“We got it going from Jump Street,” Kansas University senior Jaclyn Johnson said. “Our attitude was these girls weren’t going to score.”

Grambling State did score, of course, but only 14 points in the first half as the Jayhawks raced to a record-tying 122-71 season-opening women’s basketball triumph in Allen Fieldhouse.

Grambling State couldn’t handle the Jayhawks’ first-half press. Consequently, Kansas forged such preposterous leads as 27-2 and 58-9 on the way to a 61-14 bulge at the break.

“Late in the first half I decided to take the press off,” KU coach Marian Washington said. “I’m not here to embarrass anybody. I wanted to win, but I didn’t feel we had to humiliate anybody.”

Melissa Lacey/Journal-World Photo

No doubt the Tigers (0-2) would have been humiliated if the Jayhawks had continued to press, and if Washington has played Johnson longer than just 18 minutes.

During that span, the 6-foot-1 Johnson scored a career-high 25 points, snatched 15 boards, made three assists and had two steals.

“What she did in the first half was tremendous,” Washington said. “She should have a great year.”

Johnson’s only negative was a second-half technical foul. Johnson said something to an official after a teammate went down and was rung up. But she wasn’t wrung out about it afterward.

“Maybe I was right and that made him mad,” Johnson said, smiling. “I understand it was a blowout, but you can’t let a teammate get hurt in a situation like that.”

No one was hurt and all 12 women on the Jayhawks’ active roster played. With reserves on the floor most of the second half and with the press lifted, Grambling State scored 57 points.

“We tried to play a lot of players and try different combinations, and you lose some things when you do that,” Washington said. “We didn’t get good defensive rotation in the second half.”

Specifically, the Jayhawks didn’t shadow the Tigers’ Shrieka Evans who made 6 of 13 three-pointers in the last half after bricking all seven of her trey tries in the first half.

With a 47-point intermission lead, the Jayhawks knew the second half was moot.

“We didn’t get the same effort,” said KU point guard Jennifer Jackson who had 10 points, five steals and five assists in just 15 minutes of work. “But we have to remember we have to put 40 minutes out there.”

Forward Brooke Reves, who matched her career high with 28 points, logged 31 minutes by far the most of any starter and conceded the second half was difficult.

“It’s tough to stay focused, but you have to look at a bigger picture,” Reves said. “We wanted to establish the tempo early. We really worked on that.”

Kansas’ next game will be Tuesday night at Arkansas State.

Notes:

KU’s 31 assists broke the school record by two. Every KU player except Kristin Geoffroy had at least one assist. Geoffroy had a career-high 13 points.

KU also scored 122 points against Wichita State in 1979. Current aide Lynette Woodard was on that KU club.

Both teams were guilty of 26 turnovers. Grambling State had 19 in the first half and only seven in the second. Every KU player except Leila Meng at least one turnover.

Kansas had 56 points in the paint and 42 points off turnovers.