Rachel Seymour

Erica Hallman, junior guard, drives around Missouri’s Carlynn Savant during the second game of the season on Feb. 5 in Columbia, Mo. Hallman ended the game with 12 points and 26 minutes of playing time, leading the Jayhawks to a 60-48 victory.

For most teams, a 12-16 record would be reason for a program to rethink its path. For the Kansas women’s basketball team, the 2004-05 season marked progress in the first year of coach Bonnie Henrickson and showed some promise for the coming years.

“For the most part, we have grown a lot and we have more to grow on,” junior forward Crystal Kemp said.

One of the biggest positives from this year’s campaign was the eighth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference.

“We were expected to finish 11th in the Big 12,” Kemp said. “So I think we did great as far as finishing eighth.”

Prior to the regular season, the Jayhawks were selected to finish 11th by the league’s coaches’ poll, but patched together an undermanned roster to and ended with a 5-11 conference record.

Two victories each against Missouri and Colorado showed that Kansas was on its way out of the Big 12 cellar. A home upset of Nebraska, 67-53, was the final victory of the year and showed the potential of the current program.

The final product that finished ahead of expectations in the league was much different from the team that opened the year with a 53-49 home loss to Texas-Arlington.

After struggling with the tough season opener, the Jayhawks notched three consecutive victories against Sacred Heart, UMKC and Denver, but still struggled to find an offensive identity.

In an in-state match-up against Washburn, the Jayhawks were dealt a stinging 62-59 defeat to the eventual Division II Champion Lady Blues and found themselves searching for any momentum.

Momentum would be difficult to find, however, in a schedule that would pit the Jayhawks against a continuous schedule of Top 25 teams.

Kansas’ faced its first ranked opponent in its first road game of the season, a 62-45 defeat at then No. 18 Minnesota. Despite the setback, the smaller Kansas roster held the Golden Gophers in check for the first half before losing control after the break.

A tough road defeat did not deflate Kansas, though, but rather prepared them for the grueling road ahead in the Big 12 Conference regular season schedule.

The Jayhawks took four of their next five contests to charge into the league with a 7-4 record.

Once conference play started, the strength of the Big 12 asserted itself in the form of four consecutive defeats, three at the hands of ranked opponents. The fourth setback was a heartbreaking 62-60 loss at Texas A&M.;

Even with the early problems of the difficult schedule, Henrickson remained confident in her team’s development.

“We had a couple disappointing performances certainly, but I’m proud of the kids for staying off the roller coaster,” Henrickson said.

Following the 0-4 Big 12 start, back-to-back victories against Missouri and Colorado gave the team confidence and restored hope for the season.

Eventually, the strength of schedule won out and Kansas closed out the season with a losing record. At one point, Henrickson saw an opportunity for an NIT berth.

“I think we’ve made progress,” Henrickson said. “We went through a stretch down at the end where we felt like there’s a chance for us to be in the NIT.

Even though they mounted strong performances against top conference foes Baylor and Iowa State, the Jayhawks fell short of qualifying for the tournament.

“The growth we’ve had this year isn’t enough, obviously, because we’re not postseason,” Henrickson said. “We don’t have a winning record.”

In the Big 12 tournament, Missouri spoiled a Kansas attempt to complete the three-game season sweep as the Tigers bounced the Jayhawks out of the first round, 62-57.

Starters were forced to log heavy minutes throughout the season. Senior guard Aquanita Burras, junior guard Erica Hallman and Kemp all ranked in the Top 10 in conference in minutes played.

Burras carried the burden of guarding some of the league’s most explosive scoring guards, and developed a reputation of being one of the best defenders in the conference. The 2004-05 season marked the end of the line for Burras and Blair Waltz.

“We’re losing two great players in Aquanita and Blair,” Hallman said. “We’re going to miss them a big deal.”

Down low, the post presence of Kemp and freshman forward Taylor McIntosh was left to battle the Big 12’s best front courts. Kemp responded by leading the team in scoring and rebounding, while McIntosh proved she was a force to be reckoned with on the offensive boards. McIntosh snared an average of more than three offensive rebounds per contest, good for fifth in the Big 12.

Hallman led the scoring from the outside, notching a second-best 13.1 points per game to go with five assists.

For their efforts, Hallman and Kemp were named Honorable Mention All-Big 12. The tandem was the first Kansas duo to earn All-Conference honors since the 2000-01 campaign.

Bonnie Henrickson’s first year did not have a storybook ending, and the team is left with much room for improvement in the off-season.