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SPORTS / THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
After cold start, freshman guard Engelman heats up
BY ANDREW TAYLOR
ataylor@kansan.com
Freshman guard Monica Engelman only made rare appearances off the Kansas bench towards the beginning of the season, but injuries and the occasional uninspired play of some of her teammates have allowed her to transcend that role and flourish for the lavhawks.
Last Thanksgiving, while most students enjoyed time with family and stuffed their faces with turkey, Engelman and the rest of the Jayhawks fell to a tough Xavier team in the Bahamas.
Engelman played a meager amount of minutes in that loss as well as in another one two days later to TCU. What minutes she did play mostly occurred in the first half and she did not play at key points late in the games.
"We were struggling a little bit and I was craving to be in the game during tough situations," Engelman said.
Over the course of the Jayhawks' two game Bahamian adventure, Engelman went one of four from the field, came up with three rebounds and struggled on defense.
It may be surprising to look at those statistics now, knowing the type of player Engelman has developed into. She has since become a reliable scoring option behind senior guards Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, shelling out relentless effort to get rebounds, and she has a knack for knocking down clutch three-pointers to keep the layhawks in games.
"It gives off energy to everyone and it gives her confidence that she can knock that down," McCray said after a loss at Iowa State, "and it gives me confidence that I don't have to score for us to be in it."
Engelman's development into the player she is now seemed set up by the Jayhawks consecutive losses in the Bahamas. On the dour flight home no player wanted to be the one to sit next to coach Bonnie Henrickson.
"in the airport on the way home everybody's kind of trying to stay away from me," Henrickson said.
"You know like, 'Get away from coach.' It's hilarious."
Henrickson singled out Engelman, though, and the freshman from San Antonio unabashedly asked her coach one question that was on her mind.
"She said, Alright, I've got a question for you. What do I need to do for you to play in the second hall?" Henrickson said. "She really wants to get it right."
With that one simple question,
Engelman signaled, to her coach
and the rest of her teammates she was serious not only about playing on the team, but helping the team win.
"She told me that in order for her trust me, I needed to play defense," Engelman said.
As the season draws to a climax, it becomes even
more essential for Engelman to fine-tune her defensive abilities. She spends a significant amount of her playing time subbing for Morris, generally considered the Jayhawks' best defender.
freshman."
"She told me that in order for her to trust me, I needed to play defense."
Though it'd be hard to completely make up for the defensive intensity that Morris brings to a game, Engelman still struggles at times to contain her given assignment.
Though if that miscue or any of her other defensive shortcomings upset her, it would be difficult to tell just by looking at her on the court. By Henrickson's acknowledgement, Engelman would make one fantastic poker player.
Take for example a Jan. 23 loss at Oklahoma. Engelman guarded her opposition at the top of the key and took a swipe at the ball. She over swung, taking her out of position and allowing the Oklahoma guard to drive straight down the lane for an easy lay up.
Engelman didn't always used to play with such a placid and unchanging face.
"If she ever wants to play poker, you're never going to know if it's a good hand or a bad hand," Henrickson said. "I love that about her. Missed shot, hit a shot, get back-doored, it just doesn't change and that's tough when you'a
"When I was younger, I might have shown a little more emotion, but I've grown into that person," Engelman said of her poker face.
Her ability to mask her emotions is also evident on the offensive side of the ball, where she has found her niche on the team. Engelman scored consecutive career highs in losses to Iowa State and Oklahoma.
MONICA ENGELMAN freshman guard
"Think about Monica Engelman in two games at Ames, Iowa, and here (Norman, Okla.)," Henrickson said. "She's been pretty tough in two road games in the league as a freshman and that's going to help her confidence."
More important than the total points
and the losses is the way Engelman made her shots. In both games when her team began to struggle and while McCray sat on the bench with foul trouble, Engelman took over and sank key shots that kept the Jayhawks in it and gave them opportunities to win. Every time she made a shot her face remained stoic as she prepared for the next play.
"That's a hard thing to do when you're a freshman coming in filling Danielle's shoes," Morris said. "Danielle's a great player and she has big big shoes to fill and she's doing the best she can."
That brief time Engelman gets to shine while the experienced McCay and Morris sit on the bench serves as a brief glimpse into what the future of the layhawks might look like next year without their two senior stars.
"That's what we've been trying to tell her," Henrickson said. "You're Danielle next year, you've got to be more aggressive."
If Engelman is excited about the opportunity to lead the Jayhawks next year, it may be hard to tell just by looking at her.
Edited by Michael Holtz
Freshman guard Monica Engelman scores in the lane against Missouri guard Jasmyn Oote. Coach Bonnie Henrickson said she expects Engelman to fill the spot of senior guard Danielle McCray next year.
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
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Philadelphia 76ers forward Elton Brand pulls in a rebound next to Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson Wednesday in Philadelphia. The 76ers won the game on overtime.
2 Blocks West of HyVee on Clinton Parkway.
NRA
76ers outdo Bulls 106-103 in overtime
Rose hit two free throws to tie it at 98 with 1:41 left in overtime.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA — Elton Brand scored 26 points, and Andre Iguodala had 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to help the Philadelphia 76ers rally for a 106-103 overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Derrick Rose scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime for the Bulls (23-24), who had their five-game road winning streak snapped. Those five wins came against teams with winning records, which set an NBA record.
On Philadelphia's next possession, Iguodala hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 101-98 lead.
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