But that smile quickly turned upside down despite a 72-46 exhibition victory over Washburn on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Dick, a KU graduate, was honored before the game for her 23 years of service, during which she became the winningest coach in Washburn history and one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Div. II.

But Washington, in her 27th season, knows a thing or two about basketball, too, and she didn’t like what she saw Saturday.

“All too often when there’s a game like this, players tend to let up a little bit, and I think that happened to us for the most part of the ball game,” Washington said.

Casey Wilson/Journal-World Photo

The Jayhawks (5-2) jumped to a 24-11 lead thanks in part to a full-court press and tenacious defense.

But Washburn point guard Thorlan Buchanan, a 5-foot-5 junior, tormented the Jayhawks. She collected five defensive rebounds, two assists and a steal in the first half, and she reminded Washington of St. Joseph’s Angela Zampella, who had 14 assists in the Hawks’ victory last Saturday.

“We struggle with real quick guards,” Washington said. “We must do a better job at containing. Buchanan broke us down at the top.”

Kansas stepped up the defense in the second half and had 13 points off turnovers, compared to the eight for the Blues (5-2).

“We’ve had a full week of really good practices, and then we play a game like this,” Washington said. “I asked the players if they let up because it doesn’t count or what. We’ve got to take advantage of every game.”

KC Hilgenkamp led the Jayhawks with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting while forwards Jaclyn Johnson and Brooke Reves collected 14 points apiece.

KU will play host to Creighton next Saturday. Tipoff is 2:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

“We need to take care of business at home,” Johnson said.