On the road, facing an athletic top-25 team, Kansas walked off the court at halftime with a choice: fold up or grow up.

That Kansas ended up losing to No. 13 Texas 74-66 isn’t the complete story. There’s no doubt that the Jayhawks’ sights were set on pulling an upset as the game tightened down the stretch.

But without their leading scorer and with the Longhorns holding a seemingly insurmountable lead considering the circumstances, the Jayhawks scrapped, defended and slowly worked their way back into the game.

For coach Bonnie Henrickson, that resiliency represented a change from Kansas’ previous losses.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of them,” Henrickson said. “I thought they battled and competed. They had some fight, some toughness and they played for the front of the jersey.”

For much of this season, the Jayhawks have struggled after halftime, surrendering leads or letting opponents pull away. But on Wednesday night Kansas switched its fortunes after the break.

Before halftime, Kansas had little answer for Texas on defense or offense. The Jayhawks went on an 8-2 run to start the second half to cut the Longhorns’ lead to 41-33.

“I think everybody tonight made the decision that we weren’t going to stop fighting regardless of what the score was or regardless of how much we got down,” sophomore forward Nicollette Smith said.

Kansas kept slicing into Texas’ lead, closing the gap to four on several occasions. With 4:53 left, junior guard LaChelda Jacobs’ jumper cut the Longhorn’s lead to 60-57 — the Jayhawks’ smallest deficit of the game.

Kansas did so without junior forward Danielle McCray, the team’s leading scorer, for much of the game.

Foul trouble forced McCray to sit on the bench in the first half for the second consecutive game. With slightly more than five minutes gone in the first half, McCray picked up her second foul when she lowered her shoulder while driving toward the basket.

Then, after scoring five of Kansas’ first six points after halftime, McCray picked up her fourth foul six minutes into the second half.

McCray fouled out with slightly more than seven minutes left, tying her season-low with seven points.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed in Danielle’s performance,” Henrickson said. “But I thought the rest of those kids grew up.”

In McCray’s absence, Smith and junior guard Sade Morris picked up the slack. Smith scored 18 points, while Morris added 14.

“Everybody contributed,” Henrickson said. “Everybody guarded, everybody rebounded.”

But the game didn’t start promising for the Jayhawks.

In the first half, Texas’ pressure defense completely disrupted Kansas’ offense. The Longhorns used a variety of traps and full-court presses to force turnovers and score easy points.

The Jayhawks committed 14 first-half turnovers, allowing the Longhorns to run and utilize their athleticism.

At different stretches in the first half, the Longhorns had an 11-0 run and a 9-0 run, creating separation from the Jayhawks.

“We were throwing a lot of passes that they were getting hands on because of how long and athletic they are,” Smith said. “I think that was a big problem for us in the first half.”

Still, in cutting the Longhorns’ lead, the Jayhawks showed toughness — something Henrickson said was lacking in a 74-60 defeat to Missouri on Saturday.

“I thought those kids battled, competed and played their tails off,” Henrickson said. “I just couldn’t be more proud of them.”

— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe