Show r March 19 2003 — - c- Bi uum®© omiiM© Malone reaches another milestone in Utah win ( 4 t '" SALT LAKE CirY (AP) — Utah was tt home Kari Malone was in thehigh post feeding thecutters and the Jazz v ' i" ' j ' i V j? "t J : ' Feb 22 bat had goo 6 4-- 7 since tremendous shots"'’ They yv within the offense and played just two games at the Delta Center VTvwhen you do that the game during the streak but day four of their V' ia so much next five at home as they try to solidify a ’: v y 4:P Tj' " two” werewiimingagaiiL : After with road a Cheaneyaaid v trip ending Shots certainly came ”udot‘'1 btowout tosses to Indiata and Cleveland v Kbit Harpring scored 22 and Malone 7v: easy fair Harpring who was added 18 while effecting his SjOOOdi r- including three career assist as fee UtahJazz defeated fee ' — af Utah led by double digits for almost five-giu- nc J playoff spot Utah rebounded from Sunday’s 122-9- 5 defeat in Cleveland when the Jazz allowed fee league's worst team to shoot 62 percent from the field Against Denver the team wife fee record in the NBA Utah shot 522 percent — just fee second time in fee last 14 games fee team has made more than half its shots The Nuggets who were playing their first of three road games in four nights committed 24 turnovers in the sloppy game as fee Jazz had 22 miscues of their own ' Denver trailed 13-- 0 and didn't score until Hilario had a play wife 7:13 left in the first quarter The Jazz ran bine playing hard wife playing efficiently their lead to Malone’s steal and executing under duress when people and assist to Ibny Massenburg but Utah are physical and up into you” Denver coachJeff Bzdelik said committed four of its 14 first-ha-lf turnovers in the last 2:21 and Denver 'The Jazz claimed their 14th straight closed to 8 at halftime home victory over the Nuggets and have Notes: Stricter security measures won 19 of their last 20 against Denver in Salt Lake City The Jazz swept the season caused about half the crowd of 17651 to series for the first time since 1997-9- 8 miss fee opening tip as lines stretched out on 2 The Jazz beat the Nuggets of fee arena to the street - secon- d-worst rebounds and five steals His pass to Andrei Kirilenko cutting to the basket for a dunk early in the fourth quarter was the 5000fe assist of his 17- year career “We were embarrassed by Cleveland so we showed more energy tonight and guys tried to earn it” Malone said The Jazz registered assists on 29 of their 35 field goals “We executed really well got layups Lightly Continued from B1 an our team without them lying they’d say they had to be (Unking a little bit about ‘What if we lose this game?” KU senior Nick Cotiisoo recalled of fee contest in St Louis “We played a good team that had a good game plan They made it tough on us Hopefully if we get in that situation again something will happen and we’ll tough out a win” The Jayhawks who lost Kirk Hinrich to a severe ankle sprain Aggies Continued from B1 “Their spirits are good and they’re mortally trying” Morrill said “We’re just trying to stay as fresh as we can” And feat’anot easy this time of year “It’s tough” forward Desmond Fenigar said “Practice could have been a lot better “But we accomplished a lot watching film and I’m sure we’ll have a real good practice on Wednesday Everyone will be energized and healthier” Prior to departing for the airport on Tuesday the Aggies were still under the impression that NCAA president Myles Brand might postpone the start of the tournament because of upcoming military action against Iraq At the time a delay of anywhere from a day to a weds was being discussed “I don’t know what you do” Morrill said when asked about fee possibility of his team being stuck in Oklahoma for a few days longer than planned “You trust the powers feat be will make the right decision If three-poi- nt 50-29af- 52-3- 92-8- just before halftime barely avoided becoming fee first No 1 seeded team in NCAA history to lose to a NO 16 squad Of course last year KU regrouped after that scare to storm past Stanford Illinois and Oregon en route to an appearance in the Final Four “Last year we were a NO 1 seed and Holy Cross had a lead at one point in the second half on us” KU coach Roy Williams said “It was not a comfortable Ceding during fee game even though I wasn’t thinking at the time No 1 losing to 16” The amazing thing is the Crusaders never backed down we get there and they put it off for a couple of days that will be kind of odd but that’s a decision they have to make and I assume they’ll make it on fee priorities we all need to have “But right now we’re planning on playing” Although the Aggies are "geared up to play in the biggest games of their lives sophomore forward Spencer Nelson said they would understand if the tournament was pushed back because of war “I support American so if they want to delay us there are a lot more important things than basketball right now” he said “I mean basketball is ' important to us but not nearly as important as what’s going on around the world” In Big West Conference games Nelson ended up just of a rebound behind one-ten- th Cal Poly forward Vamie Dennis for fee league lead But going into Thursday’s game the sophomore forward is one-ten- th of a board ahead of Dennis for fee overall rebound title That means Nelson better pull down eight or more rebounds against the Jayhawks "We better not screw that!” Nelson cracked “That’s really the focus of our team right now is to make sue I get my rebounds That’s all we dal in practice today was work on rebounding” Ever the comedian Nelson said in reality it didn’t matter if he ended up as the Big West’s leading rebounder or not “The Big West is ova' we’re looking brito bigger and better thing WM'the NCAA Tournament" he said “Statistics don’t even matter I don’t care if I score or rebound or anything as long as we win in the NCAA Tournament” It’s a good thing the Aggies were able to spend their final two weeks of the regular season at home If they qualify for the NCAA Tournament again next season they'll have to spend at least four weekends in a row on the road Never much of a travel fan Morrill isn’t thrilled that the team whose travel costs are paid for by the NCAA wasn’t able to get a direct flight from Salt Lake City to Oklahoma City and therefore spent nearly nine hours Tuesday on buses planes and waiting for planes It also didn’t help that longtime friend and Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery called and let Morrill know This player can never be accused of not having fun Parker played hard but she enjoyed herself on the court as well The 5--7 senior guardforward also proved she can play Parker averaged 125 points 68 rebounds one assist and (me steal a game “She had to take on the leadership after Beth (Maseuti) was injured” Preston coach Jeff Sessions said “We had a real need for some scoring with Beth gone Jessica tried to pick up the scoring” Parker went inside and wasn’t afraid to shoot from beyond the arc either She made 23 on the year fifth-mo- st in the valley “She had a solid season” Sessions said “She was a complete player who could post up inside shoot from outside and bang the ball up” Continued from B2 “She rebounded extremely well” Erickson said “Chelsie went through a maturation process having not played varsity or even JV ball last year” Cartwright also reached double figures in scoring averaging 109 a game She also blocked 13 shots and made 13 steals a game Her 51 percent field goal percentage was among the best in fee valley as was her 59 percent shooting from the charity stripe “She wants to be good and has agood attitude” Erickson said “She is going to be a big force for us next year” Lindsey Beck Logan forward Beck only played one year fa the Grizzlies moving to Cache Valley from Texas ff shouldn’t affect fee Jayhawks in their opener this year is fee fact fOTs Aaron Miles Keith Langford and Wayne Simien were making their tourney debuts Langford and Miles now have a year experience under their belts while Simien will be out Jessica Parker Preston forward Pack She quickly proved she could play “She added another dimension feat we wouldn’t have had” McKay said “She was probably the best athlete on the team” The senior started some games but found herself coming off the bench later in fee season Katrina Smart was used for the tip-obut Beck was in the game at first deadbaH She averaged 88 points a game and proved she could drive or bmnb from outside sinking 20 on the year sixth most in the valley She also pulled down 38 rebounds a game “She played at one speed — full speed” McKay said “I only wish we would have had her two or three years and got to know bar better” the entire 40 minutes though the Jayhawks prevailed down ’ the stretch “Holy Cross just played great” Williams said “It is a tittle scary One team has absolutdyno pressure on it whatsoever The other team has had a fantastic year but has all the pressure on them” One factor in feat game feat ' Hayley Hansen Sky Vkw guard Two separate injuries made this junior miss five games including two state playoff contests Wife her out of the lineup fee Bobcats missed her aggressiveness “She was a pest for other teams” Cros-bi- e said “They Couldn’t let up because Hayley is in your face and will also sneak up and steal fee ball She just hustles and is so aggressive” Hansen came up wife 29 steals a grQne She scored 82 points grabbed 41 rebounds and dished out 12 assists The 5-5 guard also led the team wife four blocks and was one of the top frce-thro-w shooters in fee valley at 69 percent “When we needed her to score she this time with a shoulder injury Add to that sophomore Michael Lee who only played mop-u- p minutes a year ago but now is a major factor off the pine “I wasn’t scared” Lee said of his feelings at halftime when Holy Cross led by a point “but it’s like Nick was sayingnobody knew what would happen if we lost Our confidence definitely picked up after we won feat game” This is ate of a handful of articles The Herold Journal received in an exchange with the Lawrence Journal-Worl- d Mors stories firm the J-- may appear this week in the HJ W that the Cardinal were flying : from Palo Alto to Spokane for their first round game via chartered jet “I don’t know if the school is paying for part of it or how the NCAA works that” Morrill said Kansas originally planned to fly from Lawrence to Oklahoma City Tuesday via d airplane but players and char-toe- coaches decided on Monday to bus down The Jayhawks were scheduled to leave Allen Fieldhouse at 4 pm eat dinner along the way and arrive in Oklahoma City around 9:30 pm “We’ll drive down watch a couple of movies and see if we can get ready to play” Williams told the Lawrence World-Journ- al A lot of KU fans are also expected to make the trip south although officially fee school is only allotted about 500 tickets and the Ford Center was already sold out before the tournament selections were announced The big question is will there be enough Jayhawks fans at the arena to offset all the Oklahoma andor Oklahoma State fans in the stands who hate Kansas and would love to see an Aggie upset? came on” Crosbie said “I'm glad she will be back next year” TYisha Cardon Sky View guard This Bobcats’ numbers are deceiving — make that very deceiving She saw action in all 23 Sky View games but played sparingly until fee region season rolled around hi fact she was a starter on the junior varsity until an injury to Hayley Hansen “What a pleasant surprise” Crosbie said “She got a chance because of an injury and did fabulous We needed a quick guard with Hayley out and Trisha filled in nicely” Cardon a 6 sophomore finished the year averaging 47 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field During the Iff games she started Cardon scored 77 points a game “Trisha is so quick” Crosbie said “Being so young she didn’t want to stand out But when she decided to take ova a game she could do that” This Bobcat was voted to the Region 4 first-teaand several coaches felt she best player in the valley Carthe be may don also averaged 12 assists 22 rebounds and 19 rebounds a game 5-- m Mention V Ubbie Linton Jr L guard Cam! Drecksai sCMC guard Liz Olson ar P guard :4 7 v? :'£ Bath MaseuB sf P guard Mykel Baorchia Jr 8V guard Caife Ricks an SV toward ‘ 1 Amy Cox ar WS guard ' rVTanuny Uigaeaa Jr Vlft toward Y : :7 APphoto Matt Harpring rebounds the ball against the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter Tuesday night at the Delta Center Utah Jazz forward NCAA games will be played INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA will not postpone or move any men’s and women’s basketball touma- ment games or other events if the United States goes to war with Iraq “From everything we know right now it’s in the best interests of the country to go forward” NCAA president Myles Brand said Tuesday a day after telling reporters the NCAA was still exploring options The tournament games that begin this week “will go on as scheduled without any changes in time venue or format” Brand said Brand consulted Tuesday with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and members of the NCAA’s governing bodies before deciding “We felt that this was the right decision and have no hesitation whatsoever having made it” he said The NCAA has spent four months reviewing options in case of war The latest ultimatum President Bush delivered to Saddam Hussein in a television speech Monday night “heightened the urgency of our considerations” Brand said “We are also concerned that Butler Continued from B1 Finally on March 1 against Idaho Butler regained his starter status and he’s started five of USU’s last six games the lone exception being Ross’ start on senior night “Cardell got back in the starting lineup and has really taken advantage of it” Morrill says “He’s been solid in terms of his work habits and his practice habits and he’s staying upbeat “He has a tendency sometimes when things don’t go right to get a little down but ova the last three weeks to a month he’s stayed more stable mentally and practiced harder” Butler has also shown more maturity since a regrettable incident prior to a lo$s at Pacific on Jan 4 There after being introduced to the crowd at the Spanos Center he strutted out to half court while drawing his right index finger across hu throat in a slashing motion He has acknowledged it was a stupid thing to do and although his teammates are quick to step in when he gets called for a questionable foul Butler has stayed away from any further trouble on the court His passion though is important to USU’s success and his dunks — most of which have come on passes from teammates — have inspired fee Aggies and their fans on many occasions whilq certainly demoralizing an opponent or two “Dunks are the main part of back-door-l- life go on as normal” Brand added “We see no reason after consulting with Secretary Ridge to make any alterations to our plan” Brand kept open the possi- bility of reconsidering if unforeseeable threats emerge in coming days Because of the current security climate the NCAA is taking “extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of the athletes and fans” Brand said He said it was up to television networks whether their coverage of the tournaments take second billing to war coalicoverage if a US-le- d tion attacks Iraq CBS holds the rights to the men’s tournament But the network which is owned by Viacom hasdiscussed switching the games to ESPN or other outlets if CBS needs more air time for war cover- age ESPN and ESPN 2 already are scheduled to show the women's tournament The rest of the first round begins Thursday which would be after the deadline President Bush set for Hussein to leave Iraq or face war The women's tournament 48-ho- ur beginsSaturday my offense” Butler says “They get me going and and they get the team and the coaches into it We just escalate it from there and keep it going” In USU’s Big West Tournament-opening victory over Cal State Fullerton' Butler and his teammates caught the Titans napping three different times He threw down his final slam which came during a critical moment of the overtime contest off of a slightly errant pass from point guard Mark Brown that Butler had to stretch for before completing the dunk Then in the championship game against Cal Pbly Butler somehow managed to slam home an ailey-oo- p pass from behind his head-“I- t wasn't supposed to be that way” Butler admits then adds with a smile “but people were getting tired of me doing the samedunk so I figured why not?” Butler who also leads Utah State in free throw percentage at 857 percent attributes his overall success at the tournament to “staying focused and concentrating” “I wanted the championship and I wanted it bad’! he says “And I knew it was going to take more than just going in there and playing We had to have good team chemistry and we did “We went out there and played hard for 40 minutes very games and we duta’t let up” And because of that the Aggies’ prospects against the Jayhawks and their hopes of continued success next season are looking up as well |