Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Coach Bonnie Henrickson flipped on tape of Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley and did a double-take.
“Oh, God, she’s so quick. I mean, she’s ridiculously fast,” Henrickson said. “Sometimes I have to look at it and go, ‘Am I on a speed-ahead or not?’ But it’s regular speed. She’s just really, really quick.”
The question for the Jayhawks — and for any team playing against an elite scorer — is this: Let Riley score and limit the Cowgirls’ other players or focus the defensive game plan around shutting down Riley?
In discussing Riley’s ability, Henrickson seemed to provide the answer.
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When/Where...
Tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.
Who to watch for...
Junior guard Andrea Riley. It all goes through the 5-foot-5 guard from Dallas. She averages nearly 20 shots per game. When she does give up the rock, she does it very well. She gets more than six assists a game, as well. She may be little, but she can get her shot off quick and she is always looking to score.
What to expect...
An Oklahoma State team that badly needs a victory. The Cowgirls took a hard loss to Texas Tech and in turn the Red Raiders supplanted them in ESPN’s latest Bracketology. The Cowgirls are now on the outside looking in. A loss to Kansas would end their hopes completely.
Why Kansas will win...
Kansas put together a complete 40 minutes in the Jayhawks victory against No. 21 Iowa State and will need to again to win in Stillwater. It will not be easy, and Riley will keep it close, even by herself. But Danielle McCray and Sade Morris will split the scoring load and be too much for the Oklahoma State defense.
How the game is important...
Kansas is still looking at a potential bid to the WNIT. This team will get better with every game it plays, so if the Jayhawks play a few more at the end of the year, they will have more experience for next year.
Magic number...
27.2 percent — Riley’s shooting percentage from behind the three-point line. She sometimes settles for a deep heave, and if the Jayhawks can limit her penetration they might be able to make her less effective.
“No one has shut her down,” Henrickson said. “Nobody has stopped her.”
Guarding Riley, the Big 12’s leading scorer, will be an all-hands-on-deck effort tonight at 7 at Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena. But senior guard Ivana Catic and junior guard Sade Morris will shoulder much of the responsibility.
The diminutive 5-foot-5 Riley will be the smallest player on the court. What Riley lacks in size she makes up for in virtually every other aspect.
“Well, she can do everything. She can shoot it from half-court. She has a jumper and she can penetrate to the hole,” Morris said. “I’m going to have to find an area where I’m close enough where she won’t shoot it but not so close that she’ll just blow right past me.”
“In one blink, she can be past you,” said Catic.
Riley’s most outstanding traits are speed and an ability to drive toward the basket almost at will. But failing to mention the rest of Riley’s skill set would be a slight against her offensive ability.
While watching film with Kansas’ point guards, Henrickson often pressed pause, allowing her guards to admire Riley’s vision and split-second decision-making.
“We feel like she’s going to get hers,” Catic said. “Now the question is how many shots is she going to take? How many turnovers? And then, of course, the contributions of everyone else.”
Therein lies the key for Kansas.
Expecting to shut down Riley, who averages nearly 27 points per game in conference play, is foolish. But there’s little doubt that Kansas must limit the rest of the Cowgirls’ production.
“There’s some of Riley that is just not defendable,” Henrickson said. “I mean, she has that kind of speed ... You’ve got to be able to slow Riley down if you can, but you can’t have contribution from others. You have to be able to shut everybody else down.”
Last season, Riley torched the Jayhawks for 49 points and made 54 percent of her attempts in two games — both Kansas losses.
Still, the depth of Riley’s offensive success goes beyond any physical ability. From previous meetings, Catic noticed a certain swagger — a willingness to continue shooting and attacking.
“The best thing about her is her confidence,” Catic said. “She really believes that every shot is going to go in and if one doesn’t go in, she’s going to get the next one.”
In preparation for Riley, the Jayhawks returned to the fundamental basics of defense: Stay low, don’t bounce, and keep a body between the offensive player and the basket.
In doing so, the Jayhawks hope to limit, but not necessarily shut down, Riley.
“She’s their leader in every single way,” Catic said. “If she gets emotional, everyone else gets emotional — in a good or bad way. That’s why it’s so important that we contain her and don’t let anybody scores.”
— — Edited by Chris Hickerson
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