Schedule no help for KU women

By Chuck Woodling     Dec 6, 2006

Bonnie Henrickson isn’t ready to circle the wagons.

“It’s not time to panic,” said Henrickson, Kansas University’s third-year women’s basketball coach. “I’m concerned, but I’m not going to panic.”

The Jayhawks are coming off a 27-point loss Sunday at Wisconsin and their next foe – South Dakota State – doesn’t fit into the cupcake category.

Tipoff will be at 7:05 p.m. today in Allen Fieldhouse. Sunflower Broadband Channel Six will provide a live telecast.

South Dakota State, now in its third year in NCAA Division I, will join the Mid-Continent Conference next season. The Jackrabbits are 5-2 and own impressive victories over Southern Cal and Virginia. One of their losses was to Big 12 Conference power Baylor.

“Our players recognize that South Dakota State is very, very good,” Henrickson said, “and (Megan) Vogel is as tough a matchup as we’ve had all season.”

Vogel, a 5-foot-11 senior from St. Peter, Minn., is averaging 18.6 points per game. She had 22 in the Jackrabbits’ last outing, an 85-41 flogging of winless Long Beach State at home in Brookings, S.D.

Kansas is coming off a 68-41 flogging at Wisconsin. The Jayhawks trailed by eight at halftime in the Badgers’ Kohl Center, then withered as Wisconsin went on a 19-2 run.

“We recognize we were bad,” Henrickson said about the start of the second half. “Everyone had a deer-in-the-headlight look.”

With a roster composed primarily of underclassmen, Henrickson is looking for someone to provide stability. Meanwhile, she’ll continue starting junior Taylor McIntosh, sophomores Marija Zinic and Ivana Catic and freshmen Sade Morris and Kelly Kohn.

“It’s hard to shake up the lineup,” Henrickson said, “when nobody showed me at Wisconsin they were ready to move up.”

Zinic is the only KU player averaging in double-figure scoring and the 6-foot-2 native of Serbia is close to the edge at 10.3 points per game.

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Notes: KU has won 17 straight regular-season nonconference games in Allen Fieldhouse. :The Jayhawks are shooting 49 percent at home and 36 percent on the road. : Henrickson and SDSU coach Aaron Johnston are both natives of Minnesota. Henrickson hails from Willmar, Johnston from Pine Island.

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