The first exhibition game against Pittsburg State was supposed to be a coming out party for six Kansas University women’s basketball newcomers.
And while senior Crystal Kemp didn’t rain on the parade, she certainly did her best to steal the spotlight.
“I don’t want to take anything from them, and I’m pretty sure they don’t want to take anything from me,” Kemp said of the Jayhawks’ new players. “As long as we go out there and all play well together, we can all come out with a victory.”
Kansas did just that Sunday, with Kemp carrying the offensive load in a 90-65 victory over Pittsburg State at Allen Fieldhouse.
The forward finished with 24 points, scoring 18 of Kansas’ 20 points during an 11-minute stretch beginning late in the first half.
What could be more frightening for future opponents is that the senior could have scored more, missing most of the mid-range attempts she usually makes.
“Her jump shots weren’t falling,” Kansas guard Erica Hallman said, “but when she’s down on the blocks, she’s pretty much unstoppable.”
The Jayhawks pulled away for good late in the second half, reeling off a 24-2 run with the help of six points from Kemp and also six from freshman Sophronia Sallard.
The 5-foot-10 guard was one of many bright spots from the Kansas rookies. Coming off the bench, Sallard provided an offensive spark with 13 points in only 12 minutes.
“When she’s breathing, she’s really good,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She doesn’t breathe sometimes : we’ve got to get her in shape.”
Also impressive was the tag-team point-guard play of newcomers Ivana Catic and Shaquina Mosley.
In their first games as Jayhawks, the two combined for only two turnovers in 49 minutes.
Meanwhile, each showed what she can bring individually to this year’s team.
Catic had a team-leading six assists and five steals, while Mosley displayed some of the flash and penetrating ability that made her the junior-college player of the year last season. She finished with 13 points and four assists.
“At first I was kind of nervous, but then I was just like, ‘I need to play my game,'” Mosley said. “That’s what coach Bonnie recruited me for. That’s why I’m here, so I just had to do that.”
Though it was only an exhibition, Henrickson had reason to be excited about the improvements in her offense.
The 90 points scored were the most in the coach’s era.
“We took good shots,” Henrickson said, “and probably only two or three bad shots.”
Kansas also was able to turn up the defensive intensity, utilizing a full-court press during much of the game. As a result, the Jayhawks forced 28 Gorilla turnovers, using an option not available last year because of a lack of bench players.
“We’ve got the ability and the depth to go out and set the tempo early,” Hallman said, “and I think that’s what we did.”
Pittsburg State kept it close in the second half, rallying from a 19-point deficit to make it 52-47 on a Nikki Pierce jumper with 13:36 remaining.
But the offense soon turned cold, with the Gorillas managing just one field goal in the next 8 1/2 minutes.
Hallman added 14 points for the Jayhawks, while senior Kaylee Brown contributed 12, all coming in the first half.
Anna Nimz led Pittsburg State with 15 points.
Kansas will play Emporia State on Sunday in its final exhibition before the regular season.
The Hornets, who are ranked No. 17 in the Division II Bulletin preseason rankings after a 27-6 season, will play Tuesday at Kansas State.
