November 28, 2010

Kansas Remains Perfect With Overtime Victory to Win the BTI Tip-Off Classic

Nov. 28, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Sophomores Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman each eclipsed the 20-point mark to lead Kansas to an exciting 81-68 overtime victory over Fordham in the final game of the Basketball Travelers, Inc., Tip-Off Classic in Allen Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon. It was Kansas’ second overtime win of the season, as the Jayhawks defeated Wisconsin a week ago, 93-86, in an extra session.

Davis led all scorers with 26 points, while Engelman had a career-high 24, marking the first game two Jayhawks scored at least 20 since Davis and Engelman did it against Texas on Feb. 13, 2010.

Junior Aishah Sutherland had eight points and 10 rebounds, her fifth consecutive game with double-digit rebounds. Sutherland earned the BTI Tip-Off Classic MVP award after averaging 13.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in the three games. Davis and Engelman were named to the All-Tournament team along with Fordham’s Caitlin Shadbolt, Memphis’ Brittany Carter and North Dakota State’s Katie Birkel.

With the victory, Kansas claimed the BTI Tip-Off Classic title and improved its record to 6-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season. Fordham fell to 3-4, losing all three of its games over the weekend.

Shadbolt led the Rams with 22 points, while Tiffany Stokes and Becky Peters posted 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Sutherland scored four points in the first 40 seconds of overtime to give Kansas a quick 63-59 advantage. Kansas then received a three-point play from Davis and fast-break layups by freshman CeCe Harper and Engelman as part of an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 74-63 with one minute left. Davis, Sutherland and Engelman all went 2-for-2 from the free throw line in the final 60 seconds to secure Kansas’ sixth-straight win. KU never trailed in the extra period.

For the game, the Jayhawks made 55.8 percent of its field goal attempts, led by Davis’ 8-for-11 afternoon and Engelman’s 10-for-16 outing. KU held the Rams to 35.7 percent from the field.

With 12.7 seconds left in regulation, Kansas had the ball down by two points and called timeout. Out of the timeout, Engelman drove from the top of the key and sank a 10-foot jumper from the baseline to tie the score. Fordham had a chance to regain the lead with six seconds remaining, but Stokes missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw situation and time expired with the teams tied at 59.

With two minutes to go, the Jayhawks trailed by two. A reverse layup by freshman Keena Mays tied the game with 1:44 on the clock, but Kristina Bell responded with a three-pointer to put the Rams back on top entering the final minute of regulation.

Early in the second half Kansas used a 12-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 45-27, with 16:31 to go in the game. Fordham slowly chipped away at the lead, cutting it to one point at the four-minute mark and taking the lead, 53-52, on a Stokes layup with 2:43 left.

Neither team could gain much traction for the majority of the first half, as the teams stayed within four points of each other for the first 16 minutes.

With 5:27 remaining in the first half and the game tied at 21, a three-pointer by freshman Tania Jackson sparked a 9-0 run over the next four minutes for Kansas. An Engelman three-pointer in the final minute gave KU a 33-23 at halftime.

Engelman led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 on three-pointers. For the half Kansas shot 60.9 percent from the field while holding the Rams to 28.1 percent.

Kansas will play its fourth game in six days when it takes on Maine Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised in the Lawrence area on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.