Gritty defensive play kept a struggling KU women’s basketball team close to its rival after 20 minutes.

Then came the second half, where the shots were falling but only for the Tigers. Kansas’ tormenting defensive presence evaporated and any chance of a KU victory rested squarely on the shoulders of Selena Scott.

But not even Scott’s 19-point effort was enough Saturday, as MU’s Natalie Bright and Kerensa Barr nearly outscored Kansas by themselves and the Tigers easily picked up a 66-48 victory, pushing KU’s losing streak to four games.

“I was thinking after the ball game that we don’t lose very often to some of these teams, so it’s always very difficult,” said KU coach Marian Washington, whose team is 5-12 overall, 0-4 in the Big 12. “We’re going to work real hard to not allow it to happen too many more times in the future.

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo

“But I just think our team is a team right now that hasn’t been able to sustain a run beyond about 25 minutes. Another thing we’re talking about is that we don’t have consistent performances from key players who need to score for us.”

Both of Washington’s points, as has been the case all season, were obvious Saturday.

Kansas, besides Scott, didn’t have another double-digit scorer. Senior KC Hilgenkamp score seven of her nine points in the second half, but by then it was too late.

Missouri, which shot only 27 percent in the first half, quickly responded to a Scott layup with 16:29 left that tied the score at 28 by going on a 16-0 run.

Barr scored 10 of her 20 points over that stretch and Missouri (11-3, 2-1) never looked back.

KU did make one final run to cut the score to 47-37 with just over 10 minutes to go, when Scott sliced into the lane for another layup.

But that was followed directly by a three-pointer from Bright, who scored a career-high 27 points, including a 6-of-10 effort from three-point range, and five consecutive KU turnovers.

“The second half we let down,” Washington said. “The turnovers those were in some instances very key. We just couldn’t sustain in the second half.”

While Kansas wasn’t close to spectacular in the first half, it managed to drag an up-tempo Missouri team into a slugout.

The Jayhawks played pesky defense and managed to force some untimely shots, allowing only two MU players more than a point. Of course, one was Bright, who paced the Tigers with 17 first-half points.

Kansas, which also shot a dismal 29 percent from the field, hit all 10 of its free throws to keep things close.

“I think Missouri took it up another step. That’s kind of been the scenario throughout the whole Big 12,” Hilgenkamp said of the Tigers’ strong second half. “We’ll play one really good half, but that’s when the other half steps up. That’s what we need to do in order to stay in ball games and to win.”

Things won’t get any easier for a KU team that is off to its worst start in 20 years as No. 19 Colorado comes to Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. A slew of ranked Big 12 teams also loom.

Washington said Saturday that the Jayhawks must forget about their record and prepare on a game-to-game basis.

“It’s going to be a tough stretch for us and this team will need to take a lot of pride in its performance,” Washington said. “If we can be able to say after every game that we’ve improved or we’ve done some things better, then we can talk about success in its proper perspective this year.”

KU players echoed their coach’s strained enthusiasm and admitted the losses were frustrating.

“I’m actually still excited,” Scott said. “It’s just a big learning experience that some people have to go through. It happens for a reason, you don’t know what that reason is until later, but everything has happened to us for a reason.”