Jayhawks Fall At No. 10/11 Oklahoma 67-51
Jan. 30, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. –
Three Jayhawks scored in double figures led by sophomore guard-forward Danielle McCray’s 13 tallies, but it was not enough as KU fell 67-51 to No. 10/11 <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Oklahoma here Wednesday evening at the LloydNobleCenter.
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The loss dropped Kansas to 12-8 on the season and 1-6 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Sooners improved to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
Trailing 35-22 at the break, Kansas came out keeping pace with the Sooners in the second period of play by slowing down the OU offense. KU forced 25 Oklahoma turnovers for the game and held OU to just 36.7 percent shooting from the field in the second frame.
McCray gave the Jayhawks a 3-2 lead on KU’s first possession by knocking down a three from the baseline. OU’s Jenna Plumley answered back with a three-pointer of her own to give the Sooners the lead back, a lead they would not surrender the remainder of the game.
A bucket inside by freshman center Krysten Boogaard moved the Jayhawks back within one point at 9-8 with 14:02 left to play in the opening frame, before the Sooners widened the gap.
Trailing 33-15 with just over two minutes to play in the first half, Kansas freshmen Nicollette Smith and Chakeitha Weldon ignited a Jayhawk run as KU scored seven-straight points to trail 35-22 heading in to the break.
In addition to McCray’s 13 points, Boogaard finished with 11 points and Weldon turned in a career-best 10 points in the game. Weldon, who played a personal-best 19 minutes, made 4-of-6 shots from the field and both of her free throw attempts, while dishing three assists.
Boogaard led the Jayhawks on the boards for the second-straight game with eight caroms, while McCray finished with seven and Smith pulled down four rebounds to go with her six points.
Boogaard also added a career-high four blocked shots, while helping hold Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris below both of her season averages as she had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the game.
The Jayhawks will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when they play host to the Iowa State Cyclones. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. The game will serve as part of KU’s annual celebration of National Girls and Women In Sports Day.
