Jayhawks To Tangle With Colorado Wednesday

Jan. 31, 2006

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Kansas Jayhawks vs. Colorado Buffaloes
Game #19 – Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006 – 7:05 p.m. – Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)

Live video streaming, Gametracker and post-game results will be available on Kansas Athletics’ official website, kuathletics.com.

Radio
Jayhawk Radio Network. Brian Hanni (play-by-play), Brenda VanLengen (color).

Television
Metro Sports. Nate Bukaty (play-by-play), Patti Phillips (color).

Records
Kansas is 13-5 overall, 2-5 in the Big 12 and has lost its last two. Colorado is 6-14 overall, 1-7 in Big 12 play and has lost its last five.

Rankings
Neither Kansas nor Colorado is currently ranked in the USA Today/WBCA/ESPN Coaches or Associated Press Top-25 polls.

Coaches
Bonnie Henrickson is 25-21 in her second year at Kansas and 183-83 in her ninth season overall. The Buffaloes are coached by Kathy McConnell-Miller who is 6-14 in her first year at Colorado and 97-102 in her seventh year as a head coach overall.

Series History
Colorado leads the all-time series 29-27 after defeating KU earlier this season in Boulder. Kansas leads the series 13-11 in games played in Lawrence.

Jayhawk Storylines
– Kansas is coming off a 90-40 loss at No. 9/10 Baylor on Saturday. Crystal Kemp scored 10 points to reach double-figures for the 19th straight game dating back to last season.
– Erica Hallman became the 19th 1,000 point scorer in KU history at Baylor.
– Hallman ranks second in the Big 12 and 13th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 2.33.
– Kemp ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 21st in the country with 19.3 points per game.
– Freshman point guard Ivana Catic ranks 12th in the nation with 5.9 assists per game.
– The Colorado contest marks the first rematch for KU this season.
– With 27 games on the regular season schedule, Kansas’ next win would give the Jayhawks 14 victories and secure a winning record in the regular season for the first time since 1999-2000.

The Matchup
The Jayhawks return to the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Feb. 1 when the University of Kansas (13-5, 2-5 Big 12) will square off against the University of Colorado (6-14, 1-7 Big 12) in a game televised by Metro Sports. Tip time is 7:05 p.m.
KU enters the contest after losses at Kansas State and Baylor. Despite the setbacks, a pair of KU seniors reached personal milestones to cement their places in the KU record books.
At Kansas State, senior Crystal Kemp became the seventh player in KU history to accumulate over 1,400 career points and 700 career rebounds. After picking her 700th career board against Oklahoma State in Allen Fieldhouse, the Topeka, Kan., native dropped in her 1,400th point against the Wildcats with her first bucket. She enters the Colorado game with 1,428 career points, and needs just one point to catch former Jayhawk Angie Halbleib for ninth place on the KU all-time scoring list.
Senior Erica Hallman entered her name on the all-time 1,000 point scorers list when she got Kansas on the board at Baylor with 19:07 on the clock in the first half. The second-leading 3-point shooter in KU history currently sits in 19th place on the all-time KU scoring list with 1,003 points.
The game against Colorado is a rematch from Jan. 10 when the Buffaloes handed the Jayhawks a 74-65 loss in Boulder, Colo. Senior Kaylee Brown led all scorers with 19 points behind 5-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. CU post players Jasmina Ilic and Jackie McFarland each scored 18 points. McFarland posted a game-high 15 boards. The game was ultimately decided at the free throw line where the Buffs hit 16-of-28 attempts, while KU struggled to get to the line, going 0-for-2.
The meeting is the 57th all-time between Kansas and Colorado, with CU holding a narrow 29-27 advantage. In Lawrence, Kansas leads the series 13-11.
Colorado is directed by first year head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller. She arrived at CU after a six-year stint at Tulsa where she went 91-88.

Game Promotions
Promotions for the game include Women of Distinction Night with Emily Taylor Resource Center (poster giveaway), faculty/staff Appreciation Night ($2 single game ticket with valid KU ID) and Big Blue Night (fans that wear blue receive free popcorn).

More From The Last Game
The University of Kansas fell 90-40 to defending national champion Baylor University, Saturday, Jan. 28 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. Kansas moved to 13-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big 12, while Baylor improved to 15-3 overall and 5-3 in the league.
The Jayhawks held early leads of 4-3 and 10-8, but could not hold off the Lady Bears attack and trailed 46-23 at the half.
For the game, senior Crystal Kemp led the Jayhawks with 10 points. Senior Kaylee Brown added seven points and senior Erica Hallman grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Baylor had six players in double-figures, led by Sophia Young with 17 points and nine boards.
BU shot a red-hot 50.8 percent (33-of-65), while Kansas shot 33.3 percent on 16-of-48 shooting. Baylor led the battle of the boards 45-25.
Senior Erica Hallman became the 19th 1,000-point scorer in KU history when she hit a jumper from the right wing with 19:07 on the clock in the first half.

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson, one the top young coaches in the nation, is in her second season at the helm of the Jayhawks. In her first year on the Kansas sidelines, Henrickson led KU to its best record in five seasons and highest Big 12 finish in six campaigns. Following the season, Henrickson was honored with the Carol Eckman Award — given by the WBCA to a coach who exemplifies spirit, integrity, and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage and dedication to purpose. Henrickson came to KU after seven successful seasons at Virginia Tech where she compiled a record of 158-62 (.718). Her teams averaged 23 wins per season and advanced to postseason play all seven years including five NCAA appearances. Overall, the Willmar, Minn., native has been a part of postseason play in 11 of the last 12 seasons. She is 25-21 (.543) at KU and 183-83 (.688) in her career.

Jayhawk Starters
Kansas has used four different starting lineups in 18 games with sophomore forward Taylor McIntosh, senior forward Crystal Kemp and senior guard Kaylee Brown starting every game. Freshman Ivana Catic (17 starts), senior Erica Hallman (15), junior Shaquina Mosley (3) and junior Sharita Smith (1) have all received starting nods at a guard spot. Hallman has started the last 15 games. Catic started the first 17 contests before Mosley started the last game against Baylor.

Today’s Opponent – Colorado
Colorado (6-14, 1-7) comes to Lawrence on Wednesday, Feb. 1 on a five-game losing streak. The Buffaloes last win came against KU on Jan. 10 in Boulder, Colo. Since then, CU has lost at Kansas State, at Missouri, against Iowa State, against Texas A&M and at Nebraska.
The Buffaloes are coming off a 70-54 loss at Nebraska on Saturday. Sophomore forward Jackie McFarland posted 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Buffs. Sophomore guard Yari Escalera added 13 points and seven boards off the bench. Colorado shot just 36.4 percent from the field while Nebraska shot 50.9 percent.
McFarland leads CU with 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Junior forward Jasmina Ilic is second in scoring with 16.3 ppg and is the team’s top 3-point shooter with 38 treys.
Colorado averages 68.5 points per game, an average that dips to 60.4 against Big 12 foes.
In the first meeting between KU and CU, the Jayhawks got off to a quick start but Colorado made a run and led at halftime 33-28. Colorado controlled the second half for the 74-65 win. KU senior Kaylee Brown led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. Erica Hallman also hit five 3-pointers on her way to 17 points. Crystal Kemp was forced to sit much of the first half with foul trouble and finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
CU was led by Ilic and McFarland with 18 points apiece. McFarland grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as Colorado outrebounded KU 38-29. Colorado connected on 16-of-28 free throws, while Kansas only managed to shoot two charities, making none.
The Buffaloes are coached by Kathy McConnell-Miller in her first year at Colorado. She arrived in Boulder after a six-year stint at Tulsa, where she compiled a 91-88 record.

Kansas/Colorado Notes
Kansas and Colorado are meeting for the 57th time in history dating back to 1979. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Colorado leads 10-9. Colorado sophomore forward Jackie McFarland is a native of Derby, Kan. Colorado coach Kathy McConnell-Miller and Kansas men’s coach Bill Self were both head coaches at Tulsa during the 1999-2000 season. Kansas junior Shaquina Mosley and CU senior Tami Garnett both previously played at Central Arizona College. KU freshmen Ivana Catic and Marija Zinic as well as CU junior Jasmina Ilic are all natives of Serbia.

A Kansas Win Would
Make the Jayhawks 14-5 overall and 3-5 in Big 12 play … Give Kansas is first win against a Big 12 North opponent this season … Give KU and CU a season-split this season … Improve KU’s record against CU to 28-29 including a 14-11 mark in games played in Lawrence … Snap a two-game losing streak … Make the Jayhawks 14-1 at home this season … Improve head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record to 26-21 at Kansas and 184-83 in her career … Make the Jayhawks 623-419 all-time.

A Kansas Loss Would
Make the Jayhawks 13-6 overall and 2-6 in Big 12 play … Give KU its sixth loss in the last seven games … Make KU 27-30 all-time against Colorado, including a 13-12 mark in Lawrence … Give Colorado its second-straight win against the Jayhawks … Make the Jayhawks 13-2 at home this season … Make head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record 25-22 at Kansas and 183-84 in her career … Make the Jayhawks 622-420 all-time.

Most Wins Since 1999-2000
When Kansas defeated Oklahoma State on Jan. 22, it recorded its lucky 13th win of the season. The total is the most victories in a season for the Jayhawks since the 1999-2000 season when KU went 20-10 overall, 11-5 in the Big 12 and played in the NCAA Tournament. That team, led by senior Lynn Pride, was the most recent KU team to post a winning record.

First Win Over A Top-25 Team Since 2001
Kansas knocked off No. 23/24 Texas on Jan. 3 by a score of 70-61. The win ended a 36-game drought against Top-25 competition since a 69-61 win over No. 6 Iowa State on Feb. 17, 2001. Additionally, the victory ended a six-game losing skid to the Longhorns.

Reaching 70
Kansas has scored 70 or more points in 11 games and averages 70.3 per outing. Last year, the Jayhawks reached 70 points only four times all season. The last time KU averaged 70 or more points for an entire season was 1999-2000 when the team averaged 70.4. KU’s high scoring game this year came when the squad scored 100 points against New Orleans on Dec. 3. It marked the first time since Dec. 21, 2000 — when KU outscored Mississippi Valley State 116-34 — that Kansas reached 100 points. KU also reached 90 points against Wisconsin — marking the first time in six seasons Kansas scored 90 twice in one season. KU has scored less than 70 points in each of the last six games.

Taking Care Of The Ball
The Jayhawks have passed out 303 assists and made 483 field goals, or an assist for every 1.59 field goals made. KU’s 16.83 assists per game ranks second in the Big 12 behind Kansas State (16.84). Additionally, KU only turns the ball over 14.5 times per game for an assist/turnover ratio of 1.16, which ranks second in the league behind Iowa State (1.22). KU has finished a season with a positive assist/turnover ratio only once, in 1986-87, when the team sported a ratio of 1.18.

Attendance Boost
The Jayhawks have enjoyed an average of attendance of 4,131 in the last five home games including a season-high attendance in three-straight games between the Pepperdine and Texas contests. The crowd of 4,025 against La Salle ranked as the third-most in school history for a non-conference game, while the Pepperdine attendance of 3,622 ranked fourth. The 5,634 fans for the Big 12 opener against Texas was the most in the Bonnie Henrickson era.

Hallman Reaches 1,000
Senior Erica Hallman cemented her name in the Kansas record books when she hit a jumper from the right elbow with 19:07 in the first half at Baylor for her 1,000th career point. The Covington, Ky., native is the 19th player in KU history to reach the scoring plateau. Currently at 1,003 points, she is 21 points away from catching Tracy Claxton for 18th place on the all-time scoring list.

Kemp Among KU’s All-Time Elite
Crystal Kemp became the 18th player in KU history to reach 1,000 career points when she hit a jumper from the right wing with 18:13 on the clock in first half against Texas Tech as a junior last season. Against Birmingham-Southern this year, the Topeka, Kan., native collected her 600th career rebound. Twelve games later against Oklahoma State, she surpassed 700 career boards. At Kansas State, she scored her 1,400th point, making her the seventh Jayhawk in history to reach both 1,400 points and 700 rebounds. She continues to move up both career lists as she ranks among the top players to ever don the Crimson & Blue.

This & That
– KU trailed by as many as 18 points against Wisconsin. The 14-point halftime comeback for the victory tied for the third-biggest halftime comeback in program history.
– Kaylee Brown ranks fourth on the KU career free throw percentage at 77.3 percent (68-88).
– KU players have recorded 20+ point scoring games 13 times as Crystal Kemp has 10, Erica Hallman has two and Kaylee Brown has one. Kemp has nine 20+ games in the last 11 outings.
– Kemp reached 500 career made field goals against Pepperdine. Her current total of 568 ranks eighth on the all-time KU list.
– Hallman ranks second on the all-time KU 3-pointers list with 162 made. Angie Halbleib (1994-97) comfortably in first place with 237 career treys.
– Kansas leads the Big 12 in three-point shooting at 38.4 percent.
– Kemp is one blocked shot away from entering the KU top-10. She is sitting on 84 career blocks, and her next swat will tie her with Lynn Page and Tracy Claxton for ninth place.
– Kemp needs eight rebounds to reach the KU career top-10 in rebounding. She currently has 725.
– Kemp has moved into the KU career top-10 in minutes played with 3158.
– KU’s 50-point loss at Baylor was the largest margin of defeat in school history.
– Kansas wore red uniforms for the first time at Kansas State on Jan. 25.

No Place Like Home
Kansas plays an unprecedented 21 games in Allen Fieldhouse this season including two exhibition contests, all 11 non-conference matchups and eight Big 12 games. The game against Nebraska on Jan. 7 was the first road game for the Jayhawks this season. KU was originally scheduled to play in the UNO Lady Privateer Tournament in New Orleans on Dec. 2-3, but those games were moved to Lawrence as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Serbian Sensations
Kansas welcomes the addition of two international players in 2005-06 with the addition of freshmen Ivana Catic and Marija Zinic — both natives of Serbia & Montenegro. The duo has extensive experience playing together on various teams in their home country. The pair bring Kansas’ all-time list of international players to eight. Other international players to suit up for KU include Bente Dahl (Oslo, Norway – 1985), Sandra de Bruin (Beetgum, Holland – 1990), Suzi Raymant (Melbourne, Australia – 1996-2000), Fernanda Bosi (Americana, Brazil – 2000-01), Leila Mengüç (Stockholm, Sweden – 2000-04) and Valerie Migicovsky (North Bay, Ontario – 2001-03).

Kansas Inks Seven For `06-’07
Kansas signed seven recruits to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. Below is a quick look at those seven commitments for next season.
Player (position, height, hometown – high school)
Lindsay Ballweg (guard, 5-10, Overland Park, Kan. – St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Rebecca Feickert (forward/center, 6-2, Goodrich, N.D. – Sheridan County HS)
LaChelda Jacobs (guard, 5-10, Mansfield, Texas – Mansfield Summit HS)
Kelly Kohn (guard, 5-9, Adrian, Mich. – Adrian HS)
Danielle McCray (forward, 6-0, Olathe, Kan. – Olathe East HS)
Sade Morris (forward, 6-0, Norman, Okla. – Norman HS)
Porscha Weddington (forward, 6-1, Temple, Texas – Temple HS)

Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
In the only official poll conducted this season, Baylor was picked by the Big 12 Conference coaches to win the Big 12 Championship again in 2005-06. The Lady Bears received six first place votes, while Texas received two first place nods and Texas Tech got four votes for first place. The coaches believe Kansas will be better this season as the Jayhawks were selected to finish sixth (after finishing eighth last season). The only Big 12 North team picked higher than KU was Nebraska, who was picked fifth.

Kemp Wins Big 12 Player of the Week, Twice
Senior Crystal Kemp has been honored twice this season as the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week by a media voting panel for games played Dec. 5-11, and Dec. 19-Jan. 2. Kemp’s first honor came after averaging 22 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over UMKC and Wisconsin. She then was named Co-POW along with Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris for games played over the holiday period. In wins over Creighton, Pepperdine and La Salle, the Topeka, Kan., native posted 22.7 points and 8.7 rebounds while leading Kansas to a perfect 11-0 record in non-conference play for the first time in program history. Kemp joined Lynn Pride (1999), Suzi Raymant (1998) and Tamecka Dixon (1997) as the only KU players to win the award twice in a season.

Mosley Tabbed Preseason Big 12 Rookie of the Year
Junior transfer Shaquina Mosley was named the Preseason Newcomer of the Year in a vote of the Big 12 women’s basketball coaches released Oct. 18 by the conference office. A 5-6 junior guard, Mosley transferred to Kansas from Central Arizona Community College. She led her team to the NJCAA national championship last year while being named the 2005 WBCA Junior College/Community College Player of the Year.

Kemp Chosen Preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Senior Crystal Kemp was selected as a preseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention pick by a vote of the league coaches as released on Oct. 18. Last season, Kemp was named postseason All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after leading the Jayhawks with 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

Jayhawks Run The Table In Non-Conference
With a 75-72 win over La Salle on Dec. 30, Kansas did something it had never done before by starting a season 11-0 and finishing the non-conference part of the schedule undefeated. The perfect start surpassed the 1991-92 team which went 10-0 before becoming the first of nine straight Jayhawk teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

12-0 Not A Bonnie Best
Kansas started the season 12-0 which was not Bonnie Henrickson’s best career start. Her 1998-99 Virginia Tech team won 18 straight to open the season, and her last Hokie team in 2003-04 also rattled off 12.

An All-Star Staff
Joining Bonnie Henrickson on the sidelines are assistant coaches Karen Lange, Kyra Elzy and Katie O’Connor. Also on staff is director of operations Trena Anderson and administrative assistant Katie Capps. Lange, O’Connor and Anderson followed Henrickson from Virginia Tech, while Elzy and Capps both joined KU from Western Kentucky. Prior to WKU, Elzy also worked as an administrative assistant for Henrickson at Virginia Tech. At an average age of less than 29 years old, Henrickson’s three assistant coaches (Lange, Elzy, O’Connor) have already been part of a combined 19 NCAA tournaments, eight Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two National Championships, combined.

27 Games On TV
With 27 games on the tube, KU’s television package in 2005-06 is the finest in school history and among the very best in the nation for any men’s or women’s team. In fact, other than the Kansas men, no other Big 12 team has more games on television this season. The next closest team in the league is Texas Tech with 21, followed by Texas (16), Oklahoma (13), Baylor (11), Nebraska (10), Kansas State (9), Colorado (9), Iowa State (7), Missouri (6), Texas A&M (5) and Oklahoma State (4). The only two KU games not on TV are at Texas Tech and at Oklahoma. Overall, KU plays two games on Fox Sports Net, three games on FSN regional television and three contests on CSTV. Locally, 14 games will be produced and aired by Sunflower Broadband in Lawrence, and five contests will be produced by Metro Sports of Kansas City.

Increased Radio Coverage
The Jayhawk Radio Network has improved its coverage over the past two seasons. Stations carrying the Jayhawks include KLWN 1320-AM in Lawrence, KWIC 99.3-FM in Topeka, KFH 98.7-FM in Wichita and KXTR-1660-AM in Kansas City.

Up Next For KU
Kansas stays Lawrence to host Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 4. The game will tip off at 1 p.m. and be aired on Sunflower Broadband channel 6. The meeting is the first between the two teams this season. The day will mark National Girls and Women in Sports Day at KU. After ISU, Kansas goes back on the road for contests at Oklahoma on Feb. 8 and at Missouri on Feb. 11.