No. 23 Kansas Looks To Extend Win Streak, Hosts Creighton Sunday
Dec. 11, 2009
Game Notes in PDF Format
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
OPENING TIP
The 23rd-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team looks to extend its three-game winning streak and remain undefeated in Allen Fieldhouse when it hosts Creighton on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. KU enters the game with a 6-2 mark after defeating UMKC 81-53 Thursday evening. Creighton is 5-2 overall mark after falling at in-state foe Nebraska in its last outing Wednesday. Sunday’s game will serve as “Scout Day” with all scouts in uniform receiving admission for $3.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas junior center Krysten Boogaard led the Jayhawks in scoring for the second time this season with 19 points versus UMKC. Boogaard has now scored in double figures in four-straight games and six of eight on the season.
-KU has recently tightened up its defense. The Jayhawks have held their last three opponents all to under 36 percent shooting from the field, including a season-low 31.7 percent for UMKC in its last outing. For the season, Kansas is holding its opponents to 38.9 percent from the field.
-Kansas ranks 15th in the NCAA in assists per game with 17.8 helpers an outing. KU redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich leads the way with 8.4 dimes a game, which ranks second in the Big 12 and fourth in the NCAA. Goodrich has turned in double-figures in assists in three games this season, including 10 in each of the last two games.
-Sunday’s game versus Creighton will feature two conference preseason players of the year in Big 12 honoree Danielle McCray and Missouri Valley designee Megan Neuvirth. Both players were also named to the conference preseason First Team after nabbing First Team honors following their junior seasons.
-The Jayhawks will dress out 13 players as senior forward Porscha Weddington is out with mono and freshman forward Tania Jackson is taking a redshirt this season. Weddington is expected to miss two weeks of action while she recovers.
A LOOK AT CREIGHTON
The Bluejays enter Sunday’s game with a 5-2 overall mark with their only two losses coming at the hands of Marquette and No. 23/24 Nebraska. Creighton has two double-figure scorers in senior Megan Neuvirth with 14.7 points per game and junior Kelsey Woodard with 13.3 tallies. Neuvirth, the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year, also pulls down 7.0 boards per game and leads the Bluejays with 2.9 steals an outing. Senior guard Chevelle Herring turns in 9.4 points per game and has dished a team-leading 24 assists. Junior forward Sam Schuett leads Creighton with 8.0 rebounds a game and also scores 8.7 points per game. Creighton has knocked down 69 three point baskets on the season, compared to just 33 by its opponents. The Bluejays are coached by Jim Flanery who owns a 136-94 record in his eighth season at the helm of the program. Flanery’s overall coaching record is the same.
KU-CREIGHTON SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Bluejays with a 19-12 mark. Kansas has won five-straight in the series after previously dropping five in a row to Creighton. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 5-1 vs. the Bluejays.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas, ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press poll, is off to a 6-2 start with wins over Oral Roberts, Iowa, Michigan, UCLA, Northern Colorado and UMKC. The Jayhawks dropped a pair of games at the 2009 Junkanoo Jam to No. 9 Xavier and TCU. KU is averaging 75.6 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 12.3 points an outing. Senior guard-forward Danielle McCray is leading the way with 19.3 points and 6.6 boards a game. McCray is shooting 48.7 percent from the field, including 52.5 percent from beyond the arc. She has connected on 15-of-22 shots from the field in KU’s last two games. Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is registering 13.4 points and 7.3 caroms per contest. Sutherland also leads the Jayhawks in blocks (12). Junior center Krysten Boogaard is turning in 6.8 boards per game, while also contributing 14.1 tallies an outing. Senior guard Sade Morris is nearly in double figures with 9.6 points per game and recently became the 21st player in Kansas history to score 1,000 career points. Redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich is scoring 6.0 points a game. Goodrich is also contributing a team-best 8.4 dimes a game. Junior forward Nicollette Smith is the top Jayhawk off the bench with 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds. KU freshman guard Monica Engelman adds 3.6 points and 2.0 caroms per contest in a relief role. Kansas is led by sixth year head coach Bonnie Henrickson who owns an 85-81 mark at the helm of the Jayhawk program. Henrickson is 243-143 in her 13th season in the business.
