December 09, 2007

Balanced Attack Leads Kansas Past Indiana, 69-61

Dec. 9, 2007

Box Score

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

The <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Kansas had four players score in double figures and used extended scoring runs in both the first and second halves as it defeated Indiana, 69-61, Sunday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

KU, which improved to 7-1 and has now won four straight, was led by freshman Krysten Boogaard, who finished with a season-high 13 points.

The Hoosiers jumped on the Jayhawks early in the contest, building an eight-point lead midway through the first half. IU’s Jamie Braun, who came into Sunday’s game averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game, scored eight of her team’s first 12 points as Indiana held KU to only 11 points in the first ten minutes.

Kansas, though, stormed back. With the Hoosier’s leading 21-13, the Jayhawks scored the contest’s next eight points and eventually extended their run to 19-4. At halftime, KU held a 35-31 advantage and has not trailed at halftime yet.

After the Jayhawks scored the second half’s first four points to build an eight-point lead — its largest of the game to that point — Indiana began to claw back. Over the next eight minutes, IU used a 14-5 run to regain the lead at 50-46 with 10:24 remaining, capped by a jumper at the 13-minute mark.

On the next possession, though, senior Taylor McIntosh started what would become a 13-3 run that gave the Jayhawks the lead for good, which included five points from sophomore Danielle McCray. McCray scored 10 of her 12 points in the final 6:38 of the game.

IU closed the gap to 64-60 with just under a minute to play, but McCray, an Olathe, Kan., iced the game by stepping into a passing lane to record a steal and drew an intentional foul by the Hoosiers. McCray calmly sank both free-throws, all but sealing the outcome.

After her impressive start, Braun, who came in sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, was held without a point for the remainder of the game, finishing 4-of-18 from the field. As a team, Indiana was held to just 36.8-percent shooting for the game while KU shot an even 50-percent.

Junior Ivana Catic scored a season-high 10 points, while senior Taylor McIntosh also added 10 points and six rebounds.

KU forced 18 Hoosier turnovers which it turned into 23 points, and its bench outscored IU’s by a count of 28-7.

Following a week-long break for final exams, the Jayhawks will return to action on Dec. 16 when they host UC-Riverside at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on Sunflower Channel 6.