Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Oklahoma State defeats Kansas 82-62

Kansas defeated despite early lead against OSU

The Cowgirls eliminated the Jayhawks from the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday night.

By Andrew Wiebe (Contact)

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Kansas City, Mo. — With the number of times sophomore guard Andrea Riley and the Cowgirls found themselves open under the basket, they must have thought they were in a pregame layup line.

”We just didn’t respond and get back and get underneath Riley,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We gave her a lane. I kept telling the guards she could take the ball and physically roll it to the rim and not hit anybody.”

Oklahoma State used 20 layups to beat Kansas 82-62 and eliminate them from the Big 12 Tournament for the second year in a row. The bad habits that plagued the Jayhawks all season came back to haunt them once again against the explosive Cowgirls. Costly turnovers? Check. Early foul trouble for key players? Check. Even Kansas’ normally dependable defense could be best described as lackadaisical.

“It was very frustrating,” sophomore guard LaChelda Jacobs said of the Jayhawks’ defensive struggles. “We couldn’t seem to find a way to stop the layups.”

It was a fitting ending for a Kansas squad that never lived up to the potential a sparkling 11-2 nonconference record suggested. Although Kansas jumped to an early 11-8 lead, Oklahoma State was always in control, ruthlessly exposing Bonnie Henrickson’s team’s weaknesses. The Jayhawks turned the ball over 18 times, sparking the Cowgirls’ offense and leading to 20 points off turnovers.

“It’s just a lack of discipline on the offensive end for us to turn it over,” Henrickson said. “I’m sure when you watch it live like I watch it live you think ‘I’m not sure what you saw.’ Then it’s even worse when you watch it on film and can pause it.”

Kansas couldn’t break down the Oklahoma State zone, and the Cowgirls’ constant penetration into the paint left sophomore guard Danielle McCray and freshman center Krysten Boogaard saddled with four fouls early in the second half. Just as the Jayhawks were starting to show signs of life behind Boogaard’s 10 early second half points, turnovers and Boogaard’s fourth foul allowed the Cowgirls to build a 28-point lead and effectively put the game on ice.

“It was important to get the foul on her,” Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke said about Boogaard’s fourth foul. “She is a great player, and she is going to be a great player in this league. She was changing the game for them.”

Henrickson said her team just didn’t have the emotional maturity to weather Oklahoma State’s run. Though the loss is a disappointing end to a disappointing conference season, Henrickson said she and her team were quietly optimistic about the possibility of WNIT play at Allen Fieldhouse next week.

“We’ll certainly know a lot more in the next couple days,” she said. “But it’s about managing the ups and downs and being able to bounce back.”

—Edited by Madeline Hyden

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