Houston ? Is tonight the night Sade Morris breaks out of her scoring slump?
Kansas University coach Bonnie Henrickson certainly hopes Morris, a 5-foot-11 senior, will be more goal-oriented when the No. 21-ranked Jayhawks tangle with Houston University in women’s basketball.
“Sade has been in a little bit of a fog offensively,” Henrickson said. “I love the fact she will guard, but we need her to score.”
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion. The game won’t be televised.
Since posting a career-high 26 points against Michigan exactly a month ago, Morris has averaged only 5.4 points while taking an average of around eight shots a game.
Henrickson said she wanted Morris to be more like freshman reserve Monica Engelman, who rarely passes up an open look.
“Sade needs to take a shot,” Henrickson said. “I challenged her to be as aggressive as Engelman offensively. Monica is not afraid to take a shot.”
For her part, Morris knows she’ll have to step it up tonight.
“You don’t want to end Christmas break with a loss,” Morris said. “Nobody wants to go home miserable when you lose to a team you should have beaten.”
In the unranked Cougars, KU will be facing a team coming off a disappointing 71-60 home loss Sunday to Princeton. Houston (6-4) played most of that game without leading rebounder Courtney Taylor, who was injured early and might not play tonight.
Kansas (8-2) has played only one game in an unfriendly arena, winning 66-55 at Iowa in mid-November in front of more than 3,300 fans.
It’s unlikely, however, the Jayhawks will face a snake-pit atmosphere tonight because Houston is averaging a mere 376 fans per outing in Hofheinz Pavilion.
Following tonight’s game, KU players will have four days off before resuming practice sessions Sunday in preparation for a meeting with Pepperdine a week from Wednesday in Allen Fieldhouse.
