Women’s basketball slides in second half

Points off turnovers made the difference in the game

By Andrew Wiebe

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Photo Gallery

Kansas vs. Texas

Photo gallery of Wednesday's women's basketball game against Texas.

For the third consecutive game, a second half collapse left Kansas searching again for a fifth Big 12 Conference victory. Texas overcame a seven-point deficit at the half to take its first lead with three minutes remaining, eventually holding on for a 57-53 victory.

The Jayhawks turned the ball over 10 times in the second half, squandering a spectacular first half performance by sophomore guard Danielle McCray and perhaps ending their hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid. The loss left Coach Bonnie Henrickson disappointed and puzzled by her team’s inability to stay focused for 40 minutes.

“It’s frustrating,” Henrickson said. “If I had the answer, we wouldn’t keep doing it.”

Though her 19 points and 10 rebounds paced Kansas, McCray said it was disheartening to come so close and once again come away empty handed. The talented sophomore scored 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting in the first half, but the Longhorns held the Jayhawks go-to scorer in check when it mattered most.

“It seems like we do everything right in the first half and follow the game plan,” McCray said. “Then the second half comes and it seems like we are in a whole new place.”

Henrickson said her message to her team at the break was simple. If they protected the basketball and limited lost possessions, a victory was theirs.

Initially it looked as though the Jayhawks would take Henrickson’s message to heart. Kansas maintained its seven-point halftime lead for the first four minutes, but lackadaisical play eventually took its toll as Texas gradually chipped away at the lead.

Though both teams turned the ball over 18 times, the Longhorns converted the Jayhawks’ wasted possessions into 21 points, while Kansas scored 11 points off Texas giveaways. Sophomore guards Sade Morris and LaChelda Jacobs led Kansas with four turnovers apiece.

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Henrickson said her message to her team at the break was simple. If they protected the basketball and limited lost possessions, a victory was theirs.

“Every mistake we made, they made us pay,” Morris said. “But when we made them make a mistake we couldn’t make them pay. That was the difference tonight.”

The loss couldn’t have come at a worse time for Kansas, which still believes an NCAA Tournament spot could be in the cards after three straight losses spoiled consecutive victories over Colorado and Nebraska.

Henrickson said her team still had plenty to play for with either the NCAA or NIT Tournament as possible destinations.

Jacobs, who scored 8 points, said despite another setback the team had only one thing on its mind—taking Kansas back to the NCAA Tournament, where it hasn’t been since the 1999-2000 season.

The NCAA Tournament “is still our main goal and our main focus,” Jacobs said. “We are pushing for that goal and nothing else.”

—Edited by Nick Mangiaracina

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