Even the top NFL wide receivers would have been impressed with Aishah Sutherland’s athletic performance Saturday against Kansas State.

Sutherland, who hadn’t played in Kansas’ last three games, skyed and pulled down lob passes and rebounds like they were deep bombs on the football field. She finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, both career highs.

“That’s the kind of athleticism we knew she had when we first started watching her,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “I think what you see today is the player the kid can be and I think she can get better and better.”

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Kansas Women's Basketball vs. Kansas State

Despite keeping the game close throughout four quarters, the Jayhawks fell to their in-state rivals for the second time this season, 59-50.

Henrickson knew before the game she would play the freshman because she matched up better with athletic K-State senior Marlies Gipson. She said sophomore center Krysten Boogaard struggled with Gipson’s athleticism in the first matchup between the teams.

“Behind Krysten, we weren’t getting any production at the five spot,” Henrickson said. “I was committed to giving her a shot early.”

Subbed in three minutes into the game, Sutherland’s first basket in three games set the tone for her productive first half. After Sutherland came down with a lob pass, she went up strong, absorbed the foul and finished off the glass to put the Jayhawks ahead 5-2.

The seldom-used Sutherland played 32 minutes, doubling her previous career high. Sutherland said she wanted to see the floor more, so she began to take practice more seriously.

“I shouldn’t get the privilege to play if I don’t work hard in practice,” Sutherland said. “But it got pretty frustrating, so I wanted to make a change and be able to play.”

After getting a lot more repetitions in practice in the two days before the game, Sutherland knew she was going to get a chance to play early.

Sutherland said her defensive struggles kept her on the bench much of the season. It didn’t improve much on Saturday.

Sutherland guarded Gipson, one part of K-State’s three-headed monster, for most of the game. Gipson finished with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Gipson used her full arsenal of moves, including a fade-away bank shot, to get around the longer Sutherland. Henrickson realized that K-State was trying to get Gipson the ball just like her team was feeding the rock to junior Danielle McCray.

“The senior got the freshman a little bit,” Henrickson said.

But Sutherland thinks the game was great experience and makes her feel as if she can compete with any other team in the Big 12.

“I thought she was aggressive and played confident,” Henrickson said.

— — Edited by Sam Speer