Women's Basketball Travels To Creighton Wednesday

Dec. 21, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Game Notes in PDF Format

OPENING TIP

Kansas will travel to Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Dec. 22, to face Creighton in its final game prior to the Holiday break. The Jayhawks enter the game with a 10-1 mark after defeating SIU Edwardsville, 91-52, in its last outing. CU enters the contest with a 6-4 mark with wins over Marquette and North Dakota State under its belt. KU and CU are meeting for the 34th time in program history, with the Jayhawks owning a 21-12 series lead. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., in the Qwest Center in the first game of a double-header with the Creighton men’s team.

FAST BREAKS

-At 10-1, Kansas is off to its best start since opening the 2005-06 season with a 12-0 mark.

-Kansas is averaging 83.5 points per game, which ranks third in the Big 12 Conference and 11th in the NCAA. KU has three players averaging double digits in points, led by sophomore forward Carolyn Davis with 18.5 tallies per game. Sophomore guard Monica Engelman is pouring in 14.7 points per game, while junior forward Aishah Sutherland is adding 12.0 points per outing. Freshman guard Keena Mays is narrowly missing double figures as she is chipping in 9.6 tallies a game, while six other Jayhawks are turning in 4.4 points or more per game.

-KU ranks ninth nationally (3rd in Big 12) in scoring margin as it averages 23.5 more points per game than its opponents.

-The Jayhawks are out-rebounding their opponents by 11.4 boards per game, which ranks second in the Big 12 and 10th in the NCAA. Sutherland leads KU and ranks second in the Big 12 in rebounding as she pulls down 9.7 boards per game. She ranks 40th in the NCAA in rebounding.

-KU is shooting 50.7 percent from the field after 11 games, which is tops in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally. Kansas is led by senior center Krysten Boogaard, who has made 34-of-51 shots from the field, good for a league-leading 66.7 percent. Six other Kansas players are shooting better than 45.0 percent on the season. Boogaard has not attempted enough shots to rank nationally, but Davis ranks second nationally and in the Big 12 shooting 66.0 percent.

-Kansas has dished 192 assists through 11 games, good for an average of 17.5 dimes per outing. The Jayhawks have held their opponents to just 110 assists on the season, nearly doubling them up. Freshman guard Keena Mays leads the way with 6.3 helpers per game. Mays ranks first in the Big 12 and seventh nationally. Engelman is dishing out 3.5 assists per game, which ranks 15th in the Big 12. KU ranks 20th nationally in assists and also ranks 18th in assist-to-turnover ratio.

A LOOK AT CREIGHTON

At 6-4, Creighton has wins over Wyoming, Marquette and North Dakota State at home. The Bluejays are 4-1 overall at home, but will be playing a home game in the Qwest Center for just the second time in program history. Senior guard Kelsey Woodard leads the way for CU with 12.2 points. Woodard has knocked down a team-best 20 three-point baskets and is shooting 90.9 percent from the foul line. Senior forward Sam Schuett is also in double figures in points with 10.5 tallies per game, while leading the Cougars on the boards with 7.1 caroms per contest. Freshman guard-forward Carli Tritz adds 9.7 points and 3.4 boards a game and leads CU with 2.6 steals a game. Creighton is coached by Jim Flanery, who owns a 158-107 ledger in his ninth season with the Bluejays. Flanery’s overall mark is the same.

A LOOK AT KANSAS

Kansas is 10-1 on the season after defeating SIU Edwardsville, 91-52, for its second-straight win. Kansas is 8-0 at home on the season and 2-1 in road games. The Jayhawks are led by sophomore forward Carolyn Davis’ 18.5 points per game. Davis has already posted five 20-point games on the season, highlighted by a 29-point effort at Wisconsin. Davis is also grabbing 7.2 boards per game. Nine other players are turning in 4.4 or more points per game. Sophomore guard Monica Engelman is averaging 14.7 points per game, while also pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game and dishing 3.5 assists. Junior forward Aishah Sutherland is next with 12.0 points per contest. Sutherland is nearly averaging a double-double as she is also pulling down 9.7 caroms per contest, which ranks second in the Big 12. Davis tops KU in blocks with 1.7 per game, while Sutherland blocks 1.4 and senior center Krysten Boogaard swats 1.0 per game. KU is shooting 50.7 percent from the field, which ranks first in the Big 12. The Jayhawks are holding their opponents to just 35.3 percent from the field. Boogaard leads the team in field goal percentage as she is knocking down 66.7 percent of her shots, which tops the Big 12. Davis is right behind her at 66.0 percent and five other Jayhawks are also shooting 45.0 percent or better. Kansas is out-rebounding its opponents by 11.4 boards per game, led by Sutherland’s 9.7 per game. Senior guard Marisha Brown and sophomore guard Angel Goodrich returned to the lineup versus SIUE after missing eight and seven games, respectively, with injuries. Brown is averaging 7.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while Goodrich is turning in 5.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals a game.

A KANSAS WIN WOULD…

Improve the Jayhawks to 11-1 for the first time since the 2005-06 season … Make the Jayhawks 5-1 in December … Improve the Jayhawks to 3-1 in road games … Make the Jayhawks 22-12 all-time versus Creighton … Make the Jayhawks 82-29 all-time versus schools from the Missouri Valley Conference … Improve Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson to 8-1 against Creighton … Give Henrickson a 107-96 mark at Kansas and a 265-158 overall record … Make Kansas 704-494 all time.

A KANSAS LOSS WOULD…

Drop KU to 2-2 in road games … Move the Jayhawks to 4-2 in December … Make Kansas 10-2 to open the season for the second-straight season …. Move the series to 21-13 in KU’s favor … Give KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson a 7-2 against Creighton … Move the Jayhawks to 81-30 all-time versus schools from the Missouri Valley Conference … Drop Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson’s record at KU to 106-97 and her overall mark to 264-159 … Make Kansas 703-495 all time … Be less good than a Jayhawks’ win.