Fouls Doom Kansas in 47-43 Thriller at Kansas State
Feb. 12, 2012
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior Aishah Sutherland pulled down 17 rebounds on her way to her second-straight double-double but the Kansas women’s basketball team could not overcome a slow first half as it fell 47-43 at Kansas State in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Sutherland added 12 points during the game for her seventh double-double of the year, while junior Angel Goodrich was the only other Jayhawk in double figures scoring a team-high 13 points. Kansas dropped to 17-7 overall with the loss, including 6-6 in the Big 12. KSU improved to 16-8 on the year and 7-5 in league play.
With 3:35 left to play in the game, Sutherland drove to the basket and converted a layup to knot the score 43-43. However, it was the last time KU would score as the Wildcats tallied four more points down the stretch, including a pair of free throws from Brittany Chambers with seven seconds to go, to seal the KSU victory.
KSU’s Jalana Childs led all players with 18 points in the game. Teammate Branshea Brown followed with 10, while Tasha Dickey led the Wildcats on the boards with 10 rebounds.
Kansas shot 11-for-26 from the field in the second half, good enough for 42.3 percent but struggled in the first frame hitting just 25.0 percent (7-for-28).
The Jayhawks, who were playing without leading scorer Carolyn Davis after the forward went down with a knee injury with 16:26 to go, led 12-8 following a put-back from Sutherland at the 9:58 mark. KSU would hold Kansas scoreless over the next four minutes to allow the Wildcats to take over the lead, 14-12.
Freshman Chelsea Gardner, who finished with seven points, eventually ended the drought with a bucket at 6:02 which knotted the score at 14-14. Fellow freshman Natalie Knight answered a K-State basket on the other end with a three to keep KU ahead. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks wouldn’t score again for the final four minutes of the frame, suffering from three turnovers in their final three possessions while the Wildcats built a 21-17 advantage heading into the break. KU’s 17 points tied a season low for points scored in a half this season.
The teams traded point for most of the second half and KU took its first lead of the frame at 13:46 following back-to-back buckets from junior Monica Engelmann and Sutherland. The lead changed hands eight times over the next 10 minutesas neither team could pull away more than two points.
Gardner was sent to the line with 4:43 on the clock and sank a pair of free throws to make the score 41-41. Kansas State followed with two freebies of its own and Sutherland tied the game for the ninth time in KU’s next possession before K-State closed out the game on a 4-0 run.
Kansas went to the foul line just six times in the contest, making four of those tries. The Wildcats benefitted from a 12-for-15 day at the charity stripe.
Kansas concludes its two-game road swing when it travels to Iowa State on Wednesday, Feb. 15 for a 7 p.m. contest. KU used to overtimes to defeat the Cyclones in the teams’ last meeting on Jan. 11.
