Women's Basketball Hosts Western Illinois Thursday
Dec. 9, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes in PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The University of Kansas will host Western Illinois on Wednesday, Dec. 10. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse, with a live broadcast on Sunflower Cablevision. KU (5-1) is looking to get back on the winning track after suffering its first set-back of the season at Marquette on Sunday. Western Illinois enters the game with a 2-6 overall mark.
FAST BREAKS
-Bonnie Henrickson has the Jayhawks 5-1 on the season for the second-straight season.
-KU will hit the road for a three-game road swing following tonight’s home game versus Western Illinois. The Jayhawks will travel to Creighton, before heading to California to take on UCLA and Pepperdine before the Holiday break.
-The Jayhawks were led last week by junior guard-forward Danielle McCray who topped the 20-point mark in both games. McCray averaged 21.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists during the week, including recording her third double-double of the season and 12th of her career with 22 points and 13 boards versus Marquette. McCray shot 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field during the week, including making 66.7 percent (8-12) of her shots from beyond the arc. For her efforst she was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career.
-Kansas has connected on 19-of-32 shots from the three-point line, good for 59.4 percent, over its last two games. The Jayhawks got eight three’s from McCray and four from junior guard Kelly Kohn. KU is also sharing the ball well as it collected 41 assists on its 55 field goals during the two outings.
-Junior forward-center Rebecca Feickert saw significant action for the first time in her KU career, logging 32 minutes during KU’s games versus San Jose State and Marquette. Feickert made the most of her time, collecting 11 points and six boards. The Goodrich, N.D., native made 5-of-6 shots from the field, including her first career-three-point basket.
-Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs ranks third in the Big 12 Conference in assists with 5.8 per game. Jacobs has already dished 35 assists through six games after only recording 55 all of last season.
A LOOK AT WESTERN ILLINOIS
Western Illinois arrives in Lawrence with a 2-6 mark, having defeated Robert Morris in its season opener and Holy Cross to close out the month of November. The Westerwinds have since last back-to-back games to Illinois State and IUPUI. WIU is lead on the season by senior guard Amanda Walker with 11.3 points per game. White, who tallied 11 points in the Westerwinds’ loss to IUPUI, also averages 4.6 rebounds per game and leads WIU with 25 assists. White has knocked down 14-of-32 shots from beyond the arc to lead the Westerwinds from long range. Freshman forward Katie Horsman is second on the team in scoring with 7.8 points per game, while junior guard Katy Clark adds 7.4 tallies per outing. Senior forward Nicole Myers leads WIU with 6.1 caroms per contest, while also adding 6.1 points. Walker and Clark are the top two defensive players for WIU as they have collected 12 and 11 steals, respectively. Kansas native Leslie Crane is the head coach for Western Illinois. Crane, an Iola native, owns a 166-129 overall coaching mark in 11 seasons at WIU. Her overall coaching record is the same.
KU-WESTERN ILLINOIS SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Westerwinds with a 2-1 mark. Kansas has won two-straight in the series after dropping a 48-46 decision to WIU on Dec. 7, 2002, in the initial game in the series. The following is the series history:
Date Result Location
12-7-02 Western Illinois, 48-46 Lawrence, Kan.
12-8-04 Kansas, 58-41 Lawrence, Kan.
11-29-06 Kansas, 75-63 Lawrence, Kan.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas is off to a 5-1 start to the 2008-09 season behind the strong play of its junior class. Led by a trio of guards in Danielle McCray, Sade Morris and LaChelda Jacobs, the Jayhawks are outscoring their opponents by 23.0 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 21.0 points per game, while Morris adds 15.0 and Jacobs turns in 9.7. In addition, juniors Porscha Weddington Kelly Kohn are adding 7.3 and 6.3 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 47.8 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 33.1 percent field goal shooting. The Jayhawks have recorded 51 steals compared to just 39 for their opponents, led by McCray with 13 pilfers and Morris with 11. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 35 dimes in six games, while McCray is pulling down a team-leading 9.3 rebounds and Nicollette Smith is grabbing 5.7 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 41-of-93 shots from beyond the arc, good for 44.1 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 18-of-36 shots, while Kohn has made 9 of her 20 attempts from three-point range. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 9-of-10 attempts, good for 90.0 percent. McCray is also shooting well from the line, hitting 22-of-25 attempts, good for 88.0 percent.
BOOGAARD LISTED AS QUESTIONABLE
Kansas sophomore center Krysten Boogaard is currently listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game versus Western Illinois after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in her left femur on Nov. 19. Boogaard, who has missed KU’s last four games, was re-evaluated on Wednesday, Dec. 3 by the KU medical staff. The Regina, Saskatchewan, native started the first two games of the season for the Jayhawks, averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
