OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — It was Boomer Sooner vs. Rock Chalk; NCAA tournament bound vs. tournament bubble; Courtney Paris vs. a rotation of physically outmanned posts.

And in the second half it was just plain ugly.

Few would argue that Kansas has improved in the final portion of the season. But against the best team in the Big 12, and with its NCAA tournament security on the line, Kansas crumpled against Oklahoma Friday afternoon in Oklahoma City, falling 76-59.

"You know, to get back in the game you have to get stops," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "And we went through a stretch where we didn't get stops and we didn't score."

Playing in front of a largely pro-Oklahoma crowd, Kansas struggled mightily to stop Paris, Oklahoma's rock of a post player. Throughout the game, and especially in the first half, Paris maneuvered and bulled into any spot on the court.

Usually anchored beneath the basket, Paris scored 27 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and added six blocks.

"In the beginning they were backing it down," junior forward Danielle McCray said.

Henrickson interrupted McCray's thought.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it," she said.

And that's exactly what Oklahoma did.

The Jayhawks trailed the Sooners by just six points in the first half, thanks in large part to 14 points from McCray. But while Oklahoma continued to create scoring chances through Courtney Paris and her sister, Ashley (nine points), Kansas' offense struggled after halftime.

McCray rarely found an opening in the second half. Oklahoma double-teamed and trapped Kansas' best player any time she tried to dribble around a screen. McCray made just 3-of-7 attempts in the second half and appeared frustrated by the defensive adjustment.

"McCray earned every point she got," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "I thought she was fantastic and I told her so after the game."

Yet, Kansas' greatest flaw occurred with the handling of Paris.

The Jayhawks rotated a handful of posts against Courtney Paris, the three-time Big 12 Player of the Year who received her trophy for this year's award before the game. But none of those posts issued much resistance in the face of Paris.

For much of the game, freshman forward Aishah Sutherland found herself guarding Paris, one of the most highly decorated players in women's college basketball.

"When she fouled her in the beginning, she turned to me and said 'I need help,'" McCray said. "I just told her to keep moving your feet, that's all you can do."

On the offensive end, Kansas' offense lacked the necessary balance to topple the best team in the Big 12. McCray led the Jayhawks with 22 points, while junior guard Sade Morris scored 15 and Sutherland chipped in 10. But no other Kansas player scored more than six.

Oklahoma pieced together a 29-13 run in the second half to put Kansas away, effectively leaving the Jayhawks NCAA tournament chances completely in the hands of the selection committee.

And as the game began to get out of reach down the stretch, Henrickson issued a simple message, one that displayed Kansas' tournament situation.

"I told the kids at one point: you've got to try and cut the lead and make it respectable," Henrickson said. "You hate to that as a coach but..."

But Kansas' postseason fate was up in the air.

— — Edited by Andrew Wiebe