No. 21 Kansas Travels To Houston Tuesday

Dec. 21, 2009

Game Notes in PDF Format

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

OPENING TIP
The 21st-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team travels to Houston for a game versus the Cougars on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m., in Hofheinz Pavilion. KU owns the series lead versus UH, 5-0, including last season’s 73-56 win in Lawrence. Kansas enters the game with an 8-2 overall mark and has won five-straight games. Houston owns a 6-4 overall record prior to Tuesday’s game.

FAST BREAKS
-Kansas senior guard-forward Danielle McCray turned in 30 points in the Jayhawks’ win over UC Riverside, marking the seventh time in her career she has recorded 30 or more points in a game. It also marked her fifth game during the 2009-10 season with 20 or more points and the 35th time in her career she has scored 20 or more points.

-McCray is now averaging a team-best 20.2 points per game, which ranks 16th in the NCAA and second in the Big 12 Conference. She enters Tuesday’s game with 1,741 career points, which ranks sixth best in Kansas history. She needs 33 points to move into a tie with Lynn Pride for fifth place on the KU all-time scoring chart.

-KU redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich leads the Jayhawk offense with 8.0 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 four games. McCray is dishing 3.1 assists per game, while senior guard Sade Morris is averaging 2.5 helpers a game.

-Kansas’ inside duo of junior center Krysten Boogaard and sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is controlling the paint. Both players are averaging 13.3 points per game, while also combining for 14.1 rebounds per game and 2.4 blocks.

-The Jayhawks will dress out 14 players as freshman forward Tania Jackson is taking a redshirt this season. Senior forward Porscha Weddington is returning from a bout with mononucleosis and is listed as questionable.

A LOOK AT HOUSTON
The Cougars enter Tuesday’s game with a 6-4 overall mark with wins over Gardner Webb, UT-Arlington, Oregon State, Texas State, North Texas and UT-San Antonio. Brittney Scott leads Houston in scoring with 16.3 points per game, while Courtney Taylor adds 12.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and a team-best 1.5 blocks per game. Lesslee Mason leads UH on the boards with 9.9 caroms per contest, while also turning in 6.9 points a game. Porsche Landry leads the Cougars in assists with 4.8 and steals with 1.6 per game. UH is coached by Joe Curl who owns a 182-156 record in his 12th season at the helm of the program. Curl’s overall coaching record is 320-256 in his 20th season.

KU-UH SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Cougars with a 5-0 mark. Kansas defeated Houston, 73-56 on Dec. 31, 2008 in Lawrence. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 1-1 versus Houston.

A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas, ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll, is off to an 8-2 start with wins over Oral Roberts, Iowa, Michigan, UCLA, Northern Colorado, UMKC, Creighton and UC Riverside. The Jayhawks dropped a pair of games at the 2009 Junkanoo Jam to No. 9 Xavier and TCU. KU is averaging 75.7 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 13.4 points an outing. Senior guard-forward Danielle McCray is leading the way with 20.2 points and 6.7 boards a game. McCray is shooting 47.3 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. She also dishes 3.1 assists per game. Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is registering 13.3 points and 7.5 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 13.3 tallies an outing. Senior guard Sade Morris adds 8.5 points per game and recently became the 21st player in Kansas history to score 1,000 career points. Morris also turns in 4.3 boards and a team-best 1.8 steals per game. Redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich is scoring 6.8 points a game. Goodrich is also contributing a team-best 8.0 dimes a game. Junior forward Nicollette Smith is the top Jayhawk off the bench with 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds. KU freshman guard Monica Engelman adds 3.8 points and 1.9 caroms per contest in a relief role. Kansas is led by sixth-year head coach Bonnie Henrickson who owns an 87-81 mark at the helm of the Jayhawk program. Henrickson is 245-143 in her 13th season in the business.