Point guards key for KU, Emporia State / LJWorld.com

Archive for Sunday, November 8, 2009

Kansas' Angel Goodrich tries to control the ball while attempting a shot during the Jayhawks' victory against Pittsburg State on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at Allen Fieldhouse.

By Chuck Woodling

November 8, 2009

If point guards are your basketball passion, today is your day.

Two of the best — Kansas’ Angel Goodrich and Emporia State’s Cassondra Boston — will go head-to-head in an exhibition game in Allen Fieldhouse.

Tipoff will be at 2 p.m. Sunflower Broadband channel 6 will carry a live telecast.

The 5-foot-6 Boston is a senior who is recognized as one of the best points in NCAA Div. II, an All-MIAA performer who is as adept at passing as she is at scoring.

“She scored 29 on us two years ago,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She’s really athletic and can hit the three.”

While Boston is an established standout, Goodrich has yet to play in an NCAA Div. I game.

The 5-4 red-shirt freshman made her collegiate debut in last Sunday’s 30-point exhibition victory over Pittsburg State.

Goodrich logged 18 minutes and contributed 10 assists, a couple of them nifty no-look passes. But she took only two shots and didn’t score.

Henrickson expects more offense from Goodrich today.

“We’ve put a couple of things in for her,” the KU coach said, “and she’s been putting up more shots in scrimmages this week.”

Not that Goodrich needs to be the go-to player Boston is for the Hornets, not with Danielle McCray, the Big 12’s preseason player of the year, on the KU roster.

Henrickson found a lot to like last Sunday as the Jayhawks scored 86 points and forced 24 turnovers against the Gorillas, but she’s still looking for more consistent inside play.

“We’ve got to be able to take care of the ball,” she said. “We had six no-catches in the post. We were trying to make things happen that aren’t there.”

Emporia State, ranked No. 7 in NCAA Div. II, is coming off a 26-6 season and has two returning starters in addition to Boston, a Des Moines, Iowa, product who averaged 14.9 points and 4.3 assists.

The Hornets are the preseason MIAA favorites, picked by both the coaches and media ahead of Washburn and Pittsburg State.

Kansas will open the regular season a week from today, also at 2 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse, against Oral Roberts, then travel to Iowa City, Iowa, three days later to meet the Hawkeyes.

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Notes: KU reserve forward Porscha Weddington has been diagnosed with mono and is out for two weeks. … Freshman forward Tania Jackson, still not completely recovered from an ACL injury, remains a medical red-shirt candidate. Henrickson will have to make a decision on the Lawrence High product before the ORU game.