LAWRENCE, Kan. – HCU came out firing and held a 23-22 lead at the end of the first quarter but fell to Big 12-member Kansas on Monday evening inside Allen Fieldhouse by a final score of 79-57.
After Kansas (4-4) won the tip and missed a three on the opening possession, the Huskies (4-6) jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on their first trip down the court thanks to a three from
Kennedy Wilson. The Jayhawks' Ryan Cobbins scored the next four before
Enya Maguire buried a three to put HCU back ahead, 6-4. KU answered with a layup to again even the score but Maguire knocked down another three with 6:53 on the clock for a 9-6 HCU lead.
Just two and a half minutes later,
N'Denasija Collins made a layup and put the Huskies ahead, 15-10. The Jayhawks followed with a 6-0 run to retake the lead before
Amy Cotton answered with a layup. The two teams then traded leads and HCU took a 23-22 lead to end the first quarter.
Holly Kersgieter started the second quarter with a made three before Collins hit a jumper to even things up, 25-25. Kansas then went on an 11-2 run and pulled further ahead to lead, 44-33, at halftime. Collins and Wilson opened the second half with back-to-back buckets to pull HCU back within seven, 44-37, but from there the Huskies went cold. Kansas scored the game's next 19 points to put it out of reach.
Collins just missed out on her first double-double of the season, scoring a team-high 16 points paired with nine rebounds. Cotton, meanwhile, shot 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-4 from behind the arc for a career-high 12 points and Wilson finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
The Huskies shot a blistering 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the floor in the first quarter and finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (24-of-54) overall. Kansas ended the game shooting 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field and held a 34-29 advantage on the boards.
HCU returns home for one last post-finals non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 18, when the Huskies host Schreiner in Sharp Gym at 1:00 p.m.
