Kansas Hosts Colorado Looking To Avenge Previous Loss
Feb. 12, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes
OPENING TIP
The Kansas women’s basketball team will look to avenge a previous loss on the season when it plays host to Colorado (13-10, 2-8 Big 12) on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. CU took the two teams’ previous meeting, 59-41, in Boulder, and has now won two-straight in the series. The Jayhawks (13-9, 2-7 Big 12) are 10-2 at home this season and lead the all-time series 14-12 in games played in Lawrence.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas freshman Krysten Boogaard has been dominating the inside for KU in its last several outings. Boogaard led the Jayhawks with 20 points and a career-best 14 rebounds at KSU in their last outing. It marked her second-straight double-double and 20-plus point performance.
-KU’s game versus Colorado is the first of two-straight home games. The Jayhawks only have one stretch of multiple games at home in Big 12 play. KU will host Nebraska on Sunday, Feb. 17 to close the homestand.
-Sophomore LaChelda Jacobs had a strong performance in KU’s last outing. The 5-foot-10 guard posted 12 points and also had four rebounds in her 22 minutes off the bench.
-Kansas is ranked No. 33 in the latest RPI rankings on collegerpi.com. The Jayhawks’ strength of schedule is listed as the 13th toughest in the country.
A LOOK AT COLORADO
The Buffaloes enter tonight’s game with a 13-10 overall mark and a 2-8 ledger in Big 12 games. Colorado battled #10 Oklahoma in its last outing, before falling, 82-66, in Boulder. CU is led on the season by senior center Jackie McFarland with 18.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. McFarland also ranks second on the team in assists with 62 and blocks with 29 on the season. McFarland leads CU by shooting 57.7 percent from the field. Freshman Brittany Spears is adding 13.8 points and 7.0 rebounds an outing. Spears is the top player on the team in steals with 43. Bianca Smith comes off the bench to provide 9.9 tallies per game. Smith leads the Buffs with 54 three-point baskets on the season. Sophomore forward Aija Putnina is solid for CU with 8.0 points and 7.1 caroms per contest. The Buffaloes have recorded 50 more assists than their opponents on the season and have also doubled up the opposing team in blocks. Colorado head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller is 35-48 in her third season in Boulder. McConnell-Miller owns an overall mark of 126-136 in her eighth season.
KANSAS-COLORADO SERIES HISTORY
The Buffaloes lead the all-time series 32-28, including a 51-49 win in a game played in Boulder on Jan. 22. The two teams split the series last season. The Jayhawks own a 14-12 advantage in games played in Lawrence. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 3-4 versus CU, including a 1-2 mark in games played at Allen Fieldhouse.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas enters Wenesday’s contest with a 13-9 overall mark, including a 2-7 Big 12 Conference record after falling at #18 Kansas State, 64-58, in its last outing. Sophomore guard/forward Danielle McCray is the top Jayhawk in scoring (14.2) and rebounding (7.2). 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 10.7 tallies an outing. Morris also gives KU 4.0 boards and 2.4 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 9.4 points a game to go along with 5.5 caroms per contest. Boogaard also leads the Jayhawks in blocks with 26 on the season, as well as field goal percentage at 53.4 percent. Senior forward Taylor McIntosh is second on the team in rebounding with 6.7 boards per game, while also dropping in 6.8 points. Junior point guard Ivana Catic is the team-leader in assists with 3.6 dishes per game, while also collec ting 35 pilfers on the year. Freshman forward Nicollette Smith comes off the bench to provide 5.9 points per game and leads KU with 31 triples on the season. The Jayhawks are coached by Bonnie Henrickson who owns a 53-58 mark in her fourth season at the helm of the Kansas program. Henrickson owns an overall coaching mark of 211-120 in 11 seasons on the sideline.
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
– Kansas does not have any players from the state of Colorado on its roster, however, Colorado has one player from the state of Kansas in senior foward Jackie McFarland of Derby.
JAYHAWKS THINKING PINK
Kansas women’s basketball and Kansas Athletics will work to raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer when it takes part in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) “Think Pink” initiative on Sunday, February 17. Kansas will play host to Nebraska at 2 p.m. in a game that will see both teams dress in pink and white uniforms in an effort to raise breast cancer awareness. The “Think Pink” initiative is a global, unified effort to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. In just its second year, the initiative has grown to 600 participating schools nationwide. Kansas Athletics will donate $1 to the Breast Cancer Center at Lawrence Memorial Hospital for every fan in attendance to support breast cancer treatment and research. In addition, the first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a free pink t-shirt courtesy of Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Breast cancer incidence rates declined by 3.5% per year from 2001 to 2004. Treatment and research funding is critical to ensure this downward trend continues. In 2007 alone, doctors diagnosed an estimated 240,510 new cases of breast cancer in the U.S. Tickets may be purchased in person at the Allen Fieldhouse Ticket Office, over the phone at 800-34-HAWKS or online at www.kuathletics.com.
