Jayhawks Open Regular Season With Binghamton

Nov. 17, 2005

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Kansas Jayhawks vs. Binghamton Bearcats
Game #1 – Sun., Nov. 20, 2005 – 12:05 p.m. – Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)

Live video streaming, Gametracker and post-match results will be available on Kansas Athletics’ official website, kuathletics.com.

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

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

Records
Kansas and Binghamton both went 2-0 in exhibition play. The game is the regular season opener for both clubs.

Rankings
Kansas is receiving votes in the preseason Associated Press poll. Binghamton is not ranked.

Coaches
Bonnie Henrickson is 12-16 in her second year at Kansas and 170-78 in her ninth season overall. The Bearcats are coached by Rich Conover who is 34-37 in his fourth season at BU.

Series History
Kansas and Binghamton have never met. It will also mark Kansas’ first-ever game against a team from the America East Conference.

The Matchup
After wrapping up exhibition play with wins over Pittsburg State (90-65) and Emporia State (83-53), Kansas opens a 12-game homestand with its regular season opener against Binghamton on Sunday, Nov. 20. Opening tip in Allen Fieldhouse is at noon.
The Jayhawks were impressive in preseason play, winning by an average of 29.0 points. Four players averaged double figures led by the senior trio of Kaylee Brown (14.0 ppg), Crystal Kemp (14.0 ppg) and Erica Hallman (13.5 ppg). Junior transfer Shaquina Mosley rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10.5 points per game.
KU has shared the ball well, passing out 49 assists on 72 total field goals. Freshman Ivana Catic, who started both games has dished 12 assists, while Hallman is second with 11 dimes. Overall, the team has taken care of the ball well, turning it over an average of 17.5 times per outing.
Defensively, Kansas’ increased depth has been noticeable as the Jayhawks have employed a full court press in certain situations and forced 57 turnovers. On the boards, the Jayhawks have been solid, with a margin of +3.0 per game. Kemp and sophomore Jamie Boyd have each grabbed 11 boards to lead the rebounding efforts.
Binghamton is coming off a pair of exhibition wins as well. The Bearcats topped Lemoyne 93-50 on Nov. 7, before dispatching St. Rose 96-51 on Nov. 11. Four players averaged double figures led by senior guard Jen Blues with 13.0 points per game. Also reaching double digits were sophomore guard Laura Sario (11.0 ppg), senior guard Rachel Laws (11.0 ppg) and freshman center Erin Owens (10.5 ppg). Sophomore center Laine Kurpniece led on the boards with 4.5 rebounds per outing.
The meeting between Kansas and Binghamton will be the first-ever between the two teams, and Kansas’ first game against an opponent from the America East Conference.

Game Promotions
Promotions for the game include Cingular Schedule Magnet Giveaway, “Let’s Get It Started Day” sponsored by the office of multicultural affairs, as well as a youth scrimmage at halftime.

Today’s Opponent – Binghamton
Binghamton opens its regular season at Kansas after easily defeating Lemoyne, 93-50, and St. Rose, 96-51, in exhibition action.
The Bearcats return four startes among nine letterwinners to a team that went 10-18 overall in 2004-05 and finished fifth place in the America East conference with a 9-9 league record.
Two-time first team All-America East Conference selection Rachel Laws is the top returning player after averaging 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds a year ago.
In its two exhibition games, BU had four players average double figures including senior Jen Blues (13.0 ppg), sophomore Laura Sario (11.0 ppg), Laws (11.0 ppg) and freshman Erin Owens (10.5 ppg).
The Bearcats averaged 94.5 points and 35.0 rebounds in preseason action, while only surrendering 50.5 points and 24.5 boards per game.
Binghamton made the jump to the Division I level just four years ago and has been a team making steady improvement ever since.
Sario was named to the 2005 America East Conference All-Rookie Team last season, while Blues was named to the rookie team in 2003.
During the 2003-04 season, the Bearcats posted one of the top-20 one-year improvements among Division I teams in terms of record.
BU is coached by Rich Conover, who was named the America East Conference Coach of the Year in 2004. He is 34-37 in his fourth year at Binghamton and 104-95 in his eighth year of coaching overall.

Series Notes
KU and Binghamton have never played each other in women’s basketball. The Jayhawks have never faced an opponent from the America East Conference. Binghamton has never faced a team from the Big 12. In men’s basketball, KU defeated BU 78-46 in Allen Fieldhouse on Dec. 29, 2003. The Jayhawks and Bearcats have one common opponent this season in La Salle.

Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson enters her second season at the helm of the Jayhawks as one the top 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 part of a combined 19 NCAA tournaments, eight Sweet 16s, five Elite Eights, four Final Fours and two National Championships, combined.

Kansas Inks Seven For `06-’07
Kansas signed seven recruits to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. Below is a quick look at those seven commitments for next season.

Player (position, height, hometown – high school)
Lindsay Ballweg (guard, 5-10, Overland Park, Kan. – St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Rebecca Feickert (forward/center, 6-2, Goodrich, N.D. – Sheridan County HS)
LaChelda Jacobs (guard, 5-10, Mansfield, Texas – Mansfield Summit HS)
Kelly Kohn (guard, 5-9, Adrian, Mich. – Adrian HS)
Danielle McCray (forward, 6-0, Olathe, Kan. – Olathe East HS)
Sade Morris (forward, 6-0, Norman, Okla. – Norman HS)
Porscha Weddington (forward, 6-1, Temple, Texas – Temple HS)

More From The Last Game
Kansas defeated Emporia State, 83-53, on Sunday, Nov. 13 in its final exhibition game of the season. The Jayhawks ended their preseason with a 2-0 record.
The Jayhawks used a superior defensive effort to score 36 points off of 29 Hornet turnovers. Senior guard Kaylee Brown led all scorers with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. She also chipped in four rebounds, two assists and two steals on the afternoon.
“Defensively, we were better today,” head coach Bonnie Henrickson said after the game. “We still have to be better and continue to work. We did a better job of getting our hands up. I think our continuity is good. I really like the team’s chemistry, and I love their unselfishness.”
As a team, the Jayhawks shot 48.4 percent from the field on 33-of-67 shooting. They also held the Hornets to only 35 percent from the floor.
Forward Michelle Steuve, who scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, led Emporia State on the afternoon.

No Place Like Home
Kansas plays 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. 7. 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.

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.

Exhibition Recap
KU went 2-0 in exhibition play, picking up wins over Pittsburg State (90-65) and Emporia State (83-53) — both Division II schools from the MIAA Conference. The two wins improved Kansas’ all-time exhibition record to 27-9. Kansas has won 12 of its last 13 preseason contests overall. The Jayhawks were led by seniors Kaylee Brown (14.0 ppg), Crystal Kemp (14.0 ppg) and Erica Hallman (13.5 ppg) in the scoring column. Junior transfer Shaquina Mosley rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10.5 ppg.

Up Next For KU
Kansas gets little rest before returning to the hardwood to face Detroit on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in Allen Fieldhouse. KU leads the all-time series against Detroit including the last two meetings. The last meeting saw the Jayhawks drop the Titans 81-67 on March 15, 1997, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Lawrence, Kan. UDM will be playing its third game after opening the season against Western Carolina and facing Kansas State in Manhattan. Detroit is coached by Mickey Barrett in his third season.