' lead dwindling to just four points midway through the second half of its 79-72 victory against Colorado, freshman forward Carolyn Davis sat on the bench.
Davis
Davis finished the game just one point shy of her career high 29 points, as she scored 28.
C o a c h B o n n i e Henrickson had Davis check into the game and things got better.
Just minutes after her reappearance.
Davis scored four straight points behind big baskets by senior guard Sade Morris and with that Kansas built its lead to twelve, the biggest lead of the game.
The freshman didn't miss a
She shot a perfect 10 of 10 from the field and eight of eight from the free throw line.
The freshm
single attempt,
even from the
free throw
line.
"When I
as the lajayhaws struggled to hold on to a lead.
Despite her limited playing time she made her only field goal attempt and pulled in one rebound, showing an early tendency to play efficiently.
DAVIS MAKES REGULAR SEASON DEBUT
"We're starting three kids that started the year on the bench," Henrickson said. "They have prepared themselves to contribute and be difference makers."
Davis' rapid development has become essential to the Jayhawks' success, especially with the injury to senior guard Danielle McCray. Below is a timeline of Davis' career.
The Houston native played only two minutes in a Nov. 15 thrashing of Oral Roberts.
FIRST CAREER START
In the Jayhawks' first game of the regular season Davis made her first appearance for Kansas, for a little while at least.
Davis' entry into the starting lineup in a Jan. 17 victory against Missouri was unexpected.
"We're starting three kids that started the year on the bench."
She scored only two points in four minutes in a loss to
shoot my tree
throws I just say "This is for my
teammates" and I just shoot it."
Davis said.
BONNIE HENRICKSON
That all came in the wake of her second nomination as the Big 12 Freshman of the Week following solid games against No. 3 Nebraska and No. 14 Texas.
A few months ago, Davis might have kept on warming the bench
Coach
Okla homa State the game before. The freshman had done enough in practice to impress Henrickson and earn the starting spot in light of junior center. Kristen
Boogaard's ineffectiveness in recent games.
"It was just any other game. That's how I look at it," Davis said after her first career start. "It was just another game."
Davis didn't disappoint her coach as she scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in her debut as a starter.
DAVIS EARNS FIRST
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
After scoring more than 10 points in two out of her first three games, Davis finally broke through on the rebounding end in a Jan. 27 victory against Colorado.
"I think I have to stay aggressive on the boards because I've shown that I can score," Davis said after recording the double-double. "I have to be more persistent on the boards."
She got to the basket for 10 rebounds, which in addition to her 10 points represented Davis' first career double-double.
AVERAGING 20 POINTS PER GAME IN THE LAST FIVE CONTESTS
Davis followed up that double-double performance with a career high 20 points in a Jan. 30 victory at Missouri. That total didn't stay for long as Davis demolished it just three games later by scoring 29 points in a double overtime marathon loss to No. 14 Texas on Feb. 13.
In the past five games, starting with that second victory at Missouri, Davis has averaged 21.6 points per game. She also stayed aggressive on the boards, notching three straight double-doubles in that stretch.
THE FUTURE
Davis' future is shining bright and with fellow freshman Monica Engelman playing well alongside her, the Jayhawks have a lot to look forward to. As far as this season goes, Kansas will need Davis to continue producing on a high level as Kansas wraps up its schedule with four games against teams ranked in the top 18.
"This didn't happen overnight for her," Henrickson said of Davis. "She has worked her butt off in practice and we're at 101 practices."
Edited by Kirsten Hudson
hawkchalk.com