Lady Jayhawks begin their journey

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Last time the Jayhawks played in Allen Fieldhouse, they were in the finals of the WNIT, playing for a packed house. It wasn’t exactly that type of atmosphere to kick off the 2009-10 season on Sunday, but the Jayhawks showed that they have the upside to be better than last year’s team.

Kansas kicked off the season with an 86-56 exhibition win over Pittsburg State on Sunday.

The main reason why the Jayhawks will be better than last year’s team is depth.  You can’t really judge depth in an exhibition game (because your best players don’t play a lot of minutes and you empty the bench quick), but it’s easy to tell that this team is more athletic and talented already.

The two biggest additions to this team were on the roster last year, but neither played significant time. Angel Goodrich, who red-shirted last year after tearing her ACL, is healthy. While she said she had been nervous all week, it wasn’t apparent to her teammates and despite a few misguided passes in the first 10 minutes of the game, she seemed calm.  She even showed off some of her tricks and had a no-look pass to Krysten Boogaard for an easy layup on a fast break.

In the first half, she had six assists and four turnovers in 12 minutes of play and managed to pick up four assists in the second half.  She finished with 10 assists, four turnovers, and a steal in 18 minutes and she definitely provides the Jayhawks with their missing piece from last year.

The other big and “new” addition to this team is the same confident Aishah Sutherland that finished last season with improved post play and a better knack at rebounding.  In the first half, she had 20 points, off of 9-for-12 shooting and nine rebounds in 17 minutes of play and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Sutherland never took an official shot in the second half (one was called off), but also contributed three blocks and two steals in 26 minutes.

Danielle McCray, the pre-season Big 12 Player of the Year, didn’t have an outstanding performance, but she still was 7-for-14 from the field, had 18 points and five assists.

Krysten Boogaard had a quiet 13 points in 17 minutes of play and it seems like she improved her post moves in the off-season.

Coach Bonnie Henrickson noted that Sutherland and Goodrich were the two most impressive players on the court today (which wasn’t a knock on McCray).