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Kansas defeated Pepperdine 73-60 in front of a season-high crowd, Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.
The win makes the Jayhawks 10-0 on the season, matching a school record from the 1991-92 season.
Offensively, senior Crystal Kemp nailed 27 points, only 10 of them coming in the first half.
LAWRENCE, Kan. - The University of Kansas women's basketball team matched the 1991-92 squad for the best start in program history, improving to 10-0 with a 73-60 win over Pepperdine on Dec. 28 at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Jayhawks led by as many as 17 points in the contest en route to its fifth double-figure victory of the year.
Senior Crystal Kemp led the Jayhawks with 27 points -- 17 in the second half -- one shy of her career high and has now eclipsed the 20-point mark in two of the last three games. With her 10 field goals, Kemp moved into 10th on KU's all-time list with 503. Senior Erica Hallman finished with 17 points, and freshman Ivana Catic chipped in with 14 points and five assists.
Kansas continued its stellar play on defense, limiting Pepperdine to 41 percent shooting and forcing 19 turnovers. The Jayhawks have now kept every opponent this season under 50-percent shooting from the field.
Pepperdine held KU to 30 percent shooting and pressured the Jayhawks into 15 turnovers. The difference in the game, however, came from the free-throw line. Kansas shot 16-23, while the Waves connected on only 9 of 20 attempts from the charity stripe.
Kansas will next be in action on Dec. 30 when they take on LaSalle at Allen Fieldhouse. Tip is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on Sunflower Cable.
Kansas Postgame Notes
Kansas' win against Pepperdine... ... Makes KU 10-0 to start the season, matching a program-best start done in 1991-92. ... Gives the Jayhawks their first 10-game winning streak since winning 11 straight between Dec. 22 and Jan. 30 in the 1993-94 season.
... Makes KU 2-0 all-time against Pepperdine and 1-0 against the Waves in Lawrence. ... Improves Kansas to 6-1 all-time against West Coast Conference teams. ... Makes the Jayhawks 10-0 at home this season. ... Improves head coach Bonnie Henrickson's record to 22-16 at Kansas and 180-78 in her career. ... Makes Kansas 619-414 all time.
Notes • Senior Crystal Kemp scored 27 points tonight, one shy of her career-high 28 against Wisconsin (12-11-05). Kemp has scored 20 or more points in two of her last three games, four times this season and 17 times for her career.
• Kemp's 10 field goals tonight tied her season high - 10 vs. Wisconsin. • Kemp has made 503 all-time field goals, which moves her into 10th on the KU career list. She passed Jaclyn Johnson who had 496 field goals from 1998 to 2001.
• Sophomore Taylor McIntosh's 10 rebounds tied a season high - 10 vs. Detroit (11-22-05). It marked the seventh time in her career she has recorded 10-plus rebounds.
• Senior Erica Hallman has scored 10 or more points in each of her last three games and seven times this season. • Hallman had eight rebounds tonight. She has had eight or more rebounds in three of her last four games. • Freshman Ivana Catic has scored 10-plus points in five of her last six games and eight times this season. • Freshman Marija Zinic has recorded five or more rebounds in four of her last five games and four times this season. • Tonight's attendance - 3,622 - was a season high. • Kansas has held seven of its 10 opponents to 60 points or less this season. • KU's 29 points in the first half tied a season low. It's 43 points in the second half were a season high. • Kansas has held the halftime lead in eight of 10 games this season. KU led 29-25 tonight. • The Jayhawks have held all 10 opponents to under 50 percent shooting this season. Pepperdine shot 41.1 percent tonight.
• KU forced 19 turnovers tonight and committed 15 to mark the ninth time this season it has forced more TOs than committed.
• Tonight marked the seventh time this season Kansas has used the starting lineup of Taylor McIntosh, Kaylee Brown, Ivana Catic, Erica Hallman and Crystal Kemp.
• Kansas has made at least one three-point field goal in 47 straight games. • KU has held 318 straight opponents to under 100 points.
Kansas Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson On the game: "We got great energy from the crowd. They really gave our kids energy in the second half when the game was teetering back and forth. I was proud how our kids dug down. In the first half I thought we played undisciplined offensively. In the second half I thought we were a little bit better. We took shots that we could make. On defense I have to give them (Pepperdine) credit, because they hit some tough shots. They are a young team that is only going to get better. We are settling for pull-up jumpers and no rebounds, and they are being aggressive and getting lay-ups or getting fouled. Offensively I didn't think our pace was good, and we didn't work hard to screen people. They had some very good athleticism on the wings, and they played hard defensively. I thought we were a little passive and a little soft."
On Taylor McIntosh: "She was flying around with reckless abandon. She was getting a hand on everything. That is what she has brought to the table since she has been here, and she takes pride in that. We need that from her. That type of play is what we have grown to expect from Taylor and what this team needs from Taylor."
On handling close games: "I think they understand the time, situation and score. I thought we took a couple quick shots, but for the most part we are still learning. We are fortunate to have three seniors that all have high basketball IQ's. Those kids have been good leaders all year, and we need them to continue to be."
Senior Forward Crystal Kemp On her play: "I struggled there early on, but Coach (Henrickson) told me to continue to post and stay long and be strong under there. I got some pretty decent buckets in the second half.
On Pepperdine's play early in the second half: "We weren't able to stop them. I think there were a couple times they went straight to the basket. A couple open shots we weren't able to defend. After that we buckled down on the defense and were able to execute on the offense."
On being 10-0: "We still have 16 conference games in front of us, but we have one more before we get into conference play. We are just going to take it one game at a time and put things together."
On playing two games in three days: "It's nice. It will really let us know how focused we are coming into the game on Friday. We have done it earlier this season so it won't be much of a problem."
Freshman Guard Ivana Catic On conference play: "It's one more game until the big show. I am just trying to get myself prepared for the next game and then get ready for the big show."
On pulling away in the second half: "I think the difference was that we got into their rhythm, their tempo of the game. It wasn't something that we wanted. At the time out, Bonnie (Henrickson) said to make an extra pass, be more patient and penetrate more because obviously the other shots weren't going in.
On her inconsistencies in the game: "I was frustrated because I was making some stupid mistakes. That was supposed to be something that I should focus on and something I should have gotten over a while ago but it came back. I was mad at myself for not being able to overcome that."
On her seven turnovers: "I got called for a walk a couple times, and that was just something that I got frustrated with. Then again this is part of the game and I just have to learn to shake that stuff off. It took me a couple minutes (to shake it off), and a couple minutes in college ball can mean a lot."
On the play of Crystal Kemp: "Crystal (Kemp) is like this every game. She is something that we can count on. She is definitely a senior leader that we can count on. I don't think that she cares so much for the figures. The only thing that she cares about is the 'W,' and we got that."
Pepperdine Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Julie Rousseau On the game: "Kansas is a great team, and they play well together. They have a lot of senior leadership, and it showed. I thought it was a good game. They got our post players in foul trouble. (Crystal) Kemp does a great job. She uses her ability to post up very well. She gets in deep, and it's really hard to defend her. They (Kansas) do a really good job of getting her the ball, and she has a good cast around her. They work really well together."
On Pepperdine's ability to stay in the game: "We attacked the basket. I thought that we matched up well with their perimeter players in terms of our athleticism. I thought we were more athletic, we just couldn't convert or hit free throws, and that hurt us. It became more of a perimeter game than we really wanted it to be, but that's where we were getting most of scoring. We got some stops, and that creates the opportunity to score quickly in transition. We were doing well in transition getting to the basket. We are a young team, and we will take the experience and lumps now, but we will learn from it and grow from it."
Beau White Assistant Media Relations Director University of Kansas 785-864-3407 - office 785-331-8834 - cell beau@ku.edu www.kuathletics.com
