Henry Chadwick, born in England and raised on cricket, is given credit for inventing the box score as a means of summing up a baseball game with numbers. If Chadwick were alive today surely he would agree that the box score, though better than nothing, doesn’t capture the essence of a basketball game nearly as well as it does a baseball game.

For example, consider the rather ordinary numbers compiled by Kansas freshman point guard Angel Goodrich in Wednesday afternoon’s 82-63 victory against Pepperdine on dollar day in Allen Fieldhouse, a game played in front of 3,872 witnesses. The box score informs Goodrich scored nine points and handed out four assists. It does not reveal that she completely dictated the pace at which the game was played, and determined, during her 21 minutes on the floor, which team was the aggressor (Kansas), which team was locked in retreat mode (Pepperdine).

Precisely the finishing touch needed to turn a pretty good team of 2008-2009 into a very good one, Goodrich makes the Jayhawks fly, brings out the best in teammates and for those wise enough to take in women’s basketball games this winter, elevates the entertainment value of what has become the best sports bargain in town.

The Angel in KU’s backcourt, a 5-foot-4-inch native of Tahlequah, Okla., rendered worthless Pepperdine’s full-court pressure by blowing by it on the dribble, rewarded teammates for running the floor by hitting them in stride for easy shots and made it difficult for the opposition to catch up on any given play, much less on the scoreboard.

Her mind is even quicker than her feet, which is why she makes such sound decisions on the break.

As entertaining as Kansas was to watch play last spring in the WNIT, it was a little troubling to see the point guard constantly look over her shoulder and take instructions from the coach. Was Bonnie Henrickson too controlling? Now we know that’s not the case. She has found a driver to whom she has turned over the keys. She trusts Goodrich. Senior All-American Danielle McCray explained what it is about Goodrich that makes her so easy to trust.

“She pushes the ball, and her IQ for the game is phenomenal,” McCray said. “She just has a God-given talent to pass the ball. She throws some unbelievable passes you’re not even ready for sometimes. She just knows where the defense is going to step up and where the opening is going to be.”

Henrickson is committed to running, even against teams that have more talent than Kansas. She has faith that if the easy buckets aren’t there in transition, Goodrich will recognize that and set the wheels in motion to get a good shot from the half-court offense. The players are so well-drilled at screening and moving without the ball, Kansas won’t be prone to scoring droughts. This is a team that will play with a lot of energy and it all starts with Goodrich igniting the break.

“We’re a lot better in transition,” McCray said. “Last year, I would just kind of jog up the floor, get ready for our set, wait for what the call’s going to be.”

This year’s pace is more fun for players and easier on the eyes for spectators. The buzz for women’s basketball here is getting louder by the minute.