THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2009
NORTHERN COLORADO 54, KANSAS 81
7B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REWIND
McCray struggles on defensive side
ataylor@kansan.com
BY ANDREW TAYLOR
team captain Danielle McCray continued to struggle with defensive miscues en route to a game-high 25 points on offense in the No. 24 Jayhawks' victory against the Bears, 81-54.
"Her lack of discipline defensively has hurt her and has been a problem," coach Bonnie Henrickson said.
With 11 minutes and 25 seconds to play in the game, McCray stole the ball from Northern Colorado junior guard Courtney Stoermer at midcourt and then drove uncontested down the floor for an easy layup.
On a subsequent Kansas possession, though, McCray went for another steal, but got beat as Northern Colorado sank a three-pointer.
"One time I got the steal; the second time I gambled," McCray said. "It was just a bad decision on my part."
With less than nine minutes to play, McCray picked up her third foul. She wouldn't return as her teammates built on the huge lead McCray had helped develop.
The early exit didn't prevent her from coming within two points of her season high and earning two blocks, steals, rebounds and assists on the game.
In the first half against Northern Colorado, McCray scored 15 points on five-for-eight shooting from the field. Against TCU and UCLA McCray only managed 15 points throughout both games.
A lack of production, though, wasn't the primary reason for McCray's miscues in her last two games. Rather, she made mistakes late in the game that are uncharacteristic of an experienced senior and team leader.
In the game against TCU, Kansas nearly won as it had a one-point lead with 13 seconds to play, but then McCray attempted to call a timeout Kansas didn't have. That gave McCray a technical foul and
helped TCU earn the victory.
McCray continued to make mistakes late in Kansas' next victory against UCLA. On two separate occasions with less than a minute to play, McCray turned the ball over.
"I'll learn from it and I'm just glad that it didn't cost us the game."
McCray said after Kansas' victory over UCLA.
Though McCray led the Jayhaws offensively against the Bears, and didn't make any late mistakes that nearly cost her team the game. Henkickson
still was not pleased with McCray's effort.
"She's doing her own thing right now", Henrickson said, "and her doing her own thing is not good for us".
Henrickson also said that her team was not currently playing
"Her lack of discipline defensively has hurt her and has been a problem."
like a Top-25 team and that some of that blame fell on the seniors.
Kansas will likely have trouble getting victories against tough teams later in the season if it does not step up its intensity in games. Northern Colorado came into the game with a 3-4 record after playing lackluster opponents and still
BONNIE HENRICKSON Kansas coach
managed to hang with the Jayhawks for a large majority of the game.
Freshman guard Angel Goodrich said if the seniors did not step up in the Jayhawks' future games, then someone would need to fill the void.
"I think if they don't step up, then someone needs to," Goodrich said. "There's more than just our seniors that can step up and make plays."
— Edited by Alicia Banister
Senior guard Danielle McCray drives past northern Colorado guard Courtney Stoermer. McCray scored 25 points against Northern Colorado, including four three-pointers.
Reason to hope
Strong second half start
For the first time all season, Kansas came out of the locker room and played well to start the second half. In the first five minutes of the half, the Jayhawks built what was a 10-point lead at half time to a 17 point advantage. Kansas, however, needs to put a full game together as it failed to impress in the first 10 minutes of the game as Northern Colorado trailed by just one point.
Reason to mope
Poor shooting from Goodrich
Freshman guard Angel Goodrich failed to make any of her five shot attempts in Kansas's 81-54 victory over Northern Colorado. Although Goodrich did have a solid night passing the ball as she piled up 10 assists, her shot needs to get better to give Kansas an additional scoring threat. That should happen as Goodrich has dedicated herself to improving her shot in practice.
What to watch out for
Increased intensity
Although Kansas won its game against Northern Colorado, coach Bonnie Henrickson was not happy with her team's performance.She specifically pointed to her team's lack of intensity as one area that needs to improve. In order to accomplish that, Kansas's team leaders need to step up their own intensity to guide their younger teammates.
Game ball
After three shaky outings against No. 9 Xavier, TCU and UCLA, McCray reminded us all just how dominant she can be offensively, finishing with 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the field. Although she gambled a few too many times on both ends, it was overall a solid bounce-back game for Kansas' leader. Look for McCray to improve her defensive consistency Thursday against UMKC.
Danielle McCray
Quote of the day
McCray
"I don't blow smoke. I thought we were average."
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Stat of the game
In the first 10 minutes of the game, Northern Colorado shot 7 of 13 from the field, good for 54 percent. Without significant improvement on initial defense, those numbers will only ascend against lurking Bin 12 competition and snail a doom-
54 percent
ing fate for Kansas. Coach Henrickson said that her team must lessen the risk-taking and improve on steady defense for a full 40 minutes.
- Andrew Taylor and Max Rothman
No. 24 Kansas defeated Northern Colorado 81-54, moving to 5-2 on the season.
Following three-straight close calls, Kansas needed this one.
After dropping two-straight games to No. 9 Xavier and TCU at the junkanoo Jam on Grand Bahama Island on Thanksgiving week and then barely escaping with a victory against UCLA Thursday, Kansas could breathe a little easier Sunday afternoon.
Jayhawks defeat Bears by 27
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
Senior guard Danielle McCray bounced back in a big way, exploding with 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. She made better decisions with the basketball, taking open jump shots from the outside which set up inside drives to the hoop.
"We are winning, but we are not playing the way we want to," senior guard Sade Morris said.
"Other games I was rushing and my footwork was not on rhythm," McCray said. "I really calmed down and focused."
Northern Colorado's only answer for 6-foot-5 junior center Krysten Boogaard and 6-foot-2 sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland was a handful of 6-footers. Freshman guard Angel Goodrich stormed down the
Boogaard hit all seven of her free throws and now has a streak of 11-straight from the past two games.
court and snuck passes between defenders. The result was Boogaard and Sutherland, adding 17 and 12 points and 7 and 8 rebounds, respectively.
"We got into the game thinking we need to dominate inside," Boogaard said.
"Her and Angel are in the gym early and the last ones to leave the gym consistently, every single day," Henrickson said of the reason for Boogaard's improvements.
The regular 10-point cushion
"It builds my confidence," Carolyn Davis said of the logged minutes. "I wasn't nervous or anything — I was ready to play."
enabled Henrickson to put in some of the freshmen. Guard Monica Engelman and forwards Carolyn Davis and Annette Davis all played in the first half.
The second half started with fast-paced play when Goodrich flew down the floor and found Sutherland for two layups and McCray knocked down a threepointer, making the lead 17. McCray said the run fired her
team up for a better second-half performance.
"We are winning, but we are not playing the way we want to."
"That's as good as we've been out of the locker room," Henrickson said.
Senior guard Whitley Cox and freshman guard Victoria Timm seemed to be the only Bears to show up at Allen Fieldhouse. Cox flew by defender Sade Morris on her way to 14 points and Timm racked up 18 points in
SADE MORRIS Kansas guard
"We don't play hungry every day," Henrickson said. "Your habits will define you. They will either elevate you or cripple you."
24 minutes of play. Together they tallied 32 of the Bears' 54 points.
"She came in and played with no fear,"coach Jaime White said of Timm's performance.
Follow Max Rothman at www.twitter.com/maxrothman
— Edited by Alicia Banister
Kansas may have won by 27
points, but this game was by no means an indicator of a Top 25 team ready for Big 12 competition.