After stepping, stomping and dancing at a packed Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night, Kansas University women’s basketball players quickly changed over to running, passing and shooting when they donned their practice unis and scrimmaged to start their 2007-2008 season at Late Night in the Phog.

The Jayhawks entered the building with much pomp and circumstance before cutting loose with some dancing. The freshmen and sophomores put on a step show for the crowd, and the juniors and seniors ended the non-basketball portion of the evening for the team with a stomp show to the delight of the Late Night patrons.

“I thought they were good. They’ve been working on it,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said of the routines.

She had watched them practice the dances a few times and was happy her players danced as well as they did.

“They saved the best performance for here,” she joked.

The ceremonies marked the official beginning of the Jayhawks’ season, and their coach said she left the fieldhouse feeling pretty good about the start.

“Better than we did last year,” she said. “Last year, Kelly Kohn bricked the first layup in warm-ups.”

The coach also praised her team for the work it put in prior to Late Night.

“They’ve done a great job, just competing and working out this fall,” she said, adding that she hopes her team will continue to play the way it did in front of the packed barn.

The White squad beat the Blue team, 18-17. The scrimmage’s leading scorer, Ivana Catic, hit both of her three-point attempts and scored eight points, while each of her five teammates – LaChelda Jacobs, Jamie Boyd, Taylor McIntosh, Krysten Boogaard and Sade Morris – hit a field goal and added two points apiece.

The Blue team was led by Chakeitha Weldon, who scored five, and Marija Zinic, who added four. Porscha Weddington and Danielle McCray each scored three. Katie Smith hit her only field-goal attempt, while Kelly Kohn and Nicollette Smith were the only Jayhawks who failed to score.

“We’ve got to play with that competitiveness and intensity all of the time,” Henrickson said.

The players and coaches enjoyed the dancing more than the scrimmage, though. Henrickson said the routines were the Jayhawks’ favorite part of the evening.

“We don’t get to see them dance that much,” she said.

Henrickson said it’s more than dancing and scrimmaging that makes the night special. She noted that she always is amazed at how wide the eyes of the freshmen get when they see the Late Night crowd.

“There’s just a real energy and atmosphere,” she said. “We try to explain how big this is, but you can’t put it into words for them – there’s just no way. … You can’t, in a video, feel the electricity in here and the enthusiasm.”

Henrickson’s team entered the Phog dressed to kill and came in on a red carpet.

Their coach said she almost couldn’t recognize some of the players.

“They were all excited to wear their prom dresses, I will tell you that. Everybody got them shipped from home if they weren’t here. They love to get dressed up; they’re more than just basketball players,” Henrickson said.