February 26, 2011

Carolyn Davis' Career Performance Leads Kansas to 77-61 Victory Over Nebraska

Feb. 26, 2011

Postgame Quotes:Coach Henrickson | Goodrich | Davis | Engelman

Box Score in PDF Format

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Sophomore Carolyn Davis scored a career-high 36 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Kansas to a 77-61 victory over Nebraska in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday night. It marked the third time in the past five games that Davis eclipsed the 30-point mark, doing so on a 16-for-19 night from the field.

Sophomore Monica Engelman added 15 points, while sophomore Angel Goodrich posted game-highs with 11 assists and three steals to go along with eight points. It was Goodrich’s third game in Big 12 play with at least 10 assists. Junior Aishah Sutherland led all players with nine rebounds.

Kansas improved to 19-9 overall and 6-8 in Big 12 play with the victory. Nebraska fell to 13-15 on the season and 3-11 against conference opponents.

Sophomore Lindsey Moore had a team-high 33 points for Nebraska on 14-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, as well as a team-high five assists. Freshman Jordan Hooper was the only other Cornhusker in double-figures, scoring 14 points for NU.

Leading 39-28 out of halftime, Kansas saw its lead shrink to two, 51-49, at the 12-minute mark during a stretch where Moore scored 17-consecutive points for Nebraska. Leading 55-51 with 9:32 remaining in the game, a jumper by Goodrich sparked an 8-0 run to extend KU’s lead to 63-51.

The Jayhawks closed the game on a 9-0 run, holding Nebraska scoreless for the final 5:30. Davis had seven of the final nine points for the Jayhawks. Nebraska missed its final seven shots from the field.

Kansas shot 58.6 percent for the game, marking the eighth time the Jayhawks have shot better than 50 percent this season. KU also out-rebounded the Cornhuskers, 36-22, while dominating points in the paint, 50-26.

Davis started the game strong, making her first five field goal attempts as well as a free throw to score KU’s first 11 points, but the Jayhawks found themselves down, 18-11, with 13:40 remaining in the first half.

Kansas grabbed its first lead with 8:56 to go in the opening period when Engelman made an 18-foot jumper from the right wing to give Kansas a 21-20 advantage over the Cornhuskers. The Jayhawks never trailed from that point forward.

On KU’s next possession after the Engelman jumper, freshman Tania Jackson stretched the Jayhawks’ lead to four on a three-point play. Jackson’s free throw gave Kansas a 24-20 lead with 8:04 remaining in the first half and capped a 14-2 run by the Jayhawks over a span of 5:45.

After a three-pointer by Moore brought NU within one, Kansas scored 13 unanswered points over the next six minutes to lead 37-23 with 1:27 to go in the first half. Kansas maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the half, taking a 39-28 margin into the locker room.

The Jayhawks shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, led by Davis’ 8-for-9 mark. Davis finished the first 20 minutes with 18 points and three rebounds. Engelman played every second of the first half and scored nine points. Goodrich had a game-high six assists at the intermission. Jackson and freshman Diara Moore tied Davis for the team lead in rebounds with three each.

Kansas will conclude its regular season next week when it travels to Ames, Iowa, Tuesday to play the Iowa State Cyclones at 7 p.m. and then returns for “Senior Night” in Allen Fieldhouse next Saturday against the Kansas State Wildcats. Saturday’s game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. and be televised live on FSN.