Jayhawk Women To Play WNIT Quarterfinals At New Mexico Monday
March 27, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes in PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The Kansas women’s basketball team will travel to New Mexico on Monday evening at 8 p.m. (CT), in Santa Ana Star Center in a Women’s NIT Quarterfinal game. New Mexico (25-10, 9-7 MWC) advanced to Monday’s game by defeating Oregon State, 61-56, on Friday evening at home, while the Jayhawks moved into Monday’s game by knocking off Arkansas, 75-59, at home on Thursday evening. Kansas (20-13, 6-10 Big 12) will be playing in the WNIT Quarterfinals for the first time in program history. The Kansas-New Mexico winner will advance to face the winner of a Quarterfinal game between Illinois State and Indiana in the WNIT Semifinals.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas has won seven of its last nine games, including wins over Top-25-ranked teams #5 Baylor and #22 Iowa State. The Jayhawks have also won their last five home games and own a 15-3 mark in Allen Fieldhouse this season, including a perfect 10-0 mark versus non-conference opponents.
-Junior guard-forward Danielle McCray has scored 20 or better in 20-of-33 games on the season, including 30 or more points in four games. McCray, who is leading KU with 20.9 points per game, ranks sixth on the KU single-season scoring chart with 690 points on the season. She has averaged 27.7 points and 8.5 rebounds in KU’s six games in the month of March.
-Kansas junior Sade Morris has come on strong as of late. Morris turned in a career-high 24 points in KU’s win over Nebraska in the opening round of the 2009 Big 12 Championship. She also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals versus the Cornhuskers. She also went over the 20-point mark versus Creighton with 21 tallies and had another 23 versus Arkansas. She is averaging 20.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals during the four-game postseason stretch.
-KU freshman forward Aishah Sutherland has also been solid for KU over the last four games. Sutherland has averaged 10.3 points and 7.8 rebounds and has connected on 18-of-32 shots from the field, good for 56.3 percent, over the last four outings. She collected her first career double-double versus Creighton with 15 points and 12 rebounds and had eight points and 11 boards against Arkansas.
-Jayhawk senior Ivana Catic dished eight assists against one turnover in Kansas’ win over Arkansas in the WNIT Third Round. She had already collected 19 dimes against just two turnovers in KU’s other three postseason outings, giving her 27 assists, comparied to just three miscues during her last four games.
A LOOK AT NEW MEXICO
New Mexico is 25-10 on the year, with wins over NCAA Tournament teams DePaul and TCU. The Lobos finished 9-7 in the Mountain West Conference this season, earning the four-seed in the conference tournament. New Mexico is led on the season by junior Amy Beggin with 15.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Beggin led the Lobos with 25 points in their 61-56 win over Oregon State in the WNIT Third Round. Senior center Angela Hartill is also in double figures with 11.9 points per game, and also pulls down 5.1 caroms per contest. Sophomore guard Amanda Best is the top rebounder for the Lobos as she grabs 5.5 boards per game. Best adds 5.3 points, while senior forward Amanda Adamson turns in 7.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. UNM outscores its opponents by over 11 points per game and pulls down just over four more rebounds per game than its foes. The Lobos shoot 74.6 percent from the foul line, led by Beggin who has made 86.9 percent of her free throws. Beggin also leads UNM with 77 triples on the season. New Mexico head coach Don Flanagan is 308-136 in his 14th season with the Lobos. His overall coaching record is the same.
KANSAS-NEW MEXICO SERIES HISTORY
Thursday’s game will mark the first meeting between Kansas and New Mexico. Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson and UNM head coach Don Flanagan will also be meeting for the first time in their coaching careers.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas enters Monday’s game with a 20-13 overall record, including a 6-10 ledger in Big 12 Conference play after picking up seven wins its its last nine games down the stretch. Led by a pair of double figures scorers in Danielle McCray and Sade Morris, the Jayhawks are out scoring their opponents by 7.6 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 20.9 points per game, while Morris adds 12.6. Sophomore Krysten Boogaard is next with 8.6 points per game. In addition, Nicollette Smith and LaChelda Jacobs are adding 6.8 and 6.2 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 45.8 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 52.9 percent. The Jayhawks have recorded 232 steals on the season, led by McCray with 47 pilfers. Ivana Catic is the leader in assists with 118 dimes, while Jacobs has dished 104 assists and Morris 78. McCray is pulling down a team-leading 7.8 rebounds and Boogaard is grabbing 5.3 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 153-of-400 shots from beyond the arc, good for 38.3 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 72-of-166 shots. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 27-of-31 attempts. McCray has connected on 84.4 percent of her foul shots.
SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
-Kansas assistant strength and condition coach Molly McKinnon is a former New Mexico basketball player. McKinnon suited up for the Lobos from 1999-02, playing for current UNM head coach Don Flanagan.
-The Jayhawks and Lobos shared four common opponent this season in New Mexico State, Texas Tech, Nebraska and Texas A&M. UNM went 5-1 versus the four teams, defeating Nebraska and New Mexico State twice and falling to only Texas A&M. The Lobos defeated Nebraska, 54-43 last Wednesday to advance to WNIT Third Round. KU posted a 3-3 mark against those four foes. The Jayhawks picked up two wins over Nebraska and one versus New Mexico State.
KU IN THE WNIT
KU is playing in the WNIT for the third time under its current format, and also played in the NWIT twice — in 1978 and 1991 — when it was an eight-team tournament. There was no NWIT tournament in 1997. In 1998, the tournament was brought back under the new name WNIT and in 1999, the field expanded to 32 teams. Last year, the tournament expanded to 48 teams. KU is 4-2 in the current WNIT format having knocked off Northern Iowa, 59-49, before falling to Ole Miss, 78-76, in the second round in 2006. KU defeated Evansville, 82-60, in Lawrence in the second round last season before dropping a 58-54 game at Michigan State in the third round in the 2008 WNIT. Combined with the Jayhawks’ 79-64 win over Creighton on Monday, KU is 4-2 in WNIT games under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
A KANSAS WIN WOULD…
Make Kansas 21-13 for the first time since the 1998-1999 season … Give the Jayhawks a 1-0 mark versus New Mexico, including a 1-0 mark in games played in the state of New Mexico … Give Kansas a win in the WNIT quarterfinals for the first time in school history … Make KU 4-3 all-time versus Mountain West Conference schools … Improve Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson to 1-0 versus New Mexico … Give Henrickson a 78-78 mark at Kansas and a 236-140 overall record … Make Kansas 674-476 all time.
A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…
Drop KU to 20-14 overall … Give KU a loss in the quarterfinals of the WNIT in its first appearance … Make the series versus UNM 0-1, including an 0-1 mark for KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson … Give the Jayhawks an 0-1 mark versus the Lobos in games played in the state of New Mexico … Make KU 3-4 overall versus Mountain West Conference schools … Drop Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record at KU to 77-79 and her overall mark to 235-141 … Make Kansas 673-477 all time.
