Jayhawks preparing to play sans coach
Kansas to face OSU without Washington
So long has it been since Marian Washington first coached a Kansas University women’s basketball team that her predecessor’s records are almost nonexistent. KU’s media guide contains scores from only three of the 19 games the Jayhawks played under Sharon Drysdale during the 1972-73 season.
Now, for the first time since Drysdale was on the sidelines, someone other than Washington will be coaching the Jayhawks. Aide Lynette Woodard ascended to the top job Thursday when Washington was granted a leave of absence for undisclosed medical reasons.
Woodard’s head-coaching debut will be tonight against Oklahoma State. Tipoff will be 7:05 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
“Hopefully, everyone will be pumped and be ready to play,” Woodard said.
Julie Goodenough, Oklahoma State’s second-year coach, fully expects the Jayhawks to perform at the peak of their skills in the wake of Washington’s surprise announcement.
“Obviously, it will be an emotional game for their team,” Goodenough said. “I’m sure their players will want to win for coach Washington, and our players will have to be aware of that.”
Goodenough said she was as surprised as everyone else when she heard of Washington’s decision to step aside for health reasons.
“I hope whatever issue she has she can take care of,” Goodenough said. “She’s in my prayers. I have a lot of respect for what she has meant to women’s basketball.”
Oklahoma State hasn’t been very good outside of Stillwater, Okla., this season. In fact, the Cowgirls have often been road kill, losing by 53 points at Texas Tech, 50 at Oklahoma, 22 at Texas and 20 at Arkansas. Yet they have a 3-4 Big 12 Conference record that includes a stunning double overtime win over Texas Tech in Gallagher-Iba Arena a week ago.
Although 1-6 in road games, Goodenough is hoping to see a less hostile environment tonight because four players on her roster are from Kansas, including Trisha Skibbe, the Big 12’s leading scorer at 20.1 points per game.
“I think we’ll have good fan support,” Goodenough said. “Unlike some road trips I think that because of our Kansas girls we’ll have a bigger crowd that we usually do.”
Skibbe, a 6-foot-2 senior, is from Oxford, a small town southeast of Wichita near the Oklahoma border. Other Kansans on the OSU roster are Brittany Dietz of Osborne, Christian Hood of Hutchinson and Lynsie Tischhauser of Salina.
Kansas, 8-9 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, was off to a promising Big 12 start after posting a 55-52 road win over Missouri three weeks ago. Since then, however, the Jayhawks have dropped four games in a row, including their last outing — a 76-49 loss to Missouri a week ago in Allen Fieldhouse.
After tonight, KU doesn’t have another home game until Feb. 11 when Kansas State comes to town. The Jayhawks will travel to Texas Tech Wednesday and to Nebraska a week from today.
6Sports video: Woodard’s first practice as head coach went well
Jayhawks preparing to play sans coach