KU Women's Basketball Leaves Rome With a Victory
Aug. 12, 2011
ROME, Italy –
Junior Monica Engelman scored a team-high 19 points and led the Jayhawks with five steals as the University of Kansas women’s basketball team defeated Roma Selezione 66-38 Friday night in its first of four contests during its European tour.
Engelman collected her team-high tally sinking six-of-12 shots from the floor, including one three-pointer. She was joined in double-digit points by juniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich, who had 11 points each. Davis chipped in with a team-best seven rebounds, while Goodrich’s five assists were the most on the team.
KU’s five newcomers got their first taste of collegiate competition as freshmen Asia Boyd, Donielle Breaux, Chelsea Gardner, Natalie Knight and Bunny Williams all saw the court for the first time in a Jayhawk uniform. Knight made the starting lineup along with Engelman, Davis, Goodrich and senior Aishah Sutherland.
“I think they did a good job,” head coach Bonnie Henrickson said of the freshmen class. “I’m glad they are going to get four games under their belt. They got sped up a little bit in the game and they went back to some old habits but that’s normal stuff. It is nice that they are going through that now rather than in November and it is all things they can get better at. It’s a great opportunity for them to get feedback from us.”
During the first quarter, the score remained close as Kansas adjusted to different European rules. Under the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) guidelines, games consist of four 10-minute quarters and utilize a 24-second shot clock. FIBA also uses a larger lane, a 20-foot-6-inch three-point line and a slightly different rule for traveling violations.
With just less than seven minutes to play in the first quarter and with KU trailing 8-7, Goodrich and Engelman scored back-to-back baskets to put Kansas ahead 11-8 and the Jayhawks never trailed again for the remainder of the game. The team ended the opening stanza with a 9-0 run, which Davis helped extend to 11 with a quick basket in the second quarter.
At halftime, Kansas led Roma Selezione 37-16 after limiting its opponent to just six points in the second frame. Engelman, Sutherland and Williams were strong on the boards gathering five boards each to help limit second-chance points.
After the break, the Jayhawks continued to dominate in the paint and take advantage of numerous Roma Selezione turnovers. At the end of the third quarter, Kansas took an 8-0 run and continued to score the first five points in the final stanza, capped by a behind-the-back pass from Goodrich to Engelman for a three-pointer, to lead Roma 58-28. KU shot 48-percent from the floor en route to its 66-38 victory.
“Of the series of games, physically this is the most difficult because we’re trying to get all of the travel out of their legs and it has been a few days since we’ve been in a gym,” said Henrickson. “What’s good about this is it gives us a great opportunity to identify things as a team and individually that we have to get better at, as well as some things we do really well right now. All in all we saw some good things. There are a few places for us to get better in, but that’s why we’re here.”
Kansas will depart Rome Saturday morning (tomorrow) to travel to Florence, where the team will stay for two nights and play its second match of the trip on Sunday, Aug. 14.
