No. 17 Kansas Travels to Arkansas for Non-Conference Tilt
Dec. 5, 2012
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Game Notes in PDF Format
QUICK HITS ABOUT KANSASWBB
Sophomore Chelsea Gardner is averaging 20 points and eight rebounds per game over her last two contests, while shooting a combined 18-for-22 (.818) from the field. Dating back to last season, Kansas has won five of its last seven games played away from Allen Fieldhouse, including a 58-48 win at Creighton earlier this season. For the third-straight week, Kansas is ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll. The Jayhawks are ranked No. 17, which is the highest KU has been ranked in the AP poll since Dec. 6, 1999. The Jayhawks have been ranked each week this season in the USA Today Coaches Top-25 Poll, and are also No. 17 this week. A victory at Arkansas would give Kansas an 8-0 start for the second time in the last three seasons and the third time overall under head coach Bonnie Henrickson. To date, no KU opponent has reached 60 points this season. Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich are both on the watch lists for the Wade Trophy, the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, as two of the top players in the nation. Goodrich is also one of 30 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Davis enters the game with 1,426 career points and needs only four more points to surpass Angie Halbleib for 11th place in program history. Sophomore Natalie Knight understands ball security. Over the last three games combined, Knight has 10 assists without a single turnover. On the season, she has only surrendered four turnovers in 224 minutes of action, or 0.6 turnovers per game. Goodrich led the nation in assists per game with 7.4 last season and is currently averaging 6.4 assists per game this year. Goodrich was named to the preseason First Team All-Big 12 and was tabbed as a 2012 Associated Press Preseason All-America honorable mention selection.
ABOUT ARKANSAS
Arkansas is located in Fayetteville, Ark., and has an enrollment of 21,406. The Razorbacks compete in the Southeastern Conference. The Razorbacks return two starters from a team which finished 24-9 last season, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling, 61-59, to Texas A&M. Arkansas was tabbed to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the media. Sarah Watkins was named to the 2012-13 Preseason All-SEC Women’s Basketball Second Team. The Razorbacks received two votes in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 Poll.
NOT IN OUR LEAGUE
The Jayhawks have compiled an impressive record outside the Big 12 Conference in regular-season play. KU owns a 322-147 (.687) record versus non-conference opponents. Kansas currently owns an 11-game win streak against non-conference opponents in the regular season. The Jayhawks last fell at Alabama, 80-76, on Dec. 4, 2011.
WAIT A SEC
There are only two conferences that Kansas has an all-time losing record against and one is the SEC. The Jayhawks are 58-66 (.468) all-time against the current members of the SEC, but KU does have a 3-2 mark in the series history against Arkansas. The other league Kansas has a losing record against is the WAC.
DECEMBER DOMINANCE
Heading into December has to feel pretty good for Kansas’ Bonnie Henrickson. The Jayhawk head coach has posted a 43-14 (.754) record during the calendar’s final month while working at Kansas.
JUST IMAGINE
National player of the year candidate Carolyn Davis has seen controlled minutes during the early part of the season as she works her way back from her season-ending knee injury last year. As a result, Davis is averaging just 22.6 minutes per game and is nearly posting a point per minute with 16.7 points per game. By prorating her production over 40 minutes, Davis would be averaging 29.4 points per game for KU.
CHELSEA LATELY
Sophomore Chelsea Gardner became the fourth player on the Kansas roster to post 20 or more points in a collegiate game when she tossed in a career-best 26 points against Grambling State. Gardner also added 10 rebounds to record the second double-double of her career. Sunday against Minnesota, Gardner came off the bench and scored 14 points. In her last two games combined, Gardner is averaging 20 points per contest, along with 8.0 rebounds per game. She also shot a combined 18-for-22 (.818) from the field.
A KNIGHT’S TALE
Sophomore Natalie Knight does all the little things that often go unnoticed, but one thing is for sure, Kansas is at its best when she is on the floor. Through seven games, Knight leads the Jayhawks with a +16.43 plus-minus rating, which means that KU scores nearly 16-and-a-half more points per game when Knight is in the game.
ACTION JACKSON
Since the third game of the season, junior Tania Jackson has been in the Kansas starting lineup. She doesn’t appear to be leaving the starting five anytime soon either, as Jackson leads the Jayhawks in rebounding with 7.1 boards per game. She is also averaging 7.1 points per contest.
MY, MY MONICA
Senior Monica Engelman has been hitting the glass so far this season. Engelman is averaging 5.7 boards per game this season which is second-best on the team. She also has hauled in 19 offensive caroms, which is tied for the best on the squad.
AND THEN THERE WERE 19
Heading into Wednesday night’s action, only 19 undefeated NCAA Division I women’s basketball programs remained, including Kansas. Of the 19 schools, five are members of the Big 12 Conference. Joining KU are Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas.
BOARDING CALL
In the win over Grambling, Kansas had three players pull down 10 rebounds apiece. Asia Boyd, Chelsea Gardner and Bunny Williams each grabbed 10 boards, with Boyd and Williams establishing career highs. It marked the first time KU had three players post double-digit rebounding totals in the same game since Danielle McCray, Taylor McIntosh and Shaquina Mosley equalled the feat on Feb. 18, 2007, in the 82-74 win over Kansas State.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Last season, Kansas ranked last in the Big 12 Conference for defensive field goal percentage at 40.6 percent. Through early season interviews and media days, head coach Bonnie Henrickson and the Jayhawks talked about team defense being a point of emphasis. KU has had solid defensive efforts this season and has held its opponents to 34.8 percent shooting from the field.
SHE GIVETH and SHE TAKETH AWAY
Angel Goodrich led the Jayhawks against Grambling State with eight assists and three steals. That effort marked the 39th game in her career where she posted the team high in assists and steals in the same game.
FIRST WADE, THEN WOODEN, NOW NAISMITH
Kansas seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich are two of the 25 NCAA Division I women’s basketball student-athletes to be named to the 2012-13 State Farm® Wade Trophy Watch List. The Kansas duo has also been tabbed for John R. Wooden Award Women’s Preseason Top-30 List, and are both on the 50-player list for the 2012-13 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year presented by AT&T early season watch list.
PULLING RANK
Kansas is ranked in Associated Press Top-25 Poll for the third-straight week, coming it at No. 27. KU has also been ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll each of the five previous weeks this season, including a No. 17 ranking in this week’s poll.
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
For the third-straight season, seniors Carolyn Davis and Angel Goodrich will serve as team captains for the Jayhawks during the 2012-13 campaign.
MASTERS OF THEIR CRAFT
The senior writers of espnW collaborated and came up with the top-five players in the nation by position. Once again, Angel Goodrich and Carolyn Davis found themselves among the nation’s elite. Goodrich was classified as one of the country’s top-five point guards, while Davis was tabbed as one of the nation’s best five centers.
SHOWING A LOT OF CLASS
Prior to the start of the regular season, senior Angel Goodrich was named one of 30 national finalists for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
JOIN THE CLUB
Another milestone to watch for is that of Monica Engelman. The Kansas senior now has 965 career points scored and with 35 more tallies will become the 25th player in Kansas history to join the 1,000-point club. Since the table is set, also keep an eye on Angel Goodrich, who now needs 144 points to join the club.
A NATIONAL LEADER
Senior Angel Goodrich entered this season as the reigning national champion in assists-per-game. Goodrich paced the Jayhawks with a school and Big 12 record 250 assists last season, or 7.4 per game. Goodrich currently averages 6.4 assists per game.
THAT 70’s SHOW
Kansas’ success during the Bonnie Henrickson-era has been pretty much based on 70 points. When the Jayhawks score 70 or more points, Kansas owns a 92-9 record (.911) in her eight previous seasons. When KU opponents score less than 70 points, the Jayhawks are 126-67 (.653) during that span.
TWENTY SOMETHING
When Carolyn Davis scores 20 or more points in a game, the Jayhawks usually come out on top. Davis has 30 20-point efforts in her career and KU boasts a 25-5 (.833) record in those contests.
WHAT DOES FIVE DIMES EQUAL?
In addition to being 50 cents, five dimes from Angel Goodrich in a game also equals a good chance for a Kansas victory. Goodrich has collected five or more assists 69 times in her career with the Jayhawks and KU was victorious in 49 of those games for a .710 winning percentage.
HOW SWEET IT IS
Kansas returned to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season for the first time since 1998. It marked the third time in school history that the Jayhawks advanced to the Sweet 16 and was Kansas’ 12th NCAA Tournament appearance.
PLAN FOR POSTSEASON
Faithful followers of the Kansas women’s basketball program have learned to plan for postseason play. In Bonnie Henrickson’s eight previous seasons with the Jayhawks, KU has advanced to postseason play six times, including five straight. In fact, in Henrickson’s head coaching career, she has led her team to postseason play 13 times in 15 seasons.
RELOADING
How does a top-25 program stay in the national polls? Sign a top-25 recruiting class. That’s exactly what head coach Bonnie Henrickson and her staff did during the early signing period, inking the No. 14-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, and the top among Big 12 Conference schools. The class also ranked No. 25 nationally by Blue Star Basketball. The Jayhawks signed Jada Brown (6-0, F, Las Vegas, Nev.), Dakota Gonzalez (6-0, G, Pocatello, Idaho), Dylan Gonzalez (6-0, G, Pocatello, Idaho), Caelynn Manning-Allen (6-4, F, Chicago, Ill.) and Keyla Morgan (5-8, G, Rancho Dominguez, Calif.).
