East Lansing, Mich. ? Not often does Krysten Boogaard have to look up at an opposing basketball player. She will tonight.
Boogaard, a 6-foot-5 Kansas University freshman, will be matched against Michigan State’s Allyssa DeHaan in a WNIT third-round game, and DeHaan stands 6-9.
Tipoff will be at 6 p.m. at the Breslin Center on the MSU campus. The game will not be televised.
“I just have to play to my strengths,” Boogaard said about going against DeHaan, who leads the Spartans in scoring (14.4), rebounding (7.5) and blocked shots (4.0).
Boogaard, who hails from Regina, Saskatchewan, saw DeHaan last summer while she was playing on Canada’s U-19 FIBA team. DeHaan, a sophomore from Grandville, Mich., was on the U.S. squad.
“I didn’t play against her,” Boogaard said, “but I did play against a 6-11 girl from China, and I was able to use some moves and get around her.”
Boogaard recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards in the Jayhawks’ 82-60 victory over Evansville on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
Another KU player who impressed against the Purple Aces was sophomore guard Kelly Kohn, who came off the bench to score 10 points. Kohn appears to be at full strength for the first time since suffering a severe ankle injury just before the start of the new year.
“I definitely feel I’m getting back into my offensive rhythm,” Kohn said. “Coming off that injury has been tough, but I feel I’m 100 percent when I’m playing.”
Kohn has the added incentive of being a Michigan native. She hails from Adrian, which is about a 90-minute drive from East Lansing.
“Half my high school graduating class went to Michigan State,” Kohn said with a smile. “I’ll have lot of relatives and friends there.”
Michigan State is 20-13 overall and compiled a 10-8 mark in Big Ten Conference standings. The Spartans have won seven of their last nine outings.
“Michigan State was on the (NCAA) bubble,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said, “and they thought they should have been in.”
Kansas is 17-15 overall and wound up 4-12 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks have won two of their last three after losing five straight to close the conference schedule.
KU will be trying to snap an eight-game road losing streak. Their last victory in a hostile arena was Jan. 4 at Xavier.
“We’ve got to grow up,” Henrickson said, “and win on the road.”
