6B
/ SPORTS / MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
KANSAS 61, MISSOURI 59
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND
DAVIS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
rebounds, giving Kansas a 30-26
head leading into halftime.
Then McCray returned and used Davis' presence as a step to elevate her own performance.
When Davis wreaked havoc in the paint and attracted doubleteams, the Tigers had to shift their attention. That resulted in open shots for McCray, who finished with 19 points, hitting 7-of-13 shots and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
"I get frustrated when that first shot is not falling." McCray said. "I calmed down and let it come to me."
After each long range shot, McCray held her right hand far above her head and trotted backward. Each and every time, she knew when it was falling.
Davis' toughness and resiliency helped make those sinking shots that much easier for her sharpshooting teammate.
Late in the second half, Davis
rolled off a screen, slung her right arm in the air and demanded a pass. Seconds later she found herself on the ground after getting pummeled by 6-foot-3 Missouri forward Christine Flores.
Yet there was no wincing or requesting of a substitution. Just like her biggest fans on the bench who applauded her toughness, Davis sprang to her feet. She needed no replacement; just the next play.
"My screens were getting my teammates open," Davis said. "They were calling me."
easy layup or, if that option wasn't available, she passed to an open teammate.
But Missouri wouldn't let up, evening the score at 55 with four minutes left. As time wound down
"I get frustrated when that first shot is not falling. I calmed down and let it come to me."
were calling moving screens so I made sure my feet were set and I was rolling to the basket harder."
And when she rolled, she found a clear lane and was granted an
DANIELLE MCCRAY Senior guard
to the final minute, both teams traded baskets back and forth.
ItwasHanneman's last second miss that ended this edition of the Border Showdown. But it was Davis and her career day that disoriented the 'Tigers' defense and proved to be the difference.
"For that kid's confidence going
confidence going forward," Henrickson said, "it's as big as anything that could happen in her career."
Kansas players huddle in celebration after Missouri missed its opportunity to tie the game with its last possession. Kansas improved to 13-7 for the season after defeating the Tigers 61-59 at Mizuzo Arena.
Edited by Ashley Montgomery
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The running serves as payment for the 22 turnovers - one short of a season high - committed in Kansas 61-59 victory at Missouri Saturday. Coincidentally, the Jayhawks also played the Tigers when they recorded a season-high 23 turnovers Jan. 17.
Despite victory, turnovers pile up
When practice rolls around Monday, screeches and sneaker scuffs will be commonplace in Kansas' practice facility as players run up and down the court.
"We were careless with some possessions, trying to make chicken salad out of chicken you-knowwhat." Henrickson said. "We made some bad decisions, but their pressure is good."
During their first outing against Missouri in Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks shot 50 percent. Kansas followed that Border Showdown performance with another excellent shooting day Saturday, sinking 43 percent of its shots.
"We finally buckled down and played some defense," senior guard Sade Morris said. "When we turned the ball over, it was more us. We made the mistakes, but they had something to do with it."
"If you're not going to get more shots, you had better shoot it well," Henrickson said. "It becomes a possession game for us."
Yet in both games against Missouri, Kansas somehow found
a way to win. That generally boils down to the fact that the layhawks shot the ball extremely well while playing solid defense.
The majority of those games occurred after freshman guard Angel Goodrich went down on Jan. 12 with a season-ending injury. Goodrich averaged nearly two assists for every turnover.
It's not all good news, though,
as Kansas seems to find ways to
overcome turnovers only in games
against Missouri. Since a victor, against Pepperdine Dec. 30, Kansas has, to put it lightly, struggled as it lost the turnover battle in all eight games played in the month of January.
"Those are the things that have been killing us recently, rebounds and turnovers," senior guard Danielle McCray said. "We didn't really improve on our turnovers."
Henrickson recognized senior guard LaChelda lacobs and junior guard Rhea Codio in need of improvement entering the conference season.
Your door to comfortable living is here
"I identified two things that concerned me for us to be as good as I thought we could be," Henrickson said. "One was rebounding and one was the play of our back up point guards. Now they're playing all the time."
But those point guards have not improved significantly and the pair continually struggle to maintain possession of the ball, especially in the set half-court offense. In the five games since Goodrich's injury the duo have combined for more turnovers (20) than assists (16).
With Kansas clinging to a 5-point lead with 12 minutes to play, Morris took over at point guard. At that point Kansas had already turned the ball over 19 times. After Morris replaced Jacobs, the Jayhawks gave the ball away only three more times.
Seeingly for that very reason. Morris, a shooting guard, generally runs the point guard position later in games. She did just that in Saturday's victory against Missouri.
"I'll do whatever it takes to help us win or put us in a position to win," Morris said. "If me running the point late in the game does that, then I'm fine with that."
Edited by Kristen Liszewski
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