February 13, 2010

Kansas Drops Double-Overtime Heartbreaker to No. 14 Texas

Feb. 13, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Freshman guard Monica Engelman drained a game-tying three pointer in the last 15 seconds of regulation and freshman forward Carolyn Davis dominated the first overtime period, but Kansas narrowly fell to No. 14 Texas, 85-82 in double overtime at Allen Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

With the defeat, Kansas fell to 14-9 on the season and 4-6 in Big 12 Conference play. The Longhorns improved to 18-6 overall and 7-3 in the conference.

Engelman finished with 22 points and six assists and Davis led all scorers with 29 points and 14 rebounds. She also recorded five blocks. Senior guard Sade Morris scored 10 points for Kansas, and sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland scored nine points.

Kansas played from behind during the second half before clawing back in the final minute to tie the game on Engelman’s three-pointer. From then on it was all Jayhawks for the first half of the initial overtime period as Davis scored the first six points for the home team and Kansas’ defense and full-court press break kept Texas from closing the gap.

But eventually the Longhorns fought back, tying the game on sophomore guard Ashleigh Fontenette’s three-pointer with 1.6 seconds remaining. In the second overtime the tables were turned with Texas building a small lead and Kansas desperately trying to come back. The Jayhawks nearly did, but senior guard LaChelda Jacobs’ three-point attempt rimmed out with no time remaining.

The game was tight from the very beginning, and neither team had difficulty scoring against the other’s defensive sets in the first half. The two teams combined to shoot better than 48 percent from the field and combined to go 6-for-9 from three-point range and 15-of-20 from the free-throw stripe in the first 20 minutes.

The only noticeable difference statistically was Texas’ dominance on the glass, particularly the offensive boards where it outrebounded Kansas 7-3 and 18-12 overall. That difference granted the Longhorns four additional shots, which the visitors used to build a 39-35 halftime advantage.

But once the second half started, that slender lead wouldn’t last long. Kansas gradually closed the gap before taking its second lead of the game 43-42 at the 17:15 mark when Smith hit her second three-pointer of the game.

For the rest of the way it was a back-and-forth contest with both teams taking small leads and the other side fighting back. There were six ties and 12 lead changes in the game.

Kansas had a chance to pull within one with 40 seconds remaining, but Morris’ mid-range jumper rimmed out. That was when the real excitement began. Kansas fouled to stop the clock, and Texas missed the front end of a one-and-one. With the clock counting down on the ensuing possession, Engelman found just enough space to launch a three-point attempt that found nothing but net, tying the game at 66 with 13 seconds remaining.

Texas’ ensuing attempts at the buzzer both missed, sending the game into overtime and the Allen Fieldhouse crowd into a frenzy. The game was the Jayhawks’ first overtime experience this season.

Kansas finished with 17 assists to 13 turnovers and forced Texas into 16 giveaways.

Fontenette and Cokie Reed led the way for Texas with 20 and 18 points, respectively.

Kansas is back in action this Wednesday when it travels to Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Rocky Mountain. The Jayhawks defeated the Buffaloes 75-64 in Lawrence on Jan. 27.