The one thing Kansas needed most on Saturday afternoon, it lacked.

The Jayhawks were without freshman Danielle McCray, suspended for a violation of team rules.

Without McCray’s presence in the paint, Kansas had trouble containing Baylor, a team stocked with imposing post players.

Baylor rode strong performances from several post players to a 71-64 victory on Saturday. Kansas fell to 0-2 in the Big 12 and 5-9 overall. No. 9 Baylor moved to 2-0 in Big 12 play and 15-1 overall.

All-America candidate Bernice Mosby provided the Bears with senior leadership and a versatile presence down low, scoring 21 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. 6-foot-3 freshman Danielle Wilson added 13 points coming off of the bench to accompany sophomore Jessica Morrow’s 15 points.

Without McCray in the lineup and with sophomore Marija Zinic enduring a slump, Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson relied on freshman Porscha Weddington and junior Taylor McIntosh in the post. Both players provided decent play on the defensive end but struggled to score, combining for 12 points.

“Porscha is just learning some of the things she should have learned in December,” Henrickson said. “She’s a work in progress, but she is productive.”

Early in the game Kansas hung with Baylor, even jumping out to a 16-15 lead with 13:08 remaining in the first half. McIntosh had the hot hand early, scoring six points before leaving with foul trouble.

The Jayhawks traded baskets with the Bears until the last few minutes of the first half, when the Bears opened up an 8-2 run to finish the half with an eight point lead.

The first several minutes of the second half saw Baylor widen its lead thanks to the offensive assertiveness of Mosby. Mosby proved too quick and strong for her Jayhawk counterparts, driving through the lane for uncontested layups on several occasions.

Kansas never gave up, trimming the deficit to six points with just under one minute to play.

“I’m very proud of our team despite the loss,” said Henrickson. “We hung around and gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Freshmen LaChelda Jacobs and Kelly Kohn shouldered the load on offense, combining to attempt 34 of the Jayhawks’ 54 shots. Jacobs rebounded from a poor effort earlier in the week against Iowa State to tie a career-high with 18 points.

“I just wanted to have a big game,” said Jacobs. “I tried to get to the basket consistently and get fouled.”

Kohn made only six of her 17 shot attempts on the way to 14 points.

Without the explosiveness of McCray, Kansas had nowhere to turn on offense outside of Kohn and Jacobs. Against one of the nation’s elite teams, Kansas needed execution from more than two players.

“You’re only as strong as your weakest link,” said Henrickson. “We need some of our links to toughen up a bit.”

Kansas travels to Oklahoma State on Wednesday before returning home to face Nebraska on January 13th. The Jayhawks have last eight of their last nine games.