THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009
SPORTS
A
3B
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Focus turns to defense for road opener at Iowa
BY MAX ROTHMAN
mrothman@kansan.com
The comforting familiarity of Allen Fieldhouse will be nothing but a distant memory during today's first road test.
But the mysteries of the road can often tell a different tale.
The layhawks look to improve to 2-0 against a team they defeated 77-56 last year in Lawrence.
No. 19 Kansas will travel north to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"You walk in the door down 10," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "You've got to have some toughness and some resiliency to be successful."
Senior guard Sade Morris has battled on the road for years and says that it's important to come out with a bang.
Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland goes up to block the shot of an Oral Roberts University player during the Jayhawks' regular season opener Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas will travel to face Iowa tonight in its first road name of the season. Andrew Hoxey/KANSAN
"You've got to make yourself feel comfortable and get a couple of easy baskets." Morris said.
The Hawkeyes are already 2-0, after defeating Santa Clara and Illinois State last weekend.
Coach Lisa Bluder runs a young team in her 10th season in charge, led by Jenny Kachine Alexander.
The versatile guard is already averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds per game this season and is no stranger to the triple-double.
Last year she became the first player in Big Ten women's basketball history to accomplish the rare feat twice in one season.
Sophomore guard Kamille Wahlin is also a dual threat with her scoring abilities and gifted passing instincts.
Freshman center Morgan Johnson's raw ability and 6-foot-5 stature sparks a match-up to watch as she dukes it out with similarly 6-5 junior center Krysten Booquard.
"They're big and they shoot the ball really well," Henrickson said.
In an attempt to decelerate Iowa's weapons and in reaction to last Sunday's sloppy victory against Oral Roberts University, Kansas will undoubtedly have a collective focus on defense.
"There's no way that we should let a team come in here at our home court and score 80 points, regardless of how many points we score," senior guard Kelly Kohn said.
KEY TO THE GAME:
Conditioning
Kohn said the team needs to press the ball for four quarters and
Notes
Several Iowa Hawkeyes players are out with injury for this early season match-up against the No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks. This has forced several younger players to step into startling roles and also depleted the Hawkeyes' depth. In Iowa's last game only six players earned more than 16 minutes and the players coming off the bench scored a measly total of three points. Kansas runs an up-tempo style of offense and will likely come out fast as they did by scoring 64 first half points against Oral Roberts last Sunday. Without production from players coming off the bench, Iowa's starters will likely be gasping for air at several points throughout the game.
KEEP AN EYE ON:
Aishah Sutherland
Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland made quite a statement in the first game of the 2009-10 regular season. Against
Sutherland
In the first game of the season, Oral Roberts, Sutherland recorded a career-high 24 points, easily surpassing her former career high of 15 points. Sutherland also played exceptionally well in Kansas's two exhibition games and seems to have started this season right where she left off last season. In the Jayhawks run to the WNIT championship game last year Sutherland averaged 11.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Expect Sutherland to continue playing on a high level
against Iowa as she shows no signs of slowing down and has played some of her basketball in the second half of games this season.
OPPONENT TO WATCH:
Kachine Alexander
Andrew Taylor
Alexander
iowa Hawkeyes junior guard Kachine Alexander has been the driving force behind her team's imprintmen 2-0.
start. In an average of 34 minutes of playing time this season, Alexander has grabbed a total 30 rebounds and lit up the scoreboard with 40 points. Against Oral Roberts, Kansas struggled to defend freshman guard Kevi Luper, a player similar to Alexander. Luper scored 24 points and grabbed four rebounds last Sunday. That bodes ill for the Jayhawks, but Henrickson and her players have vowed to make an improvement on defense. They will have a big test tonight so the
have a big test tonight as they attempt to contain Alexander
deny passes, forcing the Hawkeyes to work for their points.
The game has amassed greater implications with preseason Big 12 favorite No. 8 Baylor dropping its opener to No. 6 Tennessee last Sunday.
Sandwiched between Baylor and Kansas in the preseason polls, No. 10 Texas fell to No. 1 Connecticut Tuesday, giving Kansas an early lead in the fight for the Big 12 crown.
"We've got to come out and make a statement," Morris said.
The only time Kansas has played in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena, they snagged a victory in the second round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament.
And Iowa certainly hasn't forgotten about last year's loss in Allen Fieldhouse.
"There's a little bit of a target on our backs," Kohn said. "Iowa's definitely going to want some revenue."
The heated showdown will
have a lighter side to it as well, as the annual "Buck Night" means $1 tickets enable even the most impoverished students to check out the action.
Kansas knows that regardless of the outcome, it's still too early to use this game as a barometer for the future.
"If we win it doesn't guarantee a great year and if we lose it doesn't guarantee a bad year," Henrickson said.
Follow Max Rothman at www.
twitter.com/maxrothman.
— Edited by Sarah Kelly
Charlotte Chris Braswell and Duke's Kyle Singler battle for a rebound during the second half of a National Invitation Tournament game in Durham, N.C., Tuesday. Duke won 101-59
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Smith returns in Duke victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DURHAM, N.C. — Nolan Smith scored a career-high 24 points in his return to Duke's lineup, and the ninth-ranked Blue Devils routed Charlotte 101-59 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Jon Scheyer added 20 points and Kyle Singler had 17 for the Blue Devils (3-0), who never trailed, hit 12 3-pointers and shot 52.9 percent.
Duke went up by double figures to stay before Charlotte hit its first field goal and cruised into next week's semifinal match-up at Madison Square Garden against the TCU-Arizona State winner.
Sloppy play and 33.9 percent shooting kept them from their first 3-0 start since 1995 and denied them a second straight victory against a ranked opponent dating to last season's win against then-No. 17 Xavier.
Shamari Spears had 20 points to the overmatched 49ers (2-1)
They had 17 turnovers - 12 in
Charlotte was expected to provide some measure of resistance for the Blue Devils, who were short-handed during their first
the first half, when this one was decided.
two games due to injury and Smith's suspension yet routed North Carolina Greensboro and Coastal Carolina by an average of nearly 30 points.
But with Smith back in the lineup after sitting out two games for playing in its unsanctioned summer league, Duke had little trouble claiming its NCAA-record 71st straight nonconference victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium and 31st consecutive home win against
Perhaps the only negative in the first half for Duke; Scheyer committed his only turnover of the season in 103 total minutes.
Smith seemed determined to make up for lost time. He reeled off eight quick points in just more than 3 minutes, surpassed his previous best — a 21-point outing
at Wake Forest two seasons ago as a freshman — roughly 8 minutes into the second half and finished 9 for 15.
Meanwhile, Charlotte's offense at times resembled a one-man show. Spears, a transfer from Boston
College who was no stranger to the Cameron Crazies, had his second straight 20-point performance as a 49er.
only at
But none of his teammates had more than six points — a big reason why Charlotte was denied its first victory against a top 10 team since 2004.
Miles Plumlee added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Brian Zoubek added 13 boards for the Blue Devils, who made the first half look like one 20-minute-long burst of dominance.
They went up 14-2 before the 49ers' first basket — Rashad Coleman hit a layup roughly $3\frac{1}{2}$ minutes in — as part of the 20-6 burst they used to begin the game. By the midpoint of the half, they were up by 20 on Scheyer's 3-pointer in transition, and pushed the lead to 30 on Singler's finger-roll with $3\frac{1}{2}$ minutes before the break.
Perhaps the only negative in the first half for Duke: Scheyer committed his only turnover of the season in 103 total minutes.
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