Kansas Set To Host Houston On New Year's Eve
Dec. 30, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Game Notes in PDF Format
OPENING TIP
The University of Kansas women’s basketball team hosts Houston on Wednesday, Dec. 31 to close out the 2008 portion of its schedule. Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m., in Allen Fieldhouse, with a live broadcast on MetroSports. KU (8-2) is looking to remain undefeated in Allen Fieldhouse on the season, as the Jayhawks have collected five-straight wins at home to open the season. Houston, who has won five of its last six games, enters the contest with an 8-3 overall mark.
FAST BREAKS
-Kansas is playing for the first time at home in three weeks (Dec. 10). The Jayhawks return to Allen Fieldhouse for three-straight home games after playing on the road for three-straight games. KU finished its three-game road trip with a 2-1 mark.
-KU sophomore Krysten Boogaard had a stellar trip to California as the Jayhawk center posted back-to-back 20+ point outings. Boogaard had 42 points and 16 rebounds during the trip for an average of 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Boogaard has now collected 20 or more points on six occasions during her Kansas career.
-Junior guard-forward Danielle McCray continues to lead the Jayhawks through the 2008 portion of the schedule. McCray, who has scored in double figures in nine of 10 games this season, is averaging 18.7 points and 8.2 rebounds to lead KU. McCray has also collected 17 steals and seven blocks. She ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring and fourth in rebounding.
-Kansas is making 47.5 percent of its shots from the field. The Jayhawks made a season-best 67.9 percent of their shots in their last outing at Peperdine. The Jayhawks were especially hot in the second half versus the Waves as they connected on 18-of-23 buckets. Sade Morris made 5-of-6 shots from the field, while Krysten Boogaard hit 10-of-14.
-KU is sharing the ball well as it collected 152 assists on its 274 field goals. Kansas is averaging 15.2 assists per game, compared to just 8.0 for its opponents. Junior guard LaChelda Jacobs leads KU in assists with 48 on the season. Junior guard Sade Morris had collected 26 assists and senior guard Ivana Catic has 27 dimes.
A LOOK AT HOUSTON
Houston arrives in Lawrence with a 8-3 mark, having posted a perfect 5-0 mark at home, while collecting a 2-2 road record. UH is led on the season by sophomore guard-forward Courtney Taylor with 16.9 points per game. Taylor is also leading the Cougars on the boards with 11.6 caroms per contest. She is knocking down 50.0 percent of her field goal attempts, having made 64-of-128 shots from the floor. Taylor has also collected a team-best 22 blocks and 18 steals. Sophomore guard Brittney Scott is also in double figures with 11.8 tallies per game. Scott is the top three-point shooter for UH as she has canned 16-of-58 three-point field goals. Freshman guard Roxana Button is the third Houston player in double figures on the season as she turns in 11.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Fellow freshman guard Porsche Landry is not far behind Button with 9.3 points per game. Landry is the top assister on the team with 31 dimes.Head coach Joe Curl is in his 11th season with the Cougars, having collected a 165-145 coaching record at UH. His overall coaching mark is 303-245 in his 19th season in the business.
KU-HOUSTON SERIES HISTORY
Kansas leads the all-time series with Houston 4-0. The Jayhawks claimed a 69-67 win over the
Cougars in Amarillo, Texas on March 23, 1991 to open the series. KU also boasts a 79-54 win over Houston on Dec. 28, 1998 in the series’ only other game played in Lawrence. The following is the series history:
Date Result Location
3-23-91 Kansas, 69-67 Amarillo, Texas
1-2-95 Kansas, 99-98 Houston, Texas
12-28-98 Kansas, 79-54 Lawrence, Kan.
11-20-99 Kansas, 70-56 Houston, Texas
A LOOK AT KANSAS
Kansas is off to an 8-2 start to the 2008-09 season behind the strong play of its junior class. Led by a trio of guards in Danielle McCray, Sade Morris and LaChelda Jacobs, the Jayhawks are outscoring their opponents by nearly 19 points per game. McCray tops the Jayhawk scorers with 18.7 points per game, while Morris adds 12.8 and Jacobs turns in 8.9. In addition, sophomores Krysten Boogaard and Nicollette Smith are adding 11.3 and 7.7 points per game, respectively. KU is shooting 47.5 percent from the field, while holding its opponents to just 33.5 percent field goal shooting. The Jayhawks have recorded 87 steals compared to just 65 for their opponents, led by Morris with 19 pilfers and McCray with 17. Jacobs is the leader in assists with 48 dimes in nine games, while McCray is pulling down a team-leading 8.2 rebounds and Smith is grabbing 6.0 per game. Kansas is also shooting well from the three-point line as it has connected on 64-of-153 shots from beyond the arc, good for 41.8 percent, tops in the Big 12 Conference. McCray is leading the way from beyond the arc as she has knocked 22-of-57 shots, while Smith has made 18-of-41 attempts from three-point range. Ivana Catic leads the Jayhawks from the foul line as she has connected on 17-of-18 attempts, good for 94.4 percent.
