Originally published January 28, 2012 at 9:40 p.m., updated January 29, 2012 at 1:23 a.m.
Throughout the week the Jayhawks talked about tweaking their offense and defense to face Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears. Carolyn Davis stepped out for a series of 19-foot jump shots and CeCe Harper hit a couple three pointers as the Kansas worked in this adjusted game plan.
However, No. 1 Baylor was up 20 points at the half and with a 10-4 run out of the break, it easily defeated Kansas in a 74-46 victory in Waco. The Jayhawks fell to 16-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
“We killed ourselves,” coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We didn’t pressure the ball and that is such a big part of post defense and even more magnified with her.”
Junior forward Carolyn Davis extended her range with three jumpers at the top of the key. She had been tailoring this part of her game to score over Griner.
“I had been practicing a lot and I knew I was good enough to knock that down and be successful,” Davis said. “I was just trying to be confident and grab the ball when it came to me.”
Davis led the Jayhawks with 12 points and 2 blocks but played limited minutes after picking up two fouls with 12 minutes left in the first half. Davis scored six of the first 10 points and blocked two shots for Kansas in those first eight minutes but sat out the remainder of the first half.
Freshman Chelsea Gardner entered the game for Davis and was met with a quick block from Griner. Gardner, Tania Jackson and Aishah Sutherland worked in the post, but they were outscored 54-20 in the paint. Griner finished with a game-high 28 points and shot 12-for-15 from the field. The Jayhawks were also outrebounded 46-29 and allowed 14 second chance points for the Bears.
“You get nothing inside and you are shooting tough twos and threes and she is standing under the rim so then they just throw it up to her and score,” Henrickson said.
The Jayhawks switched between a man-to-man and diamond-and-one defense in the hopes of slowing down the Bears’ attack. But Baylor’s balance proved too much for Kansas.
“It was just too many easy opportunities when we break down defensively to hang around,” Henrickson said.
Sophomore guard CeCe Harper hit two three pointers and a pair of free throws on her way to a career-high 10 points. She has been playing more minutes this season as the first guard off the bench.
“I really just let the game come to me,” Harper said. “I wanted to do my best for the team and help them out anyway I could.”
Angel Goodrich also finished in double figures with 10 points and added eight assists. She hit 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Freshman guard Asia Boyd hit a three pointer late in the game. They were her first points since Dec. 28 against Sam Houston State. Boyd entered the program as the highest ranked recruit under Bonnie Henrickson, but has yet to play significant minutes for the Jayhawks.
Kansas has a quick turnaround before they host Oklahoma on Tuesday night. Henrickson said the main things they need to work on are limiting turnovers and increasing on-ball pressure.
“There are times when we beat ourselves and didn’t control what we could to control and that’s stuff you have to learn from,” Henrickson said.
Harper said Oklahoma is a good opportunity for the Jayhawks to bounce back and play a good game.
“The biggest thing is taking care of the ball and defending,” Harper said. “We’ve just got to forget about this one and move on to the next one.”
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