Women's Basketball Travels To Colorado Looking For Season Sweep

Feb. 16, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Game Notes in PDF Format

OPENING TIP

The University of Kansas travels to Boulder, Colo., to take on Colorado in a rematch of a game played in Lawrence just two weeks ago. KU defeated the Buffaloes, 65-54, on Feb. 4 and is looking for a season sweep over CU for the first time since 2005. Junior Danielle McCray poured in 24 points and grabbed six boards to lead Kansas to the win, while freshman Aishah Sutherland added 12 points and five rebounds in the game at Allen Fieldhouse.

FAST BREAKS

-Kansas is attempting to pick up a season sweep of Colorado when it travels to Boulder for Wednesday’s match up with the Buffaloes.

-The Jayhawks are looking to pick up their first conference road win since defeating Missouri on March 1, 2007. KU has lost 13-straight Big 12 road games.

-Junior guard-forward Danielle McCray had scored 20 or better in 12 games on the season, including seven of the last eight outings. McCray, who is leading KU with 19.0 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 six outings. Sutherland has averaged 6.8 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds in the six-game stretch, doubling her season averages of 4.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. She has posted double figures in rebounds in three of the six outings.

-KU has made 113 three-point baskets on the season, while holding its opponents to just 79. The Jayhawks have connected on 113-of-288 shots from beyond the arc, good for 39.2 percent, which ranks first in the Big 12 Conference. KU currently ranks fourth in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, led by junior Danielle McCray who has made 39.6 percent of her threes.

-Kansas sophomore Nicollette Smith tied a season-high with 18 points in KU’s game at Texas. Smith knocked down 3-of-7 shots from beyond the arc and also pulled down four rebounds. She followed up her 18-point performance with a career-best 11 boards against Oklahoma.

A LOOK AT COLORADO

Colorado (10-12, 2-8) enters Wednesday’s game looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Sophomore Brittany Spears leds the Buffs in scoring with 18.0 points per game and also on the boards with 8.l caroms per contest. Spears has knocked down 148-of-339 shots from the field, good for 43.7 percent and also leads CU with 26 blocks. Senior Kara Richards adds 11.8 points and 6.9 rebounds a game, while junior Bianca Smith gets 10.0 points per game, while leading Colorado with 54 three-point baskets. Freshman Alyssa Fressle turns in 8.4 points per game and is the top assister with 70 dimes. Fressle also leads Colorado in steals with 39 on the season. Richards led CU with 17 points and seven rebounds versus KU two weeks ago, while Spears finished the game with 10 points and seven caroms. CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller is 51-65 in her fourth season at the helm of the Buffalo program. Her overall coaching mark is 142-153 in 10 seasons in the business.

KU-COLORADO SERIES HISTORY

The Buffaloes lead the all-time series 32-30. KU, who defeated CU 65-54 on Feb. 4, is looking for a series sweep for the first time since winning both games in 2005. The Buffaloes own a 17-9 advantage in games played in Boulder. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 5-4 versus CU, including a 1-3 mark in games played in Boulder.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

Kansas enters Wednesday’s game with a 13-10 overall record, including a 2-8 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 8.0 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 19.2 points per game, while Morris adds 11.8. Sophomore Krysten Boogaard is next with 9.4 points per game. In addition, LaChelda Jacobs and Nicollette Smith are adding 8.0 and 7.2 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 38.6 percent field goal shooting. Three different Jayhawks are making better than 50.0 percent of their shots, led by Rebecca Feickert at 60.0 percent. The Jayhawks have recorded 179 steals compared to just 161 for their opponents, led by McCray with 35 pilfers. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 88 dimes in 23 games, while Ivana Catic has dished 66 assists and Morris 54. McCray is pulling down a team-leading 7.3 rebounds and Boogaard is grabbing 5.6 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 113-of-288 shots from beyond the arc, good for 39.2 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 43-of-109 shots. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 19-of-20 attempts. McCray has connected on 86.4 percent of her foul shots.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

-Kansas sophomore center Krysten Boogaard and Colorado freshman Julie Seabrook both attended the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) in their native Canada prior to coming to the United States for college.

-The Jayhawks and Buffaloes shared two common opponents outside of conference play this season in Saint Louis and Pepperdine. Both the Jayhawks and Buffs came out on the winning side versus SLU and Pepperdine.

LAST TIME VERSUS COLORADO

For the fifth game in a row, junior Danielle McCray scored 20 or more points as the Kansas women’s basketball team broke a four-game losing streak by defeating Colorado, 65-54, in Allen Fieldhouse. McCray led all scorers with 24 points and chipped in a team-high six rebounds. The Jayhawks led by as many as 15 in the second half, but had to fight off a 10-2 run by CU that cut the lead to seven points with four minutes remaining. A put back by freshman Aishah Sutherland stopped the run and KU pushed the lead back out to nine points. The Buffaloes shot 60 percent in the second half, but couldn’t overcome a 29 percent first half performance as Kansas claimed the 11-point victory. Colorado was led by Kara Richards with 17 points. The Buffs hit three three-pointers to start the game before KU battled back to tie the game at 11. Kansas then took its first lead of the game, 16-14, at the 7:05 mark on a three-pointer by sophomore Nicollette Smith. The Jayhawks finished the half on a 16-2 run, entering the locker room with a 32-18 lead. Junior Sade Morris tallied 13 points and led KU with three steals while Sutherland recorded a career high 12 points on six-of-eight shooting. Junior LaChelda Jacobs led the Jayhawks with five assists and McCray dished out four assists. Kansas turned 21 Colorado turnovers into 23 points and won the rebounding battle 65-54 on the way to 19 second-chance points.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 14-10 for the second-consecutive season … Give the Jayhawks a 31-32 mark versus Colorado, including a 10-17 mark in games played in Boulder … Mark Kansas’ first win over Colorado in Boulder since Jan. 25, 2005 … Make KU 78-125 all-time in Big 12 Conference action and a 277-264 all-time mark versus Big 12 Conference schools … Improve Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson to 6-4 versus Colorado … Give Henrickson a 71-75 mark at Kansas and a 229-137 overall record … Make Kansas 667-473 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Drop KU to 13-11 overall and 2-9 in Big 12 play … Make the series versus CU 30-33, including an 5-5 mark for KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson … Give the Jayhawks a 9-18 mark versus the Buffs in games played in Boulder … Make KU 77-126 overall versus the Big 12 Conference … Drop Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record at KU to 70-76 and her overall mark to 228-138 … Make Kansas 666-474 all time.