Lincoln, Neb. ? Maybe the law of averages is catching up with Bonnie Henrickson.
During her first four years at Kansas University’s women’s basketball coach, Henrickson rarely lost a player because of injury. But she has already lost two guards — Angel Goodrich and Katie Smith — for the season to knee surgeries.
Also, sophomore center Krysten Boogaard missed four games due to a leg injury. Now Sade Morris, the Jayhawks’ second-leading scorer, has joined the casualties after suffering a concussion during Saturday’s game against Texas Tech.
Morris is listed as day-to-day, but isn’t expected to play tonight against Nebraska.
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center. The game will not be televised.
Henrickson will quite likely open with both of her point guards — Ivana Catic and LaChelda Jacobs — in the backcourt “because Nebraska presses all over the court,” leaving Kelly Kohn as the lone backcourt reserve.
Nebraska coach Connie Yori hasn’t suffered as many injuries as Henrickson, but Yori nonetheless has lost her best player. Kelsey Griffin, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, needed ankle surgery before the season and is taking a medical red shirt.
Without Griffin, a 6-foot-2 senior, the Cornhuskers are off to an 0-3 start in conference play in the wake of Saturday’s 67-66 loss at Missouri.
Hungry for a league win, Nebraska may have just what the doctor ordered tonight based on KU’s history of struggling in the Devaney Center. Nebraska has won 10 of the last 11 meetings in Lincoln, including a 71-51 victory last January.
Nebraska is the Big 12’s worst shooting team at 39.4 percent. The Huskers are also 11th in rebounding and last in assists. Kansas, meanwhile, has shot well, but has been plagued by giveaways. The Jayhawks are last in the league in turnover margin.
KU junior Danielle McCray ranks second in the league in scoring (17.9) behind Oklahoma State’s Andrea Riley despite battling a shooting slump. McCray has shot just 32.9 percent (25 of 76) over the last five games. She missed 17 of 24 shots in Wednesday’s 57-49 home loss to Texas Tech.
