Jayhawks Travel To Missouri Looking For Border Showdown Sweep
Feb. 5, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes in PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The University of Kansas women’s basketball team travels to Missouri for the second installment of this season’s Border Showdown on Saturday, Feb. 7. Game time at Mizzou Arena is slated for 1 p.m., with a live broadcast on FoxSportsNet. Kansas (13-7, 2-5) will be looking its second-straight win after defeating Colorado, 65-54, on Wednesday, while Missouri (10-11, 1-6) will be searching for its second-straight win over the Jayhawks in Columbia.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas is attempting to pick up its first Big 12 road win of the season when it travels to Missouri. KU is 0-3 on the road during conference play in 2008-09.
-The Jayhawks are looking to pick up their third win in Big 12 Conference play and also their first back-to-back wins in conference play since defeating Colorado and Nebraska in successive games in February last season.
-Junior guard-forward Danielle McCray has posted 20 or more points in 10 games this season, including a 24-point performance in her last outing. She has now scored 20 or more points in five-straight games. McCray, who is leading KU with 19.6 points per game, currently ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring behind only Andrea Riley of Oklahoma State.
-Jayhawk freshman Aishah Sutherland has come on strong in KU’s last three outings. Sutherland has averaged 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in the three-game stretch, doubling her season averages of 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
-KU has made 103 three-point baskets on the season, while holding its opponents to just 64. The Jayhawks have connected on 103-of-259 shots from beyond the arc, good for 39.8 percent, which ranks first in the Big 12 Conference. KU currently ranks fifth in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, led by junior Danielle McCray who has made 40.0 percent of her threes.
-Kansas junior Sade Morris has posted back-to-back double-figure performances since returning from a concussion which caused her to miss two games. Morris has posted 10 or more points in four of five Big 12 Conference games she has played in, including tying her career-high with 20 points in KU’s win over Missouri.
A LOOK AT MISSOURI
Missouri is 10-11 on the season, including an 1-6 mark in league play after falling to Kansas State in Manhattan on Wednesday. Senior guard Alyssa Hollins and junior forward Jessra Johnson top the Tigers in the scoring column as Hollins posts 13.2 points per game and Johnson comes into Saturday’s contest averaging 12.2 tallies per game. Johnson also tops the Tigers on the boards as she pulls down a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard RaeShara Brown is second on the team with 6.1 boards per game, while sophomore center Shakara Jones adds 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Head coach Cindy Stein is 170-153 in her 11th season at the helm of the MU program. Stein’s overall coaching mark is 235-178 in her 14th season in the business.
KU-MU SERIES HISTORY
The Jayhawks lead the all-time series 40-35, however, Missouri leads 17-14 in games played in Columbia. The two teams have split the Border Showdown in each of the last three seasons and the Jayhawks won the previous meeting this season, 75-58, in Lawrence. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 6-4 versus MU, including a 2-2 mark in games played in Columbia.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas enters Saturday’s game with a 13-7 overall record, including a 2-5 ledger in Big 12 Conference play. Led by a pair of double figures scorers in Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, the Jayhawks are out scoring their opponents by 11.1 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 19.6 points per game, while Morris adds 12.2. Sophomore Krysten Boogaard is next with 9.9 points per game. In addition, LaChelda Jacobs and Nicollette Smith are adding 7.9 and 6.8 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 46.4 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 37.2 percent field goal shooting. Four different Jayhawks are making better than 50.0 percent of their shots, led by Rebecca Feickert at 60.0 percent. The Jayhawks have recorded 160 steals compared to just 136 for their opponents, led by McCray with 35 pilfers. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 84 dimes in 20 games, while Ivana Catic has dished 60 assists and Morris 45. McCray is pulling down a team-leading 7.9 rebounds and Boogaard is grabbing 6.1 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 103-of-259 shots from beyond the arc, good for 39.8 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 38-of-95 shots. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 17-of-18 attempts. McCray has connected on 87.8 percent of her foul shots.
BORDER SHOWDOWN
Wednesday marks the 10th Kansas-Missouri meeting of the 2008-09 academic year in the annual Border Showdown with the women’s basketball game in Columbia. The winner of KU-MU head-to-head competition are awarded points. Currently, Missouri holds an advantage against Kansas, 7.5 to 7.0. Though the state rivalry dates back to the pre-Civil War era, the athletics rivalry started in 1891 with football and 1907 in men’s basketball. The Border Showdown trophy has been presented six times with MU winning four times – 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008 – and KU twice in 2004 and 2006.
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
-Kansas does not have any players from the state of Missouri on its roster, however, MU has four natives of the Sunflower state on its roster in freshmen Bekah Miles of Towanda, Kendra Frazier of Altamont and Bailey Gee of Andover and junior Marissa Scott of Iola.
-KU signee Marisha Brown is a native of the state of Missouri as she hails from Kansas City, Mo. Brown attended Missouri State as a freshman before transferring to Arkansas-Fort Smith for her sophomore season.
-KU and MU played one common opponent outside of league competition this season in Western Illinois. Both teams knocked off the Westerwinds in their respective home arenas.
