Kansas Hosts Wichita State In WNIT Action Wednesday

March 15, 2011

Game Notes

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

OPENING TIP

Kansas will host Wichita State in the opening round of play in the 2011 Women’s NIT on Wednesday, March 16. The Jayhawks, who enter the game with a 20-12 overall mark, are making their fourth-straight appearance in the WNIT and their fifth appearance in the last six seasons. The Shockers, who are 17-14 on the season, are in the postseason for the second-straight season and earned a postseason bid for just the fourth time in school history. Kansas leads the all-time series between the two schools at 30-7, but the Shockers took the last meeting, 85-58, on Dec. 11, 2002 in Wichita. Kansas is 8-4 in the WNIT in its current format, including a 7-0 mark at home. The Jayhawks and Schockers will tip off at 7 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse and the game will be streamed live for Free on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access.

FAST BREAKS

-Tickets for the game are available at www.kuathletics.com or by calling 1-800-34-HAWKS. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $4 for students ages 4-17. KU students will be admitted for free with a valid KU ID.

-Kansas is 14-4 at home on the season, including a perfect 10-0 mark versus non-conference opponents. KU is also 18-0 versus the Shockers in Lawrence.

-Sophomore forward Carolyn Davis was tabbed First Team All-Big 12 on March 7 after averaging a team-best 18.4 points per game. Davis also turned in 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per outing in the regular season. Davis had 12 20-point outings and had three games with 30 or more points, including a career-best 36 in a win over Nebraska on Feb. 26. Davis is the fourth player under Henrickson to be honored by the league coaches.

-The Jayhawks won six of their last 11 games after struggling to a 1-6 start in Big 12 Conference play. The common thread in the Jayhawk wins is field goal percentage. KU is shooting a blistering 53.3 (172-323) percent in the six wins, including 44.6 (29-65) percent from beyond the arc. KU also knocked down 90-118 shots from the foul line, good for 76.3 percent, in the wins. Conversely, the Jayhawks made just 38.5 (106-275) percent from the field, including 31.7 (19-60) percent from three in its five losses. KU also struggled from the foul line in its losses down the stretch as it made only 60.0 (33-55) percent from the charity stripe.

-By far the biggest difference in the wins and losses is with Davis who averages 73.1 percent from the field in the six wins, while making just 53.3 percent from the field in the five losses. Davis scored 24.3 points per game in the wins and just 12.2 points per loss.

-KU is one of the younger teams in the country as it sends out a starting lineup with three sophomores, a redshirt freshman and a senior. With only three upperclassmen on their roster, the Jayhawks are getting 82.4 percent of their scoring from players in either their first or second year in college. Led by the sophomore duo of All-Big 12 First Team member Davis (18.0) and Monica Engelman (12.1), the Baby Jays are scoring 57.6 of the team’s 69.9 points per game.

-Engelman closed regular season play leading the Big 12 in three-point field goal percentage in conference games as she knocked down 43.1 percent from beyond the arc. She made 22-of-51 from three-point land in 16 conference games. She finished the season ranked fifth in overall games at 40.2 percent. Engelman made 6-of-10 shots from beyond the arc in the Big 12 Championship.

-Davis is shooting 65.0 percent from the field as she has knocked down 206-of-317 shots this season. She leads the Big 12 and ranks second in the NCAA in field goal percentage. Davis made 104-of-156 shots from the floor in conference play, good for 66.7 percent.

-Davis is averaging a team-best 18.0 points per game on the season overall, and is also pulling down 7.2 caroms per contest. She has recorded seven double-doubles on the season, including doing so in two of the last three games. Davis ranks third in the Big 12 and 29th in the NCAA in scoring.

-KU ranks seventh nationally (second in Big 12) in field goal percentage at 46.2 percent. The Jayhawks are led by Davis, who has made 206-of-317 shots from the field, good for a league-leading 65.0 percent. In all, seven KU players are shooting better than 40.0 percent on the season.

-Kansas sophomore guard Angel Goodrich has recorded double-figure assists in three games on the season, including a personal-best 15 assists versus Iowa State (Feb. 9). Goodrich has 152 assists on the year, marking her second-straight season with 100 or more assists. Her 152 assists rank sixth on the KU single-season assist chart. She is second in the Big 12 in assists and ranks ninth nationally with 6.1 dimes per game. She upped her average in conference games to a league-best 6.6 helpers per outing.

-KU has knocked down 444-of-657 shots from the foul line. The Jayhawks’ opponents have only made 487 trips to the foul line compared to KU’s 657 attempts. Kansas is averaging 20.5 free throw attempts per game, compared to 15.2 attempts per game for its opponents. On the season, Kansas owns a 111 point advantage over its foes from the foul line.

-Kansas has dished 500 assists through 32 games, good for an average of 15.6 dimes per outing. The Jayhawks rank third in the Big 12 and 32nd nationally in assists per game. Goodrich leads the way with 152 assists in 25 games. Goodrich is dishing out 6.1 assists per game which ranks second in the Big 12 and ninth nationally. Freshman guard Keena Mays has dished 115 helpers on the year, ranking 11th in the Big 12. Engelman has recorded 91 dimes on the season.

-Goodrich etched her name in the KU record books again as she dished a career-best 15 dimes in KU’s win over Iowa State. Goodrich’s 15 assists rank second on the KU single game chart and are the most assists by a Kansas player since Lisa Braddy dished 18 helpers versus Creighton on Dec. 22, 1989. Her 15 assists are the most ever recorded by a Kansas player in Allen Fieldhouse (male or female) and are the most by a Big 12 player this season.

-Kansas is 4-0 in WNIT opening games. The Jayhawks have defeated three teams from the Missouri Valley Conference in their WNIT openers in Northern Iowa (2006), Evansville (2008), Creighton (2009) and also defeated Prairie View A&M of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2010.

A LOOK AT WICHITA STATE

At 17-14 (10-6 MVC), Wichita State enters the game versus KU having won six of its last seven games on the season. The Shockers defeated Creighton in the first round of the MVC Tournament before falling to eventual champion, Northern Iowa, in the semfinals. WSU is 5-8 in road games on the season. Junior guard Haleigh Lankster leads the Shockers with 13.3 points per game to go along with 4.5 boards. Lankster, who leads the Shokers with 2.0 steals per game, was recently named to the MVC All-Tournament Team after scoring 19 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in WSU’s win over Creighton the quarterfinals. Sophomore guard Jessica Diamond adds 9.4 points per game and leads WSU with 3.1 assists per outing. WSU shoots 40.9 percent from the field and 30.7 percent from the three-point line. WSU is coached by Jody Adams, who owns a 48-47 ledger in her third season with the Shockers. Adams’ overall mark is 72-55 in her fourth season in the business.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

Kansas is 20-12 overall and finished 6-10 in Big 12 regular season games. KU has won four of its last seven games. Kansas defeated Colorado in the opening round of the 2011 Big 12 Championship before falling to top-seeded and eventual champion Baylor in the quarterfinals. The Jayhawks are led by sophomore forward Carolyn Davis’ 18.0 points per game. Davis has posted 12 20-point games on the season, highlighted by a career-best 36-point effort in KU’s win over Nebraska on Feb. 26. Davis has gone over the 30-point mark in three contests on the season and four in her career. She is also grabbing 7.2 boards per game. Sophomore guard Monica Engelman is averaging 12.1 points per game, while also pulling down 3.9 rebounds per game. Engelman leads Kansas in three-point field goal shooting as she is making 42.2 percent from beyond the arc. She also leads KU with 43 threes. Junior forward Aishah Sutherland is next in scoring with 8.8 points per contest off the bench. She leads the Jayhawks on the glass as she is pulling down 7.5 caroms per contest. Sophomore guard Angel Goodrich leads KU with 1.6 steals per game, while also averaging a team-best 6.1 assists and 7.4 points per outing. Goodrich stepped up her game in conference play as she turned in 7.6 points, 6.6 assists and 3.0 boards per game in league play. Davis tops KU in blocks with 1.5 per game, while Sutherland blocks 1.1 per game. KU is shooting 46.2 percent from the field, which ranks second in the Big 12 and sixth in the NCAA. Kansas is holding its opponents to 39.5 percent from the field. Davis leads the team in field goal percentage as she is knocking down 65.0 percent of her shots, which tops the Big 12. Six other Jayhawks are also shooting 40.0 percent or better. Senior Marisha Brown and redshirt freshman Tania Jackson round out the KU starting line up with Brown turning in 3.8 points and 2.4 boards per game and Jackson adding 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds an outing. Freshman Keena Mays is turning in 7.5 points and 3.6 assists per game off the bench.