Women Go For Second Road Win At Texas Tech

Feb. 21, 2006

Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Tech Lady Raiders
Game #25 – Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006 – 7 p.m. – United Spirit Arena (15,050)

Radio
Jayhawk Radio Network: Nate Bukaty (play-by-play), Brian Hanni (color).

Television
None.

Records
Kansas is 15-9 overall, 4-9 in the Big 12 and is coming off a win at Iowa State. Texas Tech is 12-12 overall, 7-6 in Big 12 play and has lost its last two.

Rankings
Neither Kansas nor Texas Tech is ranked.

Coaches
Bonnie Henrickson is 27-25 in her second year at Kansas and 185-87 in her ninth season overall. The Lady Raiders are coached by Marsha Sharp who is 569-187 in her 24th year at Texas Tech and as a head coach overall.

Series History
Texas Tech leads the all-time series 8-3 and has won the last six meetings in the series. The Lady Raiders lead 4-1 in games played in Lubbock, Texas.

Jayhawk Storylines
– Kansas is coming off a 57-56 overtime win at Iowa State. It marked the fourth straight game the Jayhawks scored 57 points. Senior Erica Hallman led KU with 18 points.
– Freshman Marija Zinic posted a career high 14 points in the Iowa State win. She scored 12 of those points in the second half comeback, including KU’s last eight of regulation.
– Senior Crystal Kemp has scored in double-figures in her last 25 games, dating back to the final game of last season. She ranks eighth on the KU all-time scoring list with 1,536 career points.
– Kansas is looking for its second win on the road this season and its third win over a Big 12 South opponent when it faces Texas Tech.
– Kansas’ 16 bench points at Iowa State were its most in a Big 12 game this year.
– After Texas Tech, Kansas returns home to face its two biggest rivals in Missouri and Kansas State. The Jayhawks face the Tigers on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. on Fox Sports Net. KU plays K-State on Thursday, March 2 which will be Senior Night in Allen Fieldhouse.

The Matchup
The University of Kansas (15-9 overall, 4-9 Big 12) will travel to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech University (12-12 overall, 7-6 Big 12) for a contest in United Spirit Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The game, which tips off at 7 p.m., is the final regular season road contest for the Jayhawks this season.
The Jayhawks are coming off their first road win of the season, a 57-56 overtime victory over Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. After a slow start and a six point halftime deficit, KU fought back behind sophomore Marija Zinic who scored 12 points in the second half. Zinic finished the game with a career-high 14 points.
The Jayhawks have been led this season by the senior trio of Crystal Kemp, Erica Hallman and Kaylee Brown. Kemp averages 19.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game to rank among the league leaders in both categories. In fact, Kemp is just one of four players in the Big 12 to average 19 or more points and eight or more rebounds. The others are Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, Sophia Young of Baylor and Kemp’s counterpart in the lane in this game LaToya Davis of Texas Tech.
Backing up Kemp are long-range shooters Hallman and Brown. Hallman has hit 55 treys this season and averages 14.0 points per game. Brown is third on the team with 12.4 ppg, and has hit 53 three-pointers.
Freshman Ivana Catic leads the team in assists with 5.3 per game and Kemp is tops in blocked shots with a total of 19 for the season. The Jayhawks shoot 43.7 percent from the field and lead the league in 3-point accuracy at a clip of 37.3 percent. Although KU shoots just 67.7 percent from the free throw line for the year, the Jayhawks have improved recently hitting 89.2 percent of their charities over the last six ballgames.
Texas Tech enters the game after losing its last two games on the road at Iowa State and Baylor. Last game at Baylor, the Lady Raiders fell to the Lady Bears 73-60. Davis led TTU with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Erin Grant added 19 points and 10 assists. Texas Tech burned the nets for 52.2 percent shooting while holding BU to just 41.0 percent, but were outshot 20-9 at the free throw line. Baylor outrebounded Texas Tech 35-26 and forced 23 Lady Raider turnovers.
Texas Tech leads the all-time series over Kansas 8-3 including a 4-1 mark in games played in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech has won the last six in the series. Last year in Lawrence, the Lady Raiders defeated the Jayhawks 66-53.

More From The Last Game
It took overtime, but the University of Kansas (15-9, 4-9 Big 12) picked up its first road win of the season by downing Iowa State (15-9, 6-7 Big 12) by a score of 57-56. The win completed Kansas’ first season sweep of the Cyclones since 2000.
KU moved to 2-0 on the season in overtime games and 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points.
Both teams opened the game sluggish. After Iowa State led 8-4 at the 13:11 mark, both teams went scoreless for the next five minutes. KU senior Crystal Kemp caught fire to score 12 points in the first stanza, but the Cyclones led the whole way in the period and took a 24-18 lead into the locker room.
KU took its first lead of the game, 31-30, at the 14:19 mark in the second half on a layup from sophomore Marija Zinic, who ignited the Kansas offense down the stretch. The game was back and forth the rest of the way with five lead changes and three ties. Zinic scored 12 points in the period on her way to a career-high 14.
Zinic scored Kansas’ last eight points of regulation, but a 3-pointer from ISU junior Lyndsey Medders with nine seconds left sent the game to OT. Medders’ miracle shot came moments after she went down with an injury. KU senior Erica Hallman quickly raced down the court to put up a last second shot, but couldn’t find an opening.
In the extra period, Hallman found space on the Jayhawks’ first possession and drained a 3-pointer. ISU responded with six straight points and led by three with under a minute to play. Kansas put the ball in Hallman’s hands and she converted an off balance layup to pull within one with 47 ticks on the clock. Up one, Iowa State missed its 20th 3-pointer of the afternoon and KU junior Sharita Smith grabbed her career-high seventh rebound of the game. Hallman took off for the other end and penetrated the lane where she found an open Kemp, who layed in her first bucket since the first half for the game winner.

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson, one of 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 27-25 (.519) at KU and 185-87 (.680) in her career.

Jayhawk Starters
Kansas has used five different starting lineups in 24 games with senior F Crystal Kemp and senior G Kaylee Brown starting every game. Sophomore F Taylor McIntosh (23 starts), freshman G Ivana Catic (22), senior G Erica Hallman (21), junior G Shaquina Mosley (3), sophomore F Jamie Boyd (1), freshman G Sophronia Sallard (1) and junior G Sharita Smith (1) have all received starting nods. The most used line-up of McIntosh, Kemp, Catic, Brown and Hallman is 12-7 as a unit.

Today’s Opponent – Texas Tech
Texas Tech (12-12, 7-6 Big 12) hosts Kansas on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The Lady Raiders will play Kansas after losing their last two games, both on the road. Last time out, TTU fell to No. 12/11 Baylor by a score of 73-60 in Waco, Texas. Texas Tech was led in the game by senior forward/center LaToya Davis with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Senior point guard Erin Grant added 19 points and 10 assists. Despite outshooting the Lady Bears 52.2 percent to 41.0 percent, TTU was outscored at the free throw line 20-9. Baylor won the rebounding battle 35-26. Texas Tech turned the ball over 23 times.
For the season, Davis leads the team in scoring and rebounding with at 19.1 points and 11.0 boards per game. Junior Alesha Robertson is second in scoring at 12.6 and senior Erin Grant is third at 12.6 ppg. Robertson adds 6.8 rebounds per contest. Grant is the team leader in assists and steals with 152 and 27, respectively. Sophomore Erin Myrick is the top shot blocker
with 23 blocks. The Lady Raiders shoot 41.7 percent from the field, while allowing opponents to shoot 39.4 percent. TTU shoots 33.8 percent from 3-point range and 65.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Last year in Lawrence, Texas Tech defeated Kansas 66-53. Davis led the Lady Raiders with 14 points. Kansas was paced in the contest by Crystal Kemp with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lady Raiders are coached by Marsha Sharp who is 569-187 in her 24th year at Texas Tech and as a head coach overall.

Kansas/Texas Tech Notes
Kansas and Texas Tech are meeting for the 12th time in history dating back to 1978. Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, Texas Tech 8-2. Kansas junior Sharita Smith is a native of Texas (Dallas). KU coach Bonnie Henrickson faced Texas Tech once while at Virginia Tech. Henrickson’s Hokies were defeated by TTU 73-52 on March 18, 2001, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lubbock, Texas.

A Kansas Win Would
Make the Jayhawks 16-9 overall and 5-9 in Big 12 play … Give KU two-straight wins for the first time this season in conference play … Snap a six game losing streak to the Lady Raiders … Improve KU’s record against TTU to 4-8 including a 2-4 mark in games played in Lubbock, Texas … Make KU 2-6 on the road this season … Improve head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record to 28-25 at Kansas and 186-87 in her career … Make the Jayhawks 625-423 all-time.

A Kansas Loss Would
Make the Jayhawks 15-10 overall and 4-10 in Big 12 play … Make KU 3-9 all-time against Texas Tech, including a 1-5 mark in Lubbock … Give Iowa State its seventh straight win over the Jayhawks … Make the Jayhawks 1-7 on the road this season … Make head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record 27-26 at Kansas and 185-88 in her career … Make the Jayhawks 624-424 all-time.

Most Wins Since 1999-2000
When Kansas defeated Oklahoma State on Jan. 22, it recorded its lucky 13th win of the season to mark 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. KU now has 15 victories.

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.

Jayhawks Tough When Reaching 70
Kansas has scored 70 or more points in 12 games. After scoring 57 points at Oklahoma, the Jayhawks’ scoring average dipped just below 70 for the season. KU now sits on 67.9 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 is 11-1 when scoring 70 or more this year.

Hallman Reaches 1,000
Senior Erica Hallman cemented her name in the KU 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 1,095 points, she is in 16th place on the all-time scoring list, and needs six points to catch Brooke Reves for 15th place.

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 Missouri, she scored her 1,500th point, making her the seventh Jayhawk in history to reach both 1,500 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 second on the KU career free throw percentage at 79.8 percent (79-99). Her 80 percent shooting this season ranks in a tie for fourth on the single-season list.
– KU players have recorded 20+ point scoring games 15 times as Crystal Kemp has 11, Erica Hallman has two and Kaylee Brown has two. Kemp has nine 20+ games in the last 12 outings.
– Kemp ranks in the all-time KU top-10 in points (8th-1,536), rebounds (10th-770), field goals made (8th-612), field goals attempted (7th-1,197), field goal percentage (9th-51.1), free throws made (9th-306), free throws attempted (10th-416), free throw percentage (8th-73.6), blocked shots (9th-87) and minutes (8th-3,397).
– Hallman ranks second on the all-time KU 3-pointers list with 174 made and 465 attempted. Brown ranks sixth with 103 made and 319 attempted.
– Hallman ranks third on the all-time assist list with 428 dimes.
– Freshman Ivana Catic’s 128 assists this season rank ninth on the KU single-season list.
– KU’s 50-point loss at Baylor was the largest margin of defeat in school history.
– KU wore red uniforms for the first time at K-State on Jan. 25, and again at Missouri on Feb. 11.

Kemp Named Academic All-District
Senior Crystal Kemp was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII by the College Sports Information Directors of America on Thursday, Feb. 9. As a first team member, Kemp became eligible for Academic All-America honors to be released at a later date.
The honor is the first for Kemp in her career. She becomes the first KU player to receive an Academic All-District award since Jennifer Jackson was named to the second team in 2001.
A Speech Language and Hearing major from Topeka, Kan., Kemp has been a standout in the classroom throughout her career. She is a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection and has been a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every year.
On the court, Kemp is having her best season as a Jayhawk with averages of 19.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in every game this season and in her last 24 outings overall. She continues to solidify herself among the elite players to ever don the Crimson and Blue as she is just one of seven Jayhawks in history to reach 1,500 career points and 700 career rebounds.
A student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher to be eligible for the Academic All-District Team.

Seniors Stepping It Up
The senior trio of Crystal Kemp, Erica Hallman and Kaylee Brown are having their best seasons as Jayhawks, ranking 1-2-3 on the KU scoring list.
Kemp is scoring 19.0 points per game after averaging 13.8 a year ago. She has 11 games with 20 or more points this season and eight double-doubles. She is shooting a career-best 54.0 percent from the field this season, and has regained her stroke at the free throw line, shooting a solid 78.8 percent.
Hallman has upped her scoring average to 14.0 this year after scoring 13.1 ppg last year. She is second in the conference with 2.50 3-pointers per game and her 55 treys rank sixth on the single-season list. She has nailed 174 trifectas in her career which ranks second on the KU list.
Brown has emerged as a solid third scoring option as a senior, averaging 12.4 points per contest. Last year she averaged 8.9 points per game. Her 53 treys currently rank tied for seventh on the KU single-season list. She has 103 career threes to rank sixth all-time at KU.

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).

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.

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.

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)

KU In The Polls
Kansas has received one or more votes in the national polls 11 weeks this season. The last time KU cracked the top 25 was Feb. 21, 2000 when the Jayhawks were No. 25.

Winning The Close Ones
With Kansas’ 57-56 overtime victory over Iowa State on Feb. 18, the Jayhawks moved to 6-0 in games decided by five or fewer points and 2-0 in overtime games. KU also won in double overtime over Wisconsin.

End The Trend
Since Big 12 play started, the Jayhawks have experienced a trend that includes winning one game followed by three losses. This has been the case for the last 12 games. Kansas will look to end that trend at Texas Tech.

Taking Care Of The Ball
The Jayhawks have passed out 382 assists and made 522 field goals, or an assist for every 1.63 field goals made. KU averages 15.92 assists per game while only turning the ball over 14.5 times per game to rank fourth in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio at 1.10. 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 increased home attendance by an average of over 600 fans per game from last season’s average. 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.

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.

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.

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 returns to Allen Fieldhouse for its final two regular season games at home. The Jayhawks will host the Missouri Tigers are Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. on Fox Sports Net. KU then finishes the season against Kansas State on Thursday, March 2 for Senior Night. The K-State game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be televised by CSTV.