Monday, April 6, 2009
The tears in sophomore Krysten Boogaard’s eyes 25 minutes after the game showed that the Jayhawks aren’t celebrating finishing second in the WNIT.
But coach Bonnie Henrickson does think their strong run to finish the season will help out next year. She especially thinks playing in the WNIT championship will help her team.
“It’s heightened the awareness of the program and the kids,” Henrickson said. “It’s been a great platform for these kids to play on.”
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Kansas Women's Basketball: WNIT Chamionship
A record crowd of more than 16,100 filled Allen Fieldhouse to watch the Jayhawks compete in Saturday's WNIT Championship game against the USF Bulls.
Their run to the championship game, which they lost 71-75 to South Florida, illuminates the Jayhawks’ strong final stretch in which they won nine of their last 12 games. Two of those victories came over ranked Big 12 opponents. Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs said that she and her teammates should recognize exactly what they did over the last month and a half.
“We got to keep our heads up,” Jacobs said as she moved her eyes from the floor to the camera in front of her. “We did some really positive things down the stretch.”
The players were not looking into the future as much as Henrickson, but they all believed they will end up in a different place next year. In their opinions, a much, much better place.
“We definitely won’t be here next year,” Jacobs said. “We’ll definitely be in the tournament.”
The team loses senior point guard Ivana Catic, but the other four starters return. Next season will also see the long-awaited debut of freshman point guard Angel Goodrich, a highly-touted recruit who tore her ACL in the preseason. Jacobs thinks that she and Angel will share the point guard role next year.
Freshman Aishah Sutherland said that the summer will give her a chance to get better and hopefully become a starter. But she realizes she will have to work extremely hard to get that opportunity.
Junior Sade Morris said they will be able to use the problems of this season as a crutch next year should anything go wrong.
“We lose players, we go on a horrible losing stretch, we go on a great winning stretch and we kept it going, we made it to where nobody thought we would make it,” Morris said. “Next year, if anything comes our way, we’ll be like, ‘Well, we went through it last year, we can get through it this year.’”
Henrickson also said that the stretch run will give her team confidence.
“We’re so proud of the seniors,” Henrickson said. “The rest of us have to go back and work and grow and grow the program and be in the other tournament.”
— — Edited by Realle Roth
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Women’s team looks to future after WNIT
This team has their heads on straight, and that says the coaching will continue to move them on up that ladder of success.
Thanks, Lady 'Hawks, for a season to treasure and a future to anticipate. Next year's crowds will at least double this year's, and I look for about 6 or 8 more victories -- some of them on the road.
AFH and The Hill have plenty of room for another elite program, so keep bringing it!
RROOOCK CHAAALLK! GO 'HAWKS.
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