Jayhawks Take On Bluejays Saturday In Omaha
Dec. 11, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes in PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The University of Kansas will travel to Creighton for the first of three-straight road games. Kansas and Creighton will tip off at 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Omaha Civic Auditorium. KU (6-1) leads the all-time series with the Bluejays 17-12, including having won three-straight. Creighton (2-5) is 1-2 in home games this season.
FAST BREAKS
-Bonnie Henrickson has the Jayhawks 6-1 on the season for the second-straight season.
-Kansas will take a week off from game action to complete final exams. KU will then hit the road for California to take on UCLA and Pepperdine before the Holiday break. It will mark the second-straight season the Jayhawks have tripped to California prior to the Holiday break.
-The Jayhawks were led in their win over Western Illinois by junior guard-forward Danielle McCray with 18 points and five rebounds. McCray shot 58.3 percent (7-12) from the field during the win, including making 50.0 percent (2-4) of her shots from beyond the arc. McCray has scored in double figures in nine-straight games, including all seven this season. She has also recorded 20+ points in four games this season.
-Kansas has connected on 27-of-51 shots from the three-point line, good for 52.9 percent, over its last three games. The Jayhawks got 10 three’s from McCray and six from sophomore forward Nicollette Smith. KU is sharing the ball well as it collected 54 assists on its 78 field goals during the three outings.
-KU is sharing the ball well as it collected 54 assists on its 78 field goals during the three outings. On the season, the Jayhawks have dished 108 assists compared to just 53 for its opponents.
-11 of 12 Jayhawks have recorded at least one block, led by junior forward Porscha Weddington with 10. Junior guard Sade Morris has tallied eight blocks and McCray seven.
-Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference in assists with 5.4 per game. Jacobs has already dished 38 assists through seven games after only recording 55 all of last season.
A LOOK AT CREIGHTON
Creighton is 2-5 on the year, with wins over Saint Louis and Denver. All of CU’s losses this year have come against squads which won at least 20 games last year, and three have come to top-25 Big 12 teams. The Jays were picked to finish second in the MVC this year, after finishing just one win shy of a shared MVC title a year ago. CU returns eight letterwinners and four players who started at least 15 games last year from its 21-12 team which advanced to the second round of the postseason WNIT. Junior Chevelle Herring is averaging a team-best 17.3 points per game, while shooting 45.9 percent (17-37) from three-point range. Megan Neuvirth leads the team with 9.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Kelsey Woodard is adding 11.9 points and 4.7 boards per game. CU is averaging just 13.9 turnovers per game, while also forcing 13.9 miscues by its opponents. The Jays have made 50-of-132 three’s on the season, good for 39.7 percent. Now in his seventh season at CU, Jim Flanery’s overall mark is 111-85. His overall coaching record is the same.
KU-CREIGHTON SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Bluejays with a 17-12 mark. Kansas has won three-straight in the series after dropping five in a row to Creighton. The following is the series history:
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas is off to a 6-1 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 20.6 points per game, while Morris adds 13.7 and Jacobs turns in 9.4. In addition, juniors Porscha Weddington and Kelly Kohn are adding 7.0 and 5.4 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 46.8 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 33.6 percent field goal shooting. The Jayhawks have recorded 65 steals compared to just 43 for their opponents, led by Morris with 15 pilfers and McCray with 14. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 38 dimes in seven games, while McCray is pulling down a team-leading 8.7 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 49-of-112 shots from beyond the arc, good for 43.8 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 20-of-40 shots, while Smith has made 12-of-28 attempts from three-point range. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 11-of-12 attempts, good for 91.7 percent.
