Kansas Drops Heartbreaker to Oklahoma in Overtime, 74-68
Jan. 31, 2012
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Clutch Threes Not Enough to Clinch Victory For Jayhawks
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Another stellar performance by junior guard Angel Goodrich wasn’t enough for the No. 25 Kansas Jayhawks as they fell 74-68 in a closely-contested overtime battle against Oklahoma Tuesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.
Goodrich did a little bit of everything for the Jayhawks as she led the team in points, rebounds and assists with 18, nine and six, respectively. However, OU’s Sharane Campbell topped that performance with a career-high 23 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime to put the Sooners in the lead for good.
The heartbreaking loss dropped the Jayhawks to 16-5 overall and 5-4 in Big 12 play. The win improved the Sooners to 14-6 and 6-3 in the conference. Kansas fell to 1-1 on the season in overtime games after defeating Iowa State in a double-overtime contest in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 11.
After regulation ended in a 64-64 tie, Kansas jumped out to a quick 68-65 lead after a jumper by senior forward Aishah Sutherland with 3:24 on the clock. However, that was the final time KU scored, as Oklahoma ended the game on a 9-0 run. Campbell’s three-pointer with 1:29 left in overtime gave the Sooners a 70-68 advantage and swung the final difference in their favor.
In a game that saw 12 lead changes and nine ties, the score was close throughout. KU held the largest lead by either team with a nine-point advantage with 9:34 remaining in the second half. With 3:53 left, Kansas led 59-53, but Oklahoma erased the difference with a 9-0 run that junior forward Carolyn Davis halted with a layup with 16 seconds to go.
Following two free throws by Campbell to give OU a 64-61 margin, Goodrich drove the length of the floor and hit an open Monica Engelman on the right wing who drained a three-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 64 apiece.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as both teams exchanged runs. Davis got the Jayhawks on the board early and often scoring the first six points for KU. After the score was tied 8-8, Kansas used a 9-2 run over a span of 1:49 to take a 17-10 lead, forcing OU to use its first timeout of the night. The Sooners stormed back with a 9-0 run of their own to take the lead 19-17.
The half ended with three lead changes in the final 32 seconds, highlighted by Goodrich draining a running 40-footer from just inside half-court at the buzzer to give the Jayhawks a halftime lead of 27-25.
KU carried that momentum into the second half with a 9-3 run, lifting the score to 36-28.
Davis finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Sutherland narrowly missed a double-double collecting nine points and eight boards. Engelman rounded out the Jayhawk offensive attack with 11 points, four assists and three steals.
Kansas’ next game will be Saturday when it faces the defending national champion Texas A&M Aggies for the second time in two weeks. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in College Station, Texas.
