No. 21 Kansas Falls In The Final Second At New Mexico State
Jan. 3, 2010
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – No. 21 Kansas fell to New Mexico State in the final second of the game, as Aggie forward Crystal Boyd hit a free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining to claim the 61-60 victory.
The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 10-3 overall, while the Aggies improved to 10-4 on the season.
It looked as though the game would be headed for overtime after KU junior center Krysten Boogaard muscled an offensive board, drew a foul on her ensuing shot and then hit 1-of-2 from the foul line to tie the game at 60-60. NMSU inbounded the ball with 7.6 ticks remaining, Boyd pulled up for a fade-a-way jumper and missed the shot, but a late foul was called on Kansas senior guard-forwarafd Danielle McCray, sending Boyd to the line. Boyd missed the first charity shot, but knocked down the seocnd to put the Aggies up by one. The Jayhawks didn’t manage to get a shot off as time expired, snapping their winning streak at seven games.
Despite a rocky start offensively for McCray, the Olathe, Kan., native finished as the leading scorer for KU with 16 points, 12 coming in the second half. Boogaard tallied her second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guard Sade Morris was the third Jayhawk in double figures with 10 points, while sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland collected 11 boards.
Boyd and junior guard Jasmine Lowe lead the Aggies, combining for 41 points, including the final eight points for NMSU.
Although the Jayhawks struggled offensively, shooting 38.3 percent from the field, the Aggies did not dominate in that category, as KU held NMSU to 37.5 percent. The difference in the game was at the charity stripe, with KU hitting only 10-of-19 free throws, compared to 15-of-20 for the Aggies.
The Jayhawks and Aggies traded baskets throughout much of the first half, with neither team leading by more than four points. The period featured six ties and three lead changes.
At the 8:03 mark, junior guard Marisha Brown drained a three from the top of the arc, which jump-started a 10-2 run by the Jayhawks, but Boyd then scored three-straight baskets, two from long range, to erase the run and give NMSU a four-point advantage with 3:39 remaining in the first half.
Boogaard converted a three-point play to bring the Jayhawks within one, but it was followed by a jumper from Aggie forward Tabytha Wampler, giving NMSU a 34-31 lead. With 37 seconds remaining, Brown hit another trey, off the assist from redshirt freshman guard Angel Goodrich, to knot the score at 34-34 heading into the locker room.
Kansas opens conference play at in-state rival Kansas State on Saturday, Jan. 9. Game time is set for 11 a.m. in Bramlage Colesium, with a live broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
