Two programs came into last night's women's basketball game with a lot of growing pains.

Kansas, however, made it worse for Colorado by hitting the Buffaloes with a painful 65-60 road defeat.

Numerous missed opportunities by Colorado and enough late conversions on the offensive end for Kansas, 9-8 (2-4 Big 12), produced the Jayhawks' second consecutive victory in the Big 12 and their first road conference triumph of the season.

In the game's final minute, junior forward Crystal Kemp and junior guard Erica Hallman made two free throws each, cementing the outcome.

The Buffaloes, 8-9 (1-5), squandered several opportunities to tie the game down the stretch and hit just 7-of-15 free throws for the game.

While leading 61-58, Jayhawk Kaylee Brown, junior guard, was called for an offensive foul on a moving screen, giving the Buffaloes the ball back with only 1:06 remaining in the game. Colorado failed to convert a wide-open three-point attempt by sophomore forward Anna Nedovic as well as the subsequent offensive put-back.

The next possession yielded another chance for Colorado to close the gap, but the Kansas inside defense forced Buffalo freshman forward Jackie McFarland into a missed layup.

On the ensuing Jayhawk possession, Kemp nailed two free throws, giving Kansas a comfortable 63-58 lead with 38 seconds left. Kemp finished by matching her 15 points with 15 rebounds.

While Colorado failed to close well, Kansas converted when it counted most. Hallman's two free throws with two seconds on the clock produced the final 65-60 score.

"Down the stretch we had some good possessions," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "I'm really excited about our ability to finish."

Both teams started well in an up-and-down first half that included 13 lead changes and solid play by both.

Kansas' early offense was led by Hallman, who scored 11 quick points on penetration moves and perimeter shooting. Hallman concluded the game with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Kemp picked up where she left off against Missouri and opened up the game by dominating the boards. Kemp grabbed nine early rebounds and actually led the entire Colorado roster in rebounding all the way until late in the first half.

Key play from the bench was provided by sophomore guard Sharita Smith, who scored eight points in the opening 20 minutes of play. A three-point shot from Smith as the halftime buzzer sounded gave the Jayhawks a 34-33 advantage at the break.

"Sharita gave us huge minutes," Henrickson said.

And the success of Smith's shot going into halftime was the result of a last-minute practice before the game.

"There's a reason we went over that in the shoot around," Henrickson said of the play that yielded Smith's first-half buzzer beater.

The momentum of the first-half's ending play seemed to carry over as Kansas scored on its first possession out of the gate, but the offense slowed down abruptly.

In the opening four minutes after the break, Kansas committed four turnovers. Colorado took advantage and produced an 8-0 run to take the lead by five, 41-36.

"We were so ugly offensively coming out in the second half," Henrickson said.

A quick five-point burst tied the game, and neither team made a push to pull away for the remainder of the contest.

Kemp, who was whistled for two first-half fouls, picked up her third foul at the 15:31 mark. The Jayhawk offense sputtered a little but survived the absence of its leading scorer using a defense that held the Buffaloes within easy striking distance.

Kansas steadily tested the Colorado defense and two crucial Kemp baseline jump shots helped seal the victory for the Jayhawks.

The next road trip for Kansas is on Saturday when the Jayhawks travel to Nebraska. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.