No. 22 Kansas Completes Homestand With UC Riverside Sunday At 1 p.m.
Dec. 18, 2009
Game Notes in PDF Format
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
OPENING TIP
The 22nd-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team closes out its five-game homestand in Allen Fieldhouse when it hosts UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. KU enters the game with a 7-2 mark after defeating Creighton, 77-56, a week ago. UC Riverside is 2-6 overall after falling at Oklahoma State, 69-46, Thursday evening. Sunday’s game will serve as “Family Fun and Food Day” with packages including four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for just $40.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas junior center Krysten Boogaard recorded 10 points off of 5-of-6 shooting from the field versus Creighton. Boogaard has scored in double figures in five-straight games and seven of nine on the season.
-KU is ranked 18th in the NCAA in field goal percentage as it has connected on 248-of-534 shots from the floor, good for 46.4 percent. The Jayhawks are shooting an impressive 40.7 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks ninth in the NCAA. KU has knocked down 50-of-123 from three-point land, including 23-of-44 threes for senior guard-forward Danielle McCray. McCray is making 52.3 percent from three, which ranks eighth in the NCAA.
-Kansas ranks 18th in the NCAA in assists per game with 17.2 helpers an outing. KU redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich leads the way with 8.3 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 two of the last three games.
-Kansas’ trio of Danielle McCray, Nicollette Smith and Monica Engelman have combined to make 38-of-78 shots from beyond the arc, good for 48.7 percent. McCray leads the way with 23 triples, while Smith has knocked down nine and Engleman six. McCray needs just one three-point basket to move into a tie with Erica Hallman on the Kansas all-time chart for three-point baskets made with 181. Angie Halbleib is the KU record holder with 237 career-threes.
-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.
A LOOK AT UC RIVERSIDE
The Highlanders enter Sunday’s game with a 2-6 overall mark with their two wins coming over Northern Arizona and Pepperdine. UCR has four double-figure scorers in Marissa Rivera (13.0), Alyssa Morris (11.5), Rhaya Neabors (11.3) and Amber Cox (10.6). Morris leads the Highlanders on the boards with 6.8 caroms per contest, while Rheya Neabors adds 5.5 and Rivera pulls down 5.4 rebounds a game. Rheya Neabors is the top assister with 38 dimes on the season, while her twin sister Rhaya Neabors leads UC Riverside with 19 steals. The Highlanders are 177-of-449 from the field, good for 39.4 percent and have made 100-of-145 shots from the free throw line, good for 69.0 percent. Sunday’s game marks the second-straight road game versus a Big 12 opponent for the Highlanders as they dropped a 69-46 decision at Oklahoma State Thursday evening. UCR is coached by John Margaritis who owns a 88-73 record in his sixth season at the helm of the program. Margaritis’ overall coaching record is 198-153 in his 12th season.
KU-UCR SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Highlanders with a 1-0 mark. Kansas defated UC Riverside 62-49 on Dec. 16, 2007. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is also 1-0 versus UCR.
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas, ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll, is off to a 7-2 start with wins over Oral Roberts, Iowa, Michigan, UCLA, Northern Colorado, UMKC and Creighton. The Jayhawks dropped a pair of games at the 2009 Junkanoo Jam to No. 9 Xavier and TCU. KU is averaging 75.8 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 13.2 points an outing. Senior guard-forward Danielle McCray is leading the way with 19.1 points and 6.6 boards a game. McCray is shooting 46.5 percent from the field, including 52.3 percent from beyond the arc. She has connected on 21-of-38 shots from the field in KU’s last three games. Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is registering 13.6 points and 7.6 caroms per contest. Sutherland also leads the Jayhawks in blocks (13). Junior center Krysten Boogaard is turning in 6.6 boards per game, while also contributing 13.7 tallies an outing. Senior guard Sade Morris adds 8.8 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 7.6 points a game. Goodrich is also contributing a team-best 8.3 dimes a game. Junior forward Nicollette Smith is the top Jayhawk off the bench with 4.7 points and 3.2 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 86-81 mark at the helm of the Jayhawk program. Henrickson is 244-143 in her 13th season in the business.
