After momentum swung to Emporia State and it looked as though Kansas may not pull out a victory, sophomore Danielle McCray stepped up and refused to lose.

With McCray hammering her way to a game-high 36 points, the Jayhawks hung on for a thrilling 74-64 overtime victory.

“She was amazing,” freshman forward Nicollette Smith said. “There was no way we were going to get beat.”

Kansas opened the game on fire, clicking on offense and defense and opening a 23-5 lead 10 minutes into the contest.

For the next six minutes, though, the Jayhawks failed to score. And when their offense shut down so did their defense, allowing the Hornets to climb back into the game.

The Jayhawks clung to a five-point halftime lead. McCray came out and scored the team’s first six points of the second half.

Emporia State guard Cassondra Boston kept her team in it, taking advantage of one-on-one matchups to score a team-high 29 points.

The Jayhawks could have put the game away in the final minutes, but they shot a dismal 4-of-12 from the free throw line in the second half.

McCray made the big shots, but it was Smith who made a clutch defensive steal with 30 seconds left in regulation to stop a Hornet possession.

“That’s a freshman making a big play,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said.

Kansas missed its last-second regulation shot, but it wouldn’t matter as McCray dominated the overtime period, scoring 13 of the Jayhawks’ 19 points.

McCray was the only Kansas player with double-digit points. She also added nine rebounds.

“There are some times when you feel that you need to step up because everyone’s not there,” said McCray. “I felt like tonight was my time.”

— Edited by Luke Morris