Women's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season At Iowa State Saturday

March 6, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Game Notes in PDF Format

OPENING TIP

The University of Kansas (17-11, 6-9) women’s basketball travels to #22/23 Iowa State for its regular season finale on Saturday, March 7. The Jayhawks are looking for their third-straight win over a ranked opponent and fifth-consecutive win overall when they face the Cyclones. Iowa State, winners of three-straight, will be celebrating “Senior Night” in Hilton Coliseum. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.

FAST BREAKS

-Kansas is attempting to collect five-straight wins in conference play for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when they finished with an 11-5 mark in league play and had a five-game winning streak against Big 12 foes.

-The Jayhawks are 1-6 on the road in Big 12 play, however, their lone win came in their last Big 12 road outing at Oklahoma State. KU is 4-8 on the road overall this season.

-Junior guard-forward Danielle McCray has scored 20 or better in 15 games on the season, including 30 or more points in three games. McCray, who is leading KU with 20.0 points per game, ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in scoring behind only Andrea Riley of Oklahoma State.

-Kansas junior Sade Morris has now scored in double figures in six of the last seven games with 15 points in KU’s win over Nebraska. On the season, Morris has tallied 10 or more points in 19-of-25 games. Morris averages 12.0 points per game on the season, second best on the team.

-KU sophomore center Krysten Boogaard knotched her third double-double of the season and sixth of her career with 18 points and 11 boards in Kansas’ win over Baylor. Boogaard connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 shots from the foul line. She led Kansas with four offensive rebounds in the win.

-Jayhawk senior Ivana Catic had an oustanding game in KU’s home win over Nebraska. Catic knocked down 5-of-10 shots on her way to a season-high 10 points. She also dished two assists and had just one turnover in her 34 minutes of play. Catic followed that up with six assists in KU’s upset win over #5 Baylor, moving her into fifth place on the KU all-time assist chart.

A LOOK AT IOWA STATE

The #22/23 Cyclones arrive in Lawrence fighting for a top-four seed in the conference, which would earn them a first round bye in the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. Kansas leads the all-time series 42-23 and the Jayhawks upended ISU, 58-47, in Lawrence just two weeks ago. ISU is led on the season by senior Heather Ezell with 12.0 points per game. Ezell also leads the team in steals with 54. Junior Alison Lacey also averages double figures in points with 10.3, while leading the Cyclones on the boards with 5.0 caroms per contest and in assists with 97. Sophomore Kelsey Bolte is also double figures with 10.0 points per game. Bolte also pulls down 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior Nicky Wieben is the fourth Cyclone in double figures as she drops in 10.0 points and 5.0 boards a contest. Head coach Bill Fennelly is in his 14th season with the Cyclones, having collected a 302-139 coaching record at ISU. His overall coaching record is 468-192 in his 21st year in the business.

KU-IOWA STATE SERIES HISTORY

The Jayhawks lead the all-time series 42-23. The Jayhawks claimed a 58-47 win over ISU on Feb. 22, however, Iowa State has won three of the last five meetings. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 5-6 versus ISU, including a 4-5 mark in games as the head coach of the Jayhawks.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

Kansas enters Wednesday’s game with a 17-11 overall record, including a 6-9 ledger in Big 12 Conference play after picking up four-straight wins over Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska and Baylor in its last four outings. Led by a pair of double figures scorers in Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, the Jayhawks are out scoring their opponents by 8.6 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 20.0 points per game, while Morris adds 11.6. Sophomore Krysten Boogaard is next with 9.4 points per game. In addition, Nicollette Smith and LaChelda Jacobs are adding 7.5 and 7.1 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 45.5 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 37.7 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 202 steals on the season, led by McCray with 41 pilfers. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 95 dimes, while Ivana Catic has dished 88 assists and Morris 62. McCray is pulling down a team-leading 7.7 rebounds and Boogaard is grabbing 5.5 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 134-of-346 shots from beyond the arc, good for 38.7 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 57-of-138 shots. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 26-of-30 attempts. McCray has connected on 85.5 percent of her foul shots.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION

-Kansas does not have any Iowa residents on its roster, however, Iowa State has one native Kansan on its roster in junior guard Denae Stuckey (Kansas City, Kan.), while fellow ISU junior guard Anna Florzak is from Kansas City, Mo.

-ISU junior guard Denae Stuckey is the younger sister of KU junior football player Darrell Stuckey. Darrell Stuckey, who picked up All-Big 12 honors for the second-straight season after helping lead the Jayhawks to a win in the 2008 Insight Bowl and a 8-5 mark this season, and his sister both attended Washington High School in Kansas City, Kan.

-The Jayhawks and Cyclones shared two common opponents outside of conference play this season in Creighton and Iowa. Both the Jayhawks and Cylones came out on the winning side versus Creighton, while KU dropped Iowa and Iowa State fell victim to their cross-state rival.

LAST TIME VERSUS IOWA STATE

Behind Danielle McCray’s career-high 16 rebounds and fifth double-double of the season, the Kansas women’s basketball team upset No. 21 Iowa State, 58-47, in the Pink Zone game in Allen Fieldhouse. McCray finished with 24 points, three assists and three steals to help the Jayhawks snap a four-game losing streak in front of a crowd of 7,069. It was KU’s first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating the No. 23 Texas Longhorns on Jan. 3, 2006. Tenacious defense was the theme of the day for KU as the Jayhawks held ISU to just 17 percent from the field (five-of-30) in the second half. It marked the lowest field goal percentage in a half by any KU opponent this season. The Cyclones finished the game with 27 percent shooting (15-of-55) – the third lowest number forced by the Jayhawks during the 2008-09 season. Both teams came out fired up in the second half, but a block by sophomore Krysten Boogaard and subsequent three-point play by McCray gave KU a six-point edge (33-27). Iowa State tied the game at 35 midway through the second half, but Kansas never relinquished the lead. Boogaard and McCray scored 22 of the Jayhawks’ 32 second-half points and KU made eight straight free-throws in the final five minutes of the contest to preserve the 11-point victory. Overall, Kansas shot a season-high 95 percent from the line, cashing 18-of-19 charity shots.The Jayhawks jumped out to the early lead (6-2) and led by as many as six points several times in the first half. Iowa State tied the game at 17 with six minutes remaining in the half and took its first lead of the game, 20-17, on a three-pointer by Alison Lacey soon after. Kansas took back the lead for good on a jumper by LaChelda Jacobs and went to the locker room up, 26-24.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Make Kansas 18-11 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season … Give the Jayhawks a 43-23 mark versus Iowa State, including an 16-14 mark in games played in Ames … Give Kansas its first five-game conference win streak since the 1999-2000 season … Mark KU’s seventh conference win of the season, the most conference victories in a season under head coach Bonnie Henrickson and the most conference wins for a Kansas team since the Jayhawks posted an 11-5 league record in 1999-2000 … Make KU 82-126 all-time in Big 12 Conference action and a 281-265 all-time mark versus Big 12 Conference schools … Improve Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson to 6-6 versus Iowa State … Give Henrickson a 75-76 mark at Kansas and a 233-138 overall record … Make Kansas 671-474 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Drop KU to 17-12 overall and 6-10 in Big 12 play … Make the series versus ISU 42-24, including an 5-7 mark for KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson … Give the Jayhawks a 15-15 mark versus the Cyclones in games played in Ames … Make KU 81-127 overall versus the Big 12 Conference … Drop Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record at KU to 74-77 and her overall mark to 232-139 … Make Kansas 670-475 all time.