Kansas Travels To Oklahoma To Take On 10th-Ranked Sooners

Jan. 29, 2008

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Game Notes

OPENING TIP

The Kansas women’s basketball team travels to #10/11 Oklahoma for a Wednesday evening contest. KU, 12-7 overall and 1-5 in conference play, will attempt to pick up its first league road win when it travels Norman. OU, 13-4 overall and sporting a 3-2 mark in league play, enters Wednesday’s match-up 2-1 in home Big 12 contests. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Lloyd Noble Center and will be televised on the Sooner Sports Network.

FAST BREAKS

-Kansas freshman Krysten Boogaard turned in a solid performance in KU’s last outing versus Texas A&M. Boogaard tallied a team-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points and three blocks.

-KU will be facing its fifth ranked team on the season when they travel to #10/11 Oklahoma. KU is 0-4 versus ranked teams with losses to #11 Cal, #24/25 Oklahoma State, #6/7 Baylor and #20/21 Texas A&M.

-Kansas sophomore Danielle McCray has averaged nearly 10 rebounds per game over the last three outings. McCray pulled down 12 boards in KU’s win over Missouri. She followed that up with 10 caroms at Colorado and had seven more versus Texas A&M.

-The Jayhawks are ranked No. 32 in the latest collegerpi.com rankings, with a strength of schedule listed as the 15th best in the country.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA

The Sooners are 13-4 on the season, including a 3-2 mark Big 12 games. Oklahoma is 2-1 at home during Big 12 Conference play, with its lone home loss coming at the hands of Baylor. OU is led on the season by junior center Courtney Paris who averages 16.4 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. Paris, a consensus All-American in 2007, has turned in 78 consecutive double-doubles in her career and recently set a new Big 12 Conference career rebounding record. Freshman guard Danielle Robinson is also in double figures with 13.4 points per game, while leading the Sooners with 4.4 assists per game. Junior forward Ashley Paris and sophomore forward Amanda Thompson are two more double-digit scorers as A. Paris drops in 11.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and Thompson contributes 10.1 points to go along with 6.9 boards an outing. OU out-rebounds its opponents by nearly 16 rebounds per game. Oklahoma head coach Sherri Coale is 235-122 in her 12th season in Norman. Coale’s overall coaching record is the same.

KANSAS-OKLAHOMA SERIES HISTORY

The Jayhawks lead the all-time series 27-23, however, Oklahoma leads 12-9 in games played in Norman. Oklahoma is currently on a nine-game winning streak in the all-time serires. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 0-3 versus OU, including an 0-1 mark in games played in Norman.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

Kansas enters Wednesday’s contest with a 12-7 overall mark, including a 1-5 Big 12 Conference record after falling to #20/21 Texas A&M, 58-51, in its last outing. Sophomore guard/forward Danielle McCray is the top Jayhawk in scoring (14.7) and rebounding (7.4). McCray ranks in the top 10 in the Big 12 in both categories. Fellow sophomore guard Sade Morris is also in double figures in points per game with 11.5 tallies an outing. Morris also gives KU 4.2 boards and 2.6 assists per game. Freshman center Krysten Boogaard was inserted into the starting line-up after the team returned from its holiday break and ranks third on the team in scoring with 8.2 points a game to go along with 4.6 caroms per contest. Boogaard also leads the Jayhawks in blocks with 17 on the season. Senior forward Taylor McIntosh is second on the team in rebounding with 7.2 boards per game, while also dropping in 7.7 points. McIntosh is the team leader in field goal percentage as she connects on 53.1 percent of her shots. Junior point guard Ivana Catic is the team-leader in assists with 3.7 dishes per game, while also leading the Jayhawks in steals with 32 pilfers on the year. Freshman forward Nicollette Smith comes off the bench to provide 6.2 points per game and leads KU with 29 triples on the season. The Jayhawks are coached by Bonnie Henrickson who owns a 52-56 mark in her fourth season at the helm of the Kansas program. Henrickson owns an overall coaching mark of 210-118 in 11 seasons on the sideline.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

-Kansas has two players from the state of Oklahoma on its roster in sophomore Sade Morris (Norman) and freshman Nicollette Smith (Tulsa). Oklahoma has one native Kansan on its roster in freshman Lauren Willis (Overland Park). KU’s two Oklahomans on its roster matches the total number of Oklahomans on the OU roster.

-KU signee Angel Goodrich is a native of Tahlequah, Okla. Goodrich, who will be joining the Jayhawks in the fall of 2008, plays at Sequoyah High School, which is gunning for its fourth-consecutive state title this season. The 5-foot-3 guard was named the 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Oklahoma.

-Jayhawk sophomore Porscha Weddington’s father, Michael, played football at Oklahoma earning four letters as a defensive lineman. He went on to play professionally for the Green Bay Packers.