Three Jayhawks, two Tigers suspended for roles in brawl

The Big 12 Conference suspended five women’s basketball players Wednesday for their roles in a scuffle following Kansas University’s 55-52 victory Saturday at Missouri.

Three KU players were suspended for one game each. Junior forward Kandis Bonner was suspended for kicking a Missouri player, and sophomore forward/center Tamara Ransburg received her suspension for attempting to strike a Missouri player. Junior guard Larisha Graves also will miss one game because she grabbed a Tiger from behind and knocked the opponent to the court.

In addition, Kansas freshman forward Lauren Ervin was reprimanded by the league for taunting Missouri after the game.

The conference suspended Missouri senior guard MyEsha Perkins and sophomore center Christelle N’Garsanet for one game each for their attempts to strike members of the Kansas team. Missouri added another game suspension to Perkins’ penalty.

In addition, the Big 12 noted that Kansas coach Marian Washington made public comments that were contrary to Big 12 policy.

Washington had said, “I don’t see any reason to discipline anyone” on her team, blaming the Tigers for the altercation. Washington said some Missouri players made obscene gestures to the Jayhawks, and Kansas players were spat on by the Missouri band.

Commissioner Kevin Weiberg said: “I am pleased that University of Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins has adequately addressed this issue with coach Washington. Further, the issues raised publicly were not the cause of the unsporting behavior by players, based upon the information available at this time. Finally, it appears that Missouri game management worked to prevent further escalation of the incident in an appropriate manner.”

Perkins and Missouri athletic director Mike Alden issued the following joint statement: “The administrators, coaches and student-athletes of our two great institutions regret the unfortunate incident that followed our women’s basketball game Saturday night. The incident put a damper on what was an outstanding night of athletic competition, and none of us is proud of it.

<i>” border=”0″/> 6Sports video: KU women gaining confidence</a><a href=</i>” border=”0″/> 6Sports video: Five players suspended after altercation</a></td>
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<p>“We have spoken to our administrators, to our coaches and to our student-athletes. We both encourage sporting behavior and support the Big 12 Conference’s code of conduct. We will do our best to ensure that everyone involved in our athletics programs behave in a manner that brings credit to themselves, intercollegiate athletics, the conference and our universities. We expect our fans to do the same.”</p>
<p>KU and Missouri meet again Jan. 24 at Allen Fieldhouse.</p>
<p>“There is no place for this kind of activity in college sports,” Weiberg said. “We appreciate the two institutions and their athletic directors for taking prompt action in this matter.”</p>
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