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Jayhawks defeat Lobos in WNIT

By Jayson Jenks

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

In the end, with ice raining down from the stands and fans erupting into a chorus of boos, Kansas’ season came full circle.

Not long ago, Kansas couldn’t win on the road, unable to pull out victories down the stretch of games. At one point this season, coach Bonnie Henrickson called her team soft, reduced to questioning their competitiveness after a string of disappointing and frustrating losses.

photo

Photo by Vanessa Sanchez/DAILY LOBO

Junior guard Danielle McCray leaps for a layup in the Jayhawks' quarterfinal victory again the New Mexico Lobos Monday night. By virtue of the victory, Kansas gets to play at home again Illinois State Wednesday evening.

Yet, there were Henrickson and her players, standing on a basketball court far from Lawrence, basking after defeating New Mexico on the road 78-69.

“This was a good, tough, gutsy win in a tough environment and a great environment for women’s basketball,” Henrickson said. “I thought we had great focus and concentration.”

Those descriptive words were far from Henrickson’s mouth three months ago when Kansas’ season appeared to be slipping away. Now, the Jayhawks find themselves in the semifinals of the Women’s NIT.

And maybe, as Henrickson hinted at after the game, the improvement has much to do with Kansas’ off-court developments as the fundamental steps the team has made on the basketball court.

“We talked today about how much we enjoy each other because we can laugh and make fun of each other,” Henrickson said. “You have to have confidence and you have to trust people to do that. I know that sounds silly because it’s not a basketball thing, but it’s a chemistry thing.”

Still, don’t be mistaken: The Jayhawks are playing much better basketball than earlier in the season, and that trend continued last night.

Kansas held New Mexico to just 35 percent shooting, while converting 49 percent of its attempts. Late in the game, as the Lobos clawed back, the Jayhawk defense provided key stops.

“We just locked down,” junior forward Danielle McCray said. “Before, we just let them cut across our faces on the on-ball screens and they were just doing whatever they wanted to do.”

For the first eight minutes in the second half, with the game up for grabs, McCray’s right hand fell silent.

This season, McCray has piled big performance on top of big performance. But perhaps never before this season has McCray been held scoreless for so long.

After that brief stint of inactivity, McCray erupted for eight consecutive points midway through the second half. She finished with 32 points and nine rebounds.

“I’m the type that likes to be under pressure,” McCray said. “I knew I had to step up for our team to win.”

Yet, the fact that Kansas managed to maintain a lead without McCray’s production is a testament to her supporting cast. For the first time in seven games, four players scored in double digits.

Freshman forward Aishah Sutherland’s ups and downs throughout the season have been well-documented. But, once again, Sutherland displayed her ability to change games.

She tied a career-high with 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and added four blocks.

Junior guard Sade Morris chipped in 14 points, while sophomore center Krysten Boogaard added 11.

“It creates and opens up things for other players to play their games,” Boogaard said.

Early in the game, a trend became very clear: If the Jayhawks lost to the Lobos, turnovers would be the main cause.

Kansas’ miscues — the Jayhawks biggest problem in losses this season — allowed New Mexico to jump out to a quick lead. The Jayhawks committed 10 first-half turnovers, but handled the ball with more care in the second half.

They had eight turnovers after halftime, but many of those came with the game all ready in hand.

“That was our emphasis going into the second half,” Boogaard said. “We knew we had to be better and buckle down.”

Throughout the game, New Mexico fans voiced their displeasure with fouls. And the numbers indicate they may have had a case.

The Jayhawks shot a season-high 36 free throws, making 26. The Lobos, meanwhile, made 21 free throws but took just 24 attempts.

But more than lopsided officiating, those numbers indicate an aggressive Kansas team — one that desperately wanted to continue playing in March despite a slow start to the season.

“I thought we were aggressive and I thought we used our length,” Henrickson said. “And I thought both teams were going at each other and battling. At this time of year, that’s going to happen.”

Comments

ShortyAsian24 (anonymous) says...

Congratulations Jayhawks!

March 31, 2009 at 2:43 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

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