Thursday, March 8, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kansas’ season was supposed to center around the development of its seven freshmen, but senior guard Shaquina Mosley had her own story to write.
So it was appropriate that the focus, once again, revolved around Mosley in Wednesday’s season-ending loss to Baylor.
“A lot of people asked me at the beginning of the season if I regretted coming here,” Mosley said. “And I didn’t. Coming here has made me a better person.”
Mosley led the team with 16 points.
When seemingly everything was going wrong, Mosley was the leader the Jayhawks needed.
By all accounts, the first half was a disaster. Kansas went into the locker room shooting only 27 percent and down 35-19. Mosley had 10 of those 19 points.
nutgraf
Mosley didn’t let it faze her, though. She played as if the game was still a close one. Right before her tenure as a Jayhawk ended, she converted on a rare four-point play opportunity.
The Jayhawks also came out in the first half looking undoubtedly tired. A hard fought first round win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday, in which only seven players played all 40 minutes, was to blame.
Every Jayhawk that checked into the game seemed tired and unable to play with the same intensity as they did only 24 hours before.
Mosley was the only exception. She raced up and down the court for the first 20 minutes looking as fresh as could be.
Near the end of the first half, Mosley took a dangerous dive into the Baylor cheerleaders for a loose ball. For a second, it looked like she might not get up. But as anyone who has watched Kansas this season knew she would, Mosley got up.
Things weren’t the same in the second half. After adding an assist and a rebound to her stat line, the fatigue appeared even in Mosley.
The 5-foot-6 guard from Lancaster, Calif., that has served as the Jayhawks spark plug all year found herself in an unfamiliar position. Suddenly, Mosley was spending her time watching the game buried at the end of the bench.
Mosley played only eight minutes out of the final 20.
Although after the first half it didn’t look like things could get much worse for the Jayhawks, they did in the second.
Without Mosley’s direction, not only did Kansas’ shots continue not to fall, but the team played tentatively. Defensively, the guards merely watched as Bear guards Angela Tisdale and Jhasmin Player penetrated the lane on numerous occasions.
By the time Mosley checked back in with seven minutes remaining, the game was out of reach as Baylor had extended its lead to 59-40.
Mosley didn’t let it faze her, though. She played as if the game was still a close one. Right before her tenure as a Jayhawk ended, she converted on a rare four-point play opportunity.
Despite the disappointing loss, there’s no doubt what coach Bonnie Henrickson will remember from the 2006-2007 Kansas basketball season: the feisty guard in the No. 21 jersey, Shaquina Mosley.
“Shaq to the rack, that’s probably fair,” she said, “Just her aggressiveness and willing to step up and make big shots.”
Kansan sportswriter Case Keefer can be contacted at ckeefer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Jyl Unruh
Speed Trials
Tuesday night saw the two quickest guards in the conference battle it ...
Senior fuels first Big 12 women's win
Since arriving at Kansas at the beginning of last season, Shaquina Mosley ...
A knockout performance
Shaquina Mosley led the Jayhawks to another exciting win against Missouri on ...
Women’s basketball athletes earn honors
Four athletes named to Academic All-Big 12 team, two for the second ...
Concussion may keep Mosley on bench
After initial fears of a fractured cheekbone were quelled, Mosley could still ...
Women’s basketball team falls to Baylor
Coach goes to the bench early hoping to build momentum but the ...
Future uncertain for Jayhawks
Freshmen players were key to Jayhawk success this season. Their mid-season slump ...
Henrickson calls Mosley, Smith centerpieces of team
Coach Bonnie Henrickson honored Shaquina Mosley and Sharita Smith at the 2006-07 ...
First half was not fun for Jayhawks
Coach Bonnie Henrickson switched around the line-up later in the game to ...
Women basketball players ready for changes
Team to rely on experience next season
The Jayhawks won only two of their road game this season, but ...
Bragging rights at stake tonight in Columbia
Women hope for a win at Missouri to build momentum for the ...
Chalk another one up for Kansas
The Jayhawks took on Missouri Thursday night at Mizzou Arena. Stellar performances ...
Old Fashioned Upset
The 11th seeded women's basketball team pulled out the stops to defeat ...
Top 10 important sporting events this semester
Here are the ups, the downs and the record-setting events that left ...
Underdog KU faces OSU
“We don’t want to be able to say our last game we ...
Poor offense leads to women’s loss
Kansas had improved in its previous games, but it was not apparent ...
Younger players need to fill seniors' shoes
Jayhawks to take on Buffaloes
The women’s basketball team heads to the Rockies to take on Colorado. ...
Women’s basketball tuning up for season
The team recently returned from a trip to Australia and is now ...
Henrickson extension a product of recruiting
Despite an overall 40-49 record during her time at Kansas, Bonnie Henrickson ...
Jayhawks looking ahead
KU vs. NU Gameday
Kansas to face another ranked foe
Quick play dominates opening scrimmage
Women’s basketball has high hopes for tournament
The team faces off against Texas Tech tonight and hopes to turn ...
Sports Briefs: March 26, 2007
Here are the sports briefs for March 26, 2007.
Women's team scrimmages at Late Night
Bern and Wiebe: Women’s basketball season in ...
Kansan sports writers Taylor Bern and Andrew Wiebe announce their picks for ...
Women’s basketball shows improvement in 66-43 victory
Jayhawks hope to continue momentum after recovering from disappointing first half against ...
Henrickson has improved women's team
Women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson turned around a mediocre team since she ...
Morris breaks scoring slump against Pepperdine
Senior guard Sade Morris scores 22 points in victory.
Kansas almost blows early lead
With three minutes remaining in the first half of the Kansas women’s ...
Texas’ Augustin disappoints in neck and neck ...
Augustin’s teammates picked up the slack and pushed for 72-69 against Kansas
Bear-ly defeated
Jayhawks forget losses, work toward win in ...
The women's basketball team works toward a spot in the tournament.
Kansas blows past Colorado in first round
Sophomore guard Monica Engelman led the Jayhawks to a 71-45 first round ...
Poor shooting hurts Kansas in showdown with ...
Jayhawks only scored 16 points in first half in loss.
Fatigue plagues men’s basketball team in loss ...
The Jayhawks had chances to make a come back, but couldn’t execute ...
McCray ups conditioning, level of play
Surgery the summer before her first year as a Jayhawk slowed Danielle ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID