Women Open Season With Pitt State On Sunday

Nov. 4, 2005

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Kansas Jayhawks vs. Pittsburg State Gorillas
Exhibition Game #1 – Sun., Nov. 6, 2005 – 1 p.m. – Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)

Radio
Jayhawk Radio Network. Nate Bukaty (play-by-play), Brenda VanLengen (color).

Television
Sunflower Broadband Channel 6. Kevin Romary (play-by-play), Stephen Davis (color).

Records
The game is the exhibition season debut for both Kansas and Pittsburg State.

Rankings
None.

Coaches
Bonnie Henrickson is 12-16 in her second year at Kansas and 170-78 in her ninth season overall. The Gorillas are coached by Steve High who is 274-168 in his 16th season at PSU and overall.

Series History
Kansas and Pitt State have never met in exhibition play. In regular season action, KU leads PSU 4-1 all-time. The last meeting saw the Jayhawks defeat the Gorillas 91-57 in Lawrence on Dec. 13, 1986.

Jayhawk Storylines
– Kansas takes the floor against PSU with six returning players, five newcomers and one walk-on. The team is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.
– The meeting against Division II Pittsburg State marks the fifth time in the past six years Kansas has played a D-II school from the state of Kansas in exhibition action.
– After finishing eighth in the league standings last year, KU was picked to finish sixth this season in a preseason poll conducted by the Big 12 coaches.
– The game is the first of two exhibition games for the Jayhawks. The team will play its second and final exhibition game against Emporia State on Nov. 13, before opening regular season action at home versus Binghamton on Nov. 20.

The Matchup
Kansas opens the 2005-06 exhibition season Sunday, Nov. 6, when the Jayhawks take on in-state Division II foe Pittsburg State of the MIAA conference. Opening tip in Allen Fieldhouse is 1 p.m. The game is the first of two exhibition contests for KU, as the Jayhawks will entertain Emporia State, also of the MIAA conference, on Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.
The Jayhawks, under the direction of second year head coach Bonnie Henrickson, have high expectations for the season after making significant progress both on and off the court in 2004-05. KU dropped seven contests last season by five or fewer points as the team finished with a 12-16 record — it’s best finish in five campaigns. To turn some of those close losses into wins, KU will count on the talented senior class of Crystal Kemp, Erica Hallman and Kaylee Brown to lead an otherwise young team with the goal of making it back to postseason for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
In addition to the seniors, the Jayhawks welcome back junior Sharita Smith, sophomore Jamie Boyd and sophomore Taylor McIntosh for a total of six returning letterwinners. Looking to make an immediate impact will be a five-player recruiting class ranked in the top-25 by at least one recruiting service. Junior College Player of the Year Shaquina Mosley headlines the group, although freshmen Ivana Catic, Jen Orgas, Sophronia Sallard and Marija Zinic should all contend for significant playing time.
Pittsburg State is playing its only exhibition game of the season before it opens its regular season on Nov. 15 against Park University.
KU has won 10 of its last 11 exhibition contests dating back to 2001.

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson enters her second season at the helm of the Jayhawks as one the hottest young coaches in the nation. In her first year on the Jayhawk 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 Kansas 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.

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 a part of 19 NCAA tournaments, eight Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two National Championships, combined.

Last Time Out
The Jayhawks wrapped up the 2004-05 season at the ninth annual Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Mo., falling 62-57 to Missouri. KU was led by Crystal Kemp with a career-high 27 points to go with 11 rebounds. Erica Hallman added 19 points and five assists. KU finished the season 12-16 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 for eighth place.

Kansas In Exhibition Games
KU holds a 25-9 all-time record in exhibition games and has won 10 of its last 11 preseason contests. KU has never played Pittsburg State in exhibition play. The game will mark the fifth time the Jayhawks have played an in-state Division II foe in the preseason. Last year, KU defeated Fort Hays State 88-49 on Nov. 9, then fell to the West Coast All-Stars 60-58 on Nov. 16.

No Place Like Home
Kansas will play an unprecedented 21 games in Allen Fieldhouse this season including two exhibition contests, all 11 non-conference matchups and eight Big 12 games. The Jayhawks will not play away from Lawrence until after the new year when KU plays at Nebraska on Jan. 5. 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.

Today’s Opponent – Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State enters the 2005-06 season under the direction of head coach Steve High, who is 256-158 in his 17th year at PSU and overall.
The Gorillas return a total of five letterwinners, led by the junior trio of Maggie Apt, Janelle Klein and Nikki Pierce.
Klein, a Valley Center, Kan., native, averaged 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while starting all 28 games last season, earning second-team All-MIAA honors. Klein also scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games.
Apt, an Iola, Kan., native, averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while starting all 28 games in 2004-05. Pierce, a Girard, Kan., native, averaged 4.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season.
Sophomore Tracy Patry also returns for the Gorillas. The Andale, Kan., native, averaged 6.2 points and 4.1 rebounds last season.
The Gorillas welcome three freshmen and three junior transfers. Chloe Jones and Sheena Freeman come to Pitt State via Georgia Perimeter College, while Anna Nimz joins the program from Dodge City Community College.

Series Notes
Kansas and Pittsburg State have faced off a total of five times all-time, all in regular season play. The two squads first played in 1969, when KU won the first meeting 42-35 in Emporia. Later in the season, the Gorillas topped the Jayhawks in a game played in Pittsburg. KU beat PSU twice in 1981 including once by forfeit in Minneapolis, Minn. The last meeting came on Dec. 13, 1986 when KU downed Pitt State 91-57 in Lawrence.

Returning For The Jayhawks
Kansas returns six players and four starters from last year’s team that finished 12-16 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12. Leading the returners is senior Crystal Kemp who averaged 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year and was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Senior guard Erica Hallman also was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last year as a point guard. This season, Hallman looks to move over to a wing to open up more scoring opportunities. Other returning starters include senior guard Kaylee Brown and sophomore forward Taylor McIntosh. Brown is one of KU’s top long distance shooting weapons, while McIntosh earns her way with rebounding and defense. The top two reserves from 2004-05 also return in junior guard Sharita Smith and sophomore forward Jamie Boyd.

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.

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. She is just the 11th player in KU history to have amassed over 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

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 will play 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.

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
After the game with Pittsburg State, the Jayhawks will take the court against Emporia State on Sunday, Nov. 13, in Allen Fieldhouse at 1 p.m. The game will complete the exhibition portion of the schedule. Kansas opens the regular season on Nov. 20 at home versus Binghamton. Including exhibition contests, the Jayhawks play their first 14 games in the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse.