No. 11 Kansas Upsets No. 6 Nebraska In First Round Of Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, 73-67
March 11, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. –
Senior Taylor McIntosh notched her fifth double-double of the season, while two other Jayhawks chipped in double-digit points to help the 11th seeded Kansas women’s basketball team upset the sixth seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers, 73-67, during the first round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship here Tuesday night.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The Jayhawks (16-14, 4-12 Big 12) shot 65.4 percent from the floor in the second half and 53.7 percent for the contest as <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Nebraska (20-11, 14-2 Big 12), who was led by 21 points from Kelsey Griffin, hit 33.9 percent from the field.
McIntosh went a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-3 at the free throw line to score 13 points for the Jayhawks to go along with a team-best 11 rebounds. Sade Morris and Kelly Kohn also pitched in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
With Kansas holding onto a 30-26 lead heading into the second half, McIntosh jump-started the KU offense with an open lay-up at the 14:51 mark to give the Jayhawks a 38-30 lead. Kansas only gained momentum from there using a 13-5 run over the next four minutes to open the game with a 16-point lead, 51-35.
Nebraska slowly chipped away at its deficit holding KU to six points from the 11:26 mark until the clock reached 6:24. The Cornhuskers in the meantime racked up 15 points, though they still trailed by seven at 57-50.
Kansas worked back to a double digit lead with just over four left to play. At 1:27, the Cornhuskers came within four at 68-64, its closest since the beginning of the second frame, but a jumper by Sade Morris and a free throw from McCray fought to keep KU ahead. Nebraska answered one last time with a three-pointer on the other end to cut the lead to four again with 00:24 seconds remaining but were forced to foul in the remaining seconds. McCray and Morris took a trip to the foul line where the pair hit 2-of-4 shots from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
In the opening half, the Jayhawks held Nebraska scoreless for the first three minutes of the contest while they built up a five-point lead. Kansas proceeded to hit 50.0-percent from the field to create its largest lead of the half, a 16-7 advantage, over the Cornhuskers during the first seven minutes of the contest.
Nebraska responded by making four of its next five shots to cut KU’s lead to one, 16-15, at the 9:06 mark. Kansas regained form in the final five minutes of the opening stanza going on a 9-3 run capped by a three-pointer from Kelly Kohn, but a basket by NU at the buzzer cut the Jayhawks’ lead to 30-26 heading into the locker room.
Kansas will play its next game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Wednesday night against OklahomaState. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. in the Municipal Auditorium.
