4B
2017.06.08
SPORTS / FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Offense slowed by inconsistent point guard play
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Senior guard Lachelia Jacobs forces Toy Richbow of Missouri out of bounds in Sunday's 72-59 win over the Tigers. Jacobs is the primary replacement for impound guard Angell Goodrich.
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
twitter.com/maxrothrman
The point guard position is crippling Kansas' offense. And it wasn't always that way.
Kansas once ran a fleet-footed offensive juggernaut.
Operated by freshman guard Angel Goodrich, the ambitious young leader used to race down the court and find her sprinting post players for easy layups.
Goodrich tore the ACL in her right knee, officially ending her season.
This transition-reliant offense directly benefited players like sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland and junior center Krysten Boogaard. The two started, hustled and ran the length of the floor, only to be rewarded with a perfectly placed pass by Goodrich.
"We've lost her and it tears all of our hearts out," coach Bonnie Hendrickson said.
Then the delivery girl went down.
Senior guard LaCheda Jacobs has since stepped in as the replacement starter, hoping to emulate the exhilarating style of her injured predecessor. Both Jacobs and Henrickson vowed that the loss of Goodrich wouldn't change the fast paced, post-feeding offensive gameplan.
"It's not time to reinvent the wheel." Henrickson said.
Yet the numbers have told a different tale.
It would be unfair to expect Jacobs and her freshly promoted backup, junior guard Rhea Codio, to match Goodrich's 7.1 assists per game. The pair have totaled just three assists in the past two games. Yet that statistic would not be nearly as daunting if it were only affecting the point guards. However, since Goodrich has been out of the lineup, several post players have gone from vital to
invisible.
With Goodrich in the lineup, Sutherland averaged 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Since Jacobs has taken over the starting role, Sutherland has dropped her averages to four points and five rebounds per game.
Goodrich's absence has also been a detriment to Boogaard's play. Before the injury, Boogaard was an every-game starter, averaging 11.7 points and 6.5 rebounds. In large part to the ascension of freshman forward Carolyn Davis, Boogaard has been nothing but a scarcely utilized reserve since Jacobs has been the starter. However Boogaard has also shown much less ability in the time that she does see the floor.
"She doesn't play and produce," Henrickson said. "I'm not crazy about her energy. I'm not crazy about what we're getting on either end of the floor."
Many say that great point guards make the players around them look that much better. In Boogaard's case, until proven otherwise, it appears as if her success was entirely dependent on the play of Goodrich.
"It's not squatter's rights. You don't play just because you're old," Henrickson said. "Right now Krysten can help us, but Krysten has got to change her mindset a little bit."
Since Jacobs has taken over, despite her and her coach's words, the team has noticeably slowed its pace. Wednesday night's 53-49 loss at Iowa State epitomized the sluggish steps downward that the team has taken.
court, but was never able to convert the relay. As a result, Kansas was constantly stuck in a suffocating half-court set — the enemy of a transition offense.
Kansas tried to run its usual transition offense, as post players bursted down the floor in pursuit of an easy basket. Often, Sutherland and Boogaard would raise their right hand several inches above their defender, ready for the pass. But the signal was much more rehearsal than foreshadowing. Jacobs charged down the
"We just kept sticking it to them," Iowa State senior guard Denae Stuckey said.
Jacobs finished the game without an assist in 25 minutes of play. The post players combined to score just six points.
"You've got to be able to convert in the paint." Henrickson said.
Jacobs' absence of assertion has clearly slowed the offense to a primarily half-court mold. It might also cripple Kansas' hopes of a postseason in late March.
- Edited by Cory Bunting
Key to the game
The Kansas bench
Against the Cyclones last Wednesday, Kansas bench players not named Monica Engelman scored a combined zero points. That's despite earning 43 combined minutes of playing time. In conjunction with not performing on the court, the Kansas bench failed to provide energy for the players on the floor in a hostile environment with little to no crimson and blue. When Kansas has played without the fiery fans in Allen Fieldhouse this season, it has lost five games compared to just two wins. All of those players have a chance to redeem themselves by reversing that trend tomorrow when the Jayhawks travel to Norman, Okla. to take on the Sooners.
Keep an eye on
Carolyn Davis
Saturday's game will mark the third consecutive start for freshman forward Carolyn Davis. After putting up 13 points in her first against Missouri on Jan. 16, Davis only managed four points in her second outing against Iowa State. Davis should improve against Oklahoma, despite the Sooners' intimidating post players. The jitters of her starting her first game on the road will most likely have disappeared which will allow Davis to be the aggressive post player that the Jayhawks need her to be.
Davis
Opponent to watch
Amanda Thompson
Oklahoma senior forward Amanda Thompson will challenge Kansas all over the court. Thompson, a 6'1" native of Chicago, has the capability to play any one of the five positions available. She has even had a couple of opportunities to run point guard for the Sooners. Thompson's ability to step up her game when her team needs it the most makes the senior forward an even bigger threat to the struggling Jayhawks. In the Sooners' last two games, both close victories, Thompson earned double-doubles.
Thompson
Quote of the day
"We are not too proud to win ugly. I promise you that. We are not too proud."
Coach Bonnie Henrickson
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Georgia ends its eight-game losing streak to Tennessee
Lady Bulldogs beat third-ranked Lady Volunteers 53-50
BY PAUL NEWBERRY Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. — Porsha Phillips scored the go-ahead basket off a pass from Ashley Houts with 39
seconds remaining, then added two free throws that clinched No. 8 Georgia's 53-50 upset of third-ranked Tennessee in a rugged Southeastern Conference showdown Thursday night.
Houts led the Lady Bulldogs (18-1, 5-1) with 12 points and Phillips had 10, but this bruising game was decided at the defensive end. Georgia managed to win even though it missed 16 of its first 19 shots in the second half against
the Lady Volunteers (16-2,4-1).
Tennessee turned the ball over 23 times and couldn't stop the Lady Dogs from stealing it away at the end. Alyssia Brewer converted a three-point play that put the Lady Vols ahead, but Phillips scored the final four points to give Georgia one of its biggest victories in years.
The Lady Vols took a huge blow when Kelley Cain fouled out with 4:13 left. She picked up her fourth
foul, complained about the call and drew a technical that sent her to the sideline for the rest of the night.
Georgia snapped an eightgame losing streak to the Lady Vols, posting its first victory in the series since the 2004 SEC tournament. The Lady Dogs had not beaten Tennessee in Athens in a decade — a 78-51 victory on Jan. 17, 2000.
The home team managed
only seven points over the first 15 minutes of the second half, and Tennessee pulled away to a four-point lead that matched the biggest margin for either team all night.
Then, a stunning sequence sent the Lady Dogs into the lead. Houts swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key. At the other end, the senior guard knocked the ball away, broke out ahead of the pack and received a return
pass from Jasmine James for a layup that suddenly put Georgia ahead, 42-41.
After Cain put Tennessee back in front with a short book off the baseline. the 6-foot-6 sophomore
—a native of nearby Atlanta — let her temper get the best of her. After being whistled for a foul on Meredith Mitchell as the Georgia player drove the lane, Cain mouthed off to the officials, who tacked on the T.
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