With this year’s speedy athletes, the KU women’s basketball team’s primary offensive gameplan is centered around running.

“Everybody’s got to run,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said.

Right off a rebound, many Kansas possessions will essentially function as a mad dash to the hoop on the other side. First one to get there wins.

“A running game,” senior guard Sade Morris said.

But will these transition possessions conclude with easy layups or contested jump-shots? What’s it going to be? Well, that depends on who gets there first. Morris thinks it will be Kansas.

“It’s just gonna make it easier for us to get in a rhythm offensively,” Morris said.

A seam-splitting transition game can disrupt both sides of the opposition’s play. Defensively, opponents will have to match the blazing tempo of Kansas’ sprinting bigs and not forget about the patient shooters waiting close by. Players will have to adjust from a near sprint to a stout defensive position in an instant. But while defenses are making this switch, Kansas will be cruising right past, driving to the hoop for a high percentage shot.

Henrickson said defensive transition is the most difficult thing to teach, and Kansas will attack this commonly found weakness.

“It’s when the defense is most vulnerable,” Henrickson said. “Why not try to take advantage?”

On the offensive side of the ball, opponents will undoubtedly get some break-away baskets of their own. However, teams not used to running a fast-paced offense will struggle to adjust. Like in football, regularly huddled offenses thrown into a no-huddle scramble will adapt at a sluggish pace. Teams can only optimize their play with what they are already used to. So as long as Kansas keeps up the speed, they will be ready to defend.

“You have to worry about getting back so they won’t beat you down the court and get an easy bucket,” freshman guard Angel Goodrich said.

And once the defense makes a stop, it’s back to running again. As they charge from end-to-end Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland and junior center Krysten Boogaard will present conflicts for almost any team. The towering twosome will be just an elevated pass away from an easy basket.

“When our bigs commit to running like they did Sunday, it opens things up on the perimeter,” Henrickson said.

Senior guards Danielle McCray and Morris will be waiting in the wings, ready to shoot if defenders focus their attention solely on Sutherland and Boogaard. There will be open shots to take. But it all starts with the point guard.

Angel Goodrich, a freshman who seems to have grasped the role as floor general, will need to keep her eyes open and spread the ball around to her numerous scorers. If she can equally distribute the rock, opposing teams will have to find ways to stop several attacks, rather than focusing on one player.

Her teammates say they think she is more than ready to carry the load.

“She has that quickness and speed,” Morris said. “She sees things before they happen.”

Goodrich said she knows she hold the key to the door of potential match-up nightmares.

“If you can run and gun and get a layup, that’s a lot easier than running a play,” Goodrich said.

The transition game works like a five player weave. Ideally, Sutherland or Boogaard gets the rebound first. Then they dish it to Goodrich, who dribbles the ball up the floor. Then Goodrich makes her choice. Should she flip it inside to Sutherland so she can take it to the hoop herself, or kick it back out to a shooter? Should she work the ball around the perimeter and let McCray or Morris create their own shot? Or maybe Goodrich will bluff with her eyes and take the ball to the hoop herself. The options are varied and always opportunistic.

“We’ve got a point guard that can push, we’ve got wings that can push and we’ve got posts that are gonna run,” Morris said.

— Edited by Betsy Cutcliff