Aishah Sutherland came off the bench last night, but if you blinked you might not have known she started the game there.

Less than four minutes into the first half, Sutherland, a freshman forward, relieved starting sophomore center Kristen Boogaard as Sutherland was on her way to the first double-double of her career. She played 31 minutes, scored a career-high 15 points, and tied her career high with 12 rebounds in the 79-64 victory over Creighton.

Sutherland understands her role on the team, and the flux in minutes from coach Bonnie Henrickson never surprises her at all.

“I already know it’s going to be like that,” Sutherland said of her playing time. “If I play good she’ll (Henrickson) keep me in, if I don’t play good she’ll take me out.”

Sutherland feasted in the paint, along with the rest of the Jayhawks, against a small Bluejay lineup. For the majority of the game, Creighton didn’t have a player taller than six feet on the floor. Kansas outscored Creighton 48-22 in the paint as Sutherland collected eight rebounds in the first half alone.

“When I jump I’m over everybody,” Sutherland said. “You can’t get a rebound if I jump and work hard for it.”

Boogaard was ineffective in her 16 minutes against the small-ball lineup of the Bluejays, scoring only three points and grabbing four rebounds. Sutherland stepped in to fill the void down low, much to the delight of Henrickson.

“She made an impact,” Henrickson said. “She rebounded the ball really well early.”

The epitome of Sutherland’s game came when the Jayhawks needed a bucket the most. After a 29-18 run by Creighton cut what was a 20-point lead in the second half, Sutherland took a pass from junior forward Danielle McCray into the paint.

Sutherland was just short of the rim, but she grabbed her own rebound among two Bluejay defenders and muscled it back in, plus the foul. Her three-point play pushed the Jayhawks’ lead to 67-55, creating a lot of breathing room with less than six minutes left in the game.

“When she did that (the one play) it kind of drew the energy to us,” McCray said. “Whenever you get an ‘and one’ play it always brings energy and it gets the fans in it.”

McCray also said that when Sutherland makes that type of play, the rest of her game elevates. Kansas will look to Sutherland more often if she duplicates what she did last night.

“That (and one play) gives her confidence too,” McCray said. “When she makes a shot and she knows she’s in a groove, that’s when she plays her best.”

— — Edited by Carly Halvorson