Boogaard Sets The Tone

Nov. 8, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

In the Jayhawks’ first exhibition game last week, it was sophomore Aishah Sutherland who set the tone offensively and on the boards. This week junior center Krysten Boogaard showed up early against Emporia State to set the tone in KU’s 85-48 win over the Lady Hornets.

Boogaard’s strong first half performance in the paint, on both offense and defense, guided the Jayhawks to a 47-21 lead heading into halftime. The Regina, Saskatchewan native finished the first half with 11 points, seven rebounds and one block.

After a slow start out of the gates and letting the Lady Hornets stay in the game for the first 10 minutes, the Jayhawks went on a 30-7 run to close out the first half.

Two of Boogaard’s first half points came during that 30-7 stretch when the 6-foot-5 center hustled down the court with redshirt-freshman and passing extraordinaire, Angel Goodrich, finding her in transition for a quick and easy two points.

“We’ve been playing together since the summer and every practice that goes by we work on transition, it just makes it a little easier when you can do those things,” Boogaard said.

Head coach Bonnie Henrickson said Boogaard’s size and willingness to run worked to her advantage today against the Lady Hornets’ defense.

“I thought it was important for us to go inside early and often and I thought Krysten established an inside game,” Henrickson said.

The Jayhawks unquestionably set the tone inside outscoring Emporia State 44-16 in the paint.

Boogaard, who played just eight minutes in the second half giving way to more game-time experience for the newcomers, still finished the day with 17 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and one block in 21 minutes of floor time.

The 17 points and 10 boards for Boogaard would have marked the seventh time in her career that she had reached the double-double mark, had it not been an exhibition game.

During her 2007-08 debut as a freshman, Boogaard tallied four double-doubles and added another two double-doubles last season to her list of career accomplishments.

Sutherland also recorded a double-double picking up 12 points and 10 rebounds on the day.

The performance of Kansas’ post players didn’t go unrecognized by the guards on the floor. Senior Danielle McCray said that the play of Boogaard and Sutherland opened up the perimeter for the guards.

“Krysten ran the floor well and Aishah was big on the boards as usual,” said McCray. “Krysten inside is a big post presence and she’s been working hard in practice to get that low post presence and be strong inside.”

Boogaard also realized that her play was important for the success on the perimeter.

“It’s really important because if you play well in the paint right away, it sucks up the perimeter defense and then you can kick it out to the wings,” Boogaard said. “It opens up a lot of play for a lot of different options.”

Boogaard was Kansas’ leading scorer in the team’s final exhibition matchup before the regular season opener against Oral Roberts. That game is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse.