Jayhawks Down Colorado 68-58 for Big 12 Road Win

Jan. 12, 2011

Box Score | Notes |

BOULDER, Colo. – In the first Big 12 road game of the season, three Kansas women’s basketball players scored in double figures to lead the Jayhawks to a 68-58 victory over Colorado, Wednesday night in Boulder’s Coors Event Center.

Kansas earned it’s first win in a conference road-opener since January 10, 2004, when the Jayhawks defeated Missouri in Columbia, Mo. The win improved KU to 14-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, and gives the team its best start since the 1994-1995 campaign.

Aishah Sutherland, Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman led KU’s balanced attack. Sutherland and Davis scored 15 and 12, while bringing down nine and eight rebounds each. Engelman chipped in with 11 points and tallied eight assists for a new career-high. Keena Mays and Krysten Boogaard added in nine and eight points, as well.

Colorado (9-6, 0-2 Big 12) saw standout performances from Chucky Jeffrey and Brittany Spears. Each posted a double-double, with Jeffrey bringing in a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds and Spears scoring 16 with 10 boards.

KU shot 45.8 percent from the field and a season-high 79.2 percent from the free throw line. Free throws were key for the Jayhawks down the stretch, helping to maintain a comfortable lead in the final minutes.

A fierce first-half battle carried over into the second after the intermission. The two teams tied the score up four times in the early minutes of the second half. Colorado pulled away first, but KU made a run that proved decisive.

At 12:42, Boogaard sparked a Jayhawk rally with a layup that tied the game at 43. Mays then netted a tie-breaking three, promptly swiped the ball at the other end of the court and was fouled on the fastbreak layup attempt.

Mays went 1-for-2 at the line to put KU up 47-43. Jackson grabbed the rebound on the missed three to keep the possession alive for KU and Engelman found Boogaard under the basket for a layup, giving KU a 49-43 lead and capping the 8-0 run.

The Buffs made a run of their own to creep back in, but a double-teamed Davis laid one in at 3:39 to keep Kansas up 61-53. The Buffs couldn’t capitalize on several trips to the free throw line over the final minutes of play, allowing Kansas to hang on for the win.

The Jayhawks shook off a first half that began as rocky as Boulder’s Rocky Mountain setting. Offense was sparse early on, as the Jayhawks opened up on 2-for-6 shooting. The Jayhawks recovered, shooting 45.8 percent from the field while solid defense limited the Buffs to 39.4 percent, but turnovers prevented KU from building more than a six-point lead. KU turned the ball over nine times in the first half for a total of 10 Colorado points.

The Buffs held on to a five-point lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the half. But the lead did not stay at five after Davis scored four straight over two possessions to bring the Jayhawks to within one point with just over nine minutes left.

Kansas finally took a lead with 7:28 left when Engelman buried a triple from the corner to put the Jayhawks up 21-20. Colorado quickly took back the lead but Angel Goodrich then did the same for KU with a pair of free throws.

Tania Jackson added a three of her own to give the Jayhawks a 26-22 lead, and extended it after a timeout with a layup.

However, this time it was Kansas’ lead that would not last, as the Buffs worked back up to a 29-28 advantage with around three minutes remaining in the half. The two continued to keep the score close with two free throws by Davis giving the Jayhawks a 32-31 lead going into the locker room.