Sutherland Fuels Second Half Rally, But Missouri Prevails 70-65 Over Jayhawks
Feb. 18, 2012
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Notes | LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas senior forward Aishah Sutherland had 23 points to lead the Jayhawks as KU nearly stormed back from a 15-point halftime deficit, but Border Showdown rival Missouri escaped with the 70-65 win in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. Sutherland, who scored 19 of her 23 points in the second half, led Kansas for the second-straight outing.
The loss dropped Kansas to 17-9 on the season and 6-8 in Big 12 action, while Missouri improved to 11-14 overall and 1-13 in conference play.
KU opened the second half on a furious comeback as the Jayhawks quickly trimmed the Missouri 37-22 halftime lead to four points at 47-43 with 14 minutes to play by going on a 17-6 run fueled by Sutherland and junior guard Angel Goodrich who combined for 14 of the 17 points.
The Jayhawks went on to cut the Tiger lead to three points on two occasions, the second time with just over a minute to play on two free throws by freshman guard Natalie Knight. Knight’s foul shots made the score 68-65 in favor of the Tigers. Both teams traded turnovers before MU senior Christine Flores knocked down two shots from the charity stripe to push the lead to five points at 70-65 with 27 seconds on the clock.
KU came down and got an open three from Goodrich, but it rimmed out with 18 ticks left on the clock. The Jayhawks got three-point looks from junior guard Monica Engelman and Knight, but neither could get one to fall as they fell to MU by the final score of 70-65.
Goodrich joined Sutherland in double figures for KU with 13 points, while sophomore forward Tania Jackson added 11 and Knight finished with 10. Jackson led the Jayhawks on the boards with seven caroms, while Knight and Engelman each pulled down six. Goodrich dished a game-high nine assists in the loss.
Flores led all scorers with 24 points for Mizzou. She also grabbed a team-best six boards and had three blocks.
KU shot 45.6 percent from the field, knocking down 26-of-57 shots, but went just 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. KU did hit all 10 of its foul shots. MU made 57.4 percent from the field, hitting 27-of-47, and also made 7-of-12 from three.
A first half three-point barrage by Missouri got the Jayhawks down early as the Tigers knocked down 6-of-8 shots from beyond the arc in the opening period. Five different Mizzou players knocked down triples, while KU was held to just 1-of-5 from three-point range in the first frame.
MU opened the game on an 8-0 run, but Kansas quickly got back to within three points after two foul shots from Engelman and KU’s lone three of the half by Goodrich. Missouri extended the lead to 11 points at the 11:30 mark on a bucket by Flores forcing Kansas head coach Bonnie Henrickson to call a timeout.
Following the timeout, KU regrouped momentarily, scoring four-straight points but MU would not go away and ended the half on a 16-7 run on its way to a 37-22 halftime advantage. Flores led the way for the Tigers with nine points, while Kyley Simmons had eight and BreAnna Brock added seven. Engleman was the top scorer for KU in the opening period with eight points, while Goodrich and Jackson each chipped in five points.
MU shot 60 percent from the field in the opening period, knocking down 15-of-25 shots. KU managed to shoot just 37.5 percent from the field off of 9-of-24 shooting.
Kansas has a quick turnaround as it returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 21 when it travels to Texas Tech. The Jayhawks and Lady Raiders will tip off at 7 p.m., at United Spirit Arena.
