The reason: The MVS bus driver didn’t like to drive in snow.

Kansas’ response was something along the lines of, “Put on snow tires and saddle up, because the game will be played.”

Had the Devilettes known the outcome once they actually made it to Lawrence, they might have been a little more insistent.

The Jayhawks who tied the ignominious school record for losing margin in Allen Fieldhouse the last time in the building set a handful of more positive school records in a 116-34 rout of MVS on Thursday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Casey Wilson/Journal-World Photo

The 82-point margin of victory was the largest in Kansas’ history. KU also set school records for assists (32), steals (30) and free throws attempted (50).

“I don’t think it mattered who was coming to play today,” said KU’s Fernanda Bosi, who tied for team-high honors with a career-high 19 points. “It could have been Tennessee. We probably would have beaten Tennessee today.”

Make no mistake, Mississippi Valley State is no Tennessee.

The Devilettes (1-6) committed 47 turnovers and hit just 22 percent of their shots.

Kansas (6-3) hit 57.7 percent of its field goals and held a 55-27 rebounding edge.

“I thought we played pretty well,” KU coach Marian Washington understated. “I was pleased with our execution of defense. In a game like this, it’s easy to break down. But I thought we played hard through 40 minutes.”

Bosi certainly did.

A native Brazilian who transferred to KU from Western Nebraska Junior College, Bosi missed all five of her field goal attempts and was held scoreless in 21 minutes of the Jayhawks’ 76-54 loss to Creighton last Saturday.

That was the first time both her parents had seen her play ball in the United States.

With her parents in the stands again Thursday, Bosi came off the bench to hit five of seven field goals, three of three three-pointers and collect five rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes against the Devilettes.

“It was a mind set,” said Bosi, a 5-11 junior guard. “That wasn’t body at all. That was all mind.”

Her parents had a hand in getting in Bosi’s head. Mauro and Vania Bosi both played basketball, and after watching their daughter struggle against Creighton, they had some words of wisdom.

“They’re like coaches,” Fernanda Bosi said. “I didn’t play well in the last game, and they told me, ‘You have to change.’ I had to play the way I played at Nebraska. That’s what the coaches saw, and that’s how I came to play here. I wasn’t giving myself a chance to do my stuff. I changed 100 percent.”

In that regard, Bosi was Kansas in microcosm.

KU’s offense, which struggled against Creighton, couldn’t be stopped by the outmatched Devilettes, and Kansas’ defense dominated.

Kansas’ fullcourt press helped force 29 first-half turnovers, and the Jayhawks held MVS to one field goal over the first 13 1/2 minutes. By that time, it was 40-2 Kansas.

“I think pretty early on we knew it was going to be like that,” Kansas guard Jennifer Jackson said after going 7-for-7 and tying Bosi with 19 points. “We knew this was going to be a game more about ourselves than our opponent.”

The sour taste left over from the Creighton loss provided plenty of motivation.

“We wanted to make up for that loss,” said Selena Scott, who made her second start of the season at point guard and finished with career highs of six assists and seven steals. “That was so embarrassing. It was embarrassing for us and our fans, and we wanted to come out tonight and play and put that behind us.”

Seven Jayhawks reached double figures in their final game before holiday break. KC Hilgenkamp had 15 points, Brooke Reves added 14 and Jaclyn Johnson, Kristin Geoffroy and Dalchon Brown each added 10 points.

“We practiced all week like it was our last practice,” Scott said. “We just played like we’d never play basketball again. We were diving all over the place. We wanted to win so bad.”

Kansas is off until Dec. 29, when it travels to Arizona. Two days later, KU will play at UC Santa Barbara, then return home to open Big 12 play against Baylor on Jan. 6.

MORE:www.kusports.com