No. 21 Kansas Hosts Pepperdine For

Dec. 28, 2009

Game Notes in PDF Format

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

OPENING TIP
The 21st-ranked Kansas women’s basketball team hosts Pepperdine in its first game back from the holiday break. Game time is slated for 1 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks will close out the 2009 portion of their schedule trying to collect their seventh-straight win and 10th win overall as they enter the contest with a 9-2 mark. Pepperdine enters Wednesday’s contest with a 9-4 overall record and a four-game win streak of its own. Wednesday’s game is “Dollar Day” as tickets, popcorn, candy, chips and hot dogs are all available for just $1.

FAST BREAKS
-Kansas senior guard-forward Danielle McCray had a career-high 37 points in the Jayhawks’ win over Houston (12-22-09). The 37-point effort was her second-straight game with 30 or more points and marked the eighth time in her career she has recorded 30 or more points in a game. It also marked her sixth game during the 2009-10 season with 20 or more points and the 36th time in her career she has scored 20 or more points.

-McCray is now averaging a team-best 21.7 points per game, which ranks second in the Big 12 Conference. She enters Wednesday’s game with 1,778 career points, which ranks fifth best in Kansas history. She needs eight points to move into a tie with Vickie Adkins for fourth place on the KU all-time scoring chart.

-KU redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich leads the Jayhawk offense with 8.3 dimes a game, which ranks first in the Big 12. Goodrich has turned in double-figures in assists in four games this season, including tying her career-best with 11 dimes in KU’s win over Houston. McCray is dishing 3.2 assists per game, while senior guard Sade Morris is averaging 2.4 helpers a game as KU averages nearly 17 assists per game as a team.

-Kansas’ inside duo of junior center Krysten Boogaard and sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is controlling the paint. Sutherland is turning in 13.0 points per game and Boogaard is adding 12.7 tallies, while the duo is also combining for 13.6 rebounds per game and 2.3 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 PEPPERDINE
The Waves enter Wednesday’s game with a 9-4 overall mark, including a four-game win streak with victories over San Diego State, Nevada, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. Pepperdine is led by senior center Miranda Ayim with 14.3 points and 7.0 boards per game. Ayim also leads the Waves in steals with 2.1 thefts per game. Sophomore guard Jazmine Jackson is also in double figures for the Waves with 12.0 points per game, while fellow sophomore guard Katie Mention adds 10.4 tallies a game. Junior forward Skye Barnett contributes 7.1 points and 5.8 boards per game. Pepperdine is coached by Julie Rousseau who owns a 71-92 record in her sixth season at the helm of the program. Rousseau’s overall coaching record is the same.

KU-PEPPERDINE SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series between the Jayhawks and Waves with a 3-0 mark. Most recently, Kansas defeated Pepperdine, 82-54 on Dec. 23, 2008 in Malibu. KU head coach Bonnie Henrickson is 2-0 versus Pepperdine.

A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas, ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll, is off to a 9-2 start, including a current six-game winning streak. The Jayhawks dropped a pair of games at the 2009 Junkanoo Jam to No. 9 Xavier and TCU, but have won every game since. KU is averaging 76.9 points per game and outscoring its opponents by 14.0 points an outing. Senior guard-forward Danielle McCray is leading the way with 21.7 points and 7.1 boards a game. McCray is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, including 50.8 percent from beyond the arc. She also dishes 3.2 assists per game. Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland is registering 13.0 points and 7.3 caroms per contest. Sutherland also leads the Jayhawks in blocks (13). Junior center Krysten Boogaard is turning in 6.3 boards per game, while also contributing 12.7 tallies an outing. Senior guard Sade Morris adds 8.3 points per game and recently became the 21st player in Kansas history to score 1,000 career points. Morris also turns in 3.9 boards and a ranks second on the team with 1.6 steals per game. Redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich is scoring 6.5 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 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. KU freshman guard Monica Engelman adds 4.1 points and 2.2 caroms per contest in a relief role. Kansas is led by sixth-year head coach Bonnie Henrickson who owns an 88-81 mark at the helm of the Jayhawk program. Henrickson is 246-143 in her 13th season in the business.