Powerhouse Lady Vols to face unheralded Kansas

The biggest reason the Jayhawks have a shot is tiny point guard Angel Goodrich, who’s been as good as anyone in the tournament so far.

The 5-foot-4 Goodrich is the nation’s leader in assists at 7.4 per game. But she’s taken on a much more active scoring role of late, putting up 27 points in Tuesday’s 70-64 upset of the Blue Hens.

“She’s got the heart of a lion. She just plays, and plays like that every day. She competes. She holds herself to the highest level,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “She came to Kansas to be a difference maker, to elevate a program. It’s been fun for me to watch her be able to do that.”

The one inescapable fact about the Des Moines regional is that many folks have been expecting _ and hoping _ it will come down to a showdown between the iconic Lady Vols and the seemingly unstoppable Baylor Bears.

But Tennessee insists it isn’t overlooking the Jayhawks.

“With an 11 seed, I think a lot of people underestimate Kansas. You can’t underestimate any team, especially tournament time,” Johnson said. “Most of the time, any team that is going to play against Tennessee brings their `A’ game, so we just have to be ready to bring our `A’ game in return.”

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