Oklahoma State leads Kansas 42-34 at halftime by way of Andrea Riley’s fearlessness to fire.

The senior guard and first team all-Big 12 selection already has 20 points on 18 shot attempts at the break. Her mere presence aided forwards senior Tegan Cunningham (10 points) and freshman Toni Young (8 points).

Freshman forward Carolyn Davis was the real surprise of the first half, but not because of her stat-line--14 points, five of five shooting and five rebounds. Such prominence is now her standard. She suffered a concussion in Friday’s practice, didn’t play Saturday against Texas A&M and started tonight’s game on the bench. It seemed unlikely that she would play at all, but in basically a must-win circumstance, Henrickson rolled the dice and it paid off.

Kansas didn’t turn the ball over for the first six and a half minutes of the game and committed just six in the entire half. But it has been out-rebounded 23-17, thus allowing the Cowgirls to attempt 41 shots to its 30.

Henrickson has opted to attack the paint with Davis and sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland, but the duo was slowed at the end of the half by Oklahoma State’s zone defense. The defensive scheme begs the Jayhawks to take outside jump-shots, but the shooters, guards freshman Monica Engelman and senior Sade Morris are a combined three of 15 from the field.

With 12 seconds left in the half, Engelman sunk her only shot so far with a quick strike from the right baseline. But Riley followed with a buzzer beating three pointer and the Cowgirls sprinted off the court with the momentum.

Hats off to:

— Freshman forward Carolyn Davis seemed doubtful to play, but has scored 14 of Kansas’ 34 first half points. She is a perfect five of five from the field and also grabbed five rebounds. She took over the game the second she replaced junior center Krysten Boogaard.

— Sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland shot just one of five from the field, but knocked down four of five free throws en route to six points. She also had a ferocious, mometum-boosting block on top of strong defense throughout the half.

— Junior guard Marisha Brown hit her first three point shot since a 61-60 loss at New Mexico State on Jan. 3 and played solid defense against Riley.

Player of the half:

Carolyn Davis

Freshman forward Carolyn Davis has returned to the court with a vengeance after a one game hiatus due to a concussion. She has 14 points to lead the Jayhawks on a perfect five of five shooting from the field.

Trend of the half:

Defensive rebounds

Kansas has out hustled Oklahoma State on the defensive boards throughout the first half. The Jayhawks have pulled in 15 out of a possible 24 defensive rebounds. That has helped keep Kansas in the game, as its deficit is only eight points at half time.

Play of the half: 1:46

Oklahoma State junior guard Lakyn Garrison got the ball on the wing and pump faked, which sent junior guard Rhea Codio flying through the air in an attempt to defend the shot. Garrison then drove the baseline around the airborne Codio only to have her shot blocked with authority by sophomore forward Aishah Sutherland.

Follow along for live in-game updates at twitter.com/maxrothman and check for the half-time report and full recap at Kansas.com and in Friday's printed UDK.