Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoThere were no altercations before, during or after the Border War women’s basketball rematch, but Missouri easily knocked out Kansas University.
The Jayhawks put up little fight against the Tigers, falling behind 14-4 and eventually losing, 76-49, Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
And if any fallout remained from the fracas that followed KU’s 55-52 win Jan. 10 in Columbia, Mo., it fired up the Tigers more than the Jayhawks.
“This is a disappointing ballgame for us,” said KU coach Marian Washington, whose squad suffered its fourth straight setback.
“I think that Missouri came in and did a very good job and was really aggressive today. I think we had a difficult time trying to respond when we tried to be aggressive.”
Richard Gwin/Journal-World PhotoDespite a crowd of 2,877 — KU’s biggest of the season — it was Missouri (10-6 overall, 1-4 Big 12 Conference) that fed off fans’ pregame hype of whether fisticuffs would again occur.
Missouri senior Evan Unrau scored nine points during the Tigers’ initial push. At one point late in the first half Unrau trailed the entire Kansas team by only one point, and had just three less rebounds than the Jayhawks (8-9, 1-5).
Unrau, who found out Friday she would be reprimanded by the Big 12 for not showing appropriate verbal restraint in the altercation, led all players with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
In fact, of the players who participated in the fracas, Missouri’s three outscored KU’s four. Unrau, MyEsha Perkins and Christelle N’Garsanet outscored Larisha Graves, Tamara Ransburg, Kandis Bonner and Lauren Ervin, 41-21.
Crystal Kemp led the Jayhawks with 14 points.
“I don’t really know the whole background behind the Kansas/Missouri Border War, but personally I am real upset about this loss,” said Ervin, a California native who was KU’s second-leading scorer Saturday with 10.
“Especially in our house. I was just frustrated with the whole team and the way that we started off the game.”
Kansas mounted a short-lived comeback with 15:04 remaining in the second half when Ransburg hit one of two free throws to finish a 7-2 run, cutting KU’s deficit to 40-34.
But a little more than three minutes later Ransburg, who chipped in nine points and nine rebounds, fouled out.
“It was a big foul when you have a player like Tamara that is so important to our team,” Washington said.
Ransburg’s absence allowed Missouri to dominate the rest of the game, as the Tigers outscored the Jayhawks, 30-13.
“We have to tuck this game away and get ready for our next game against Oklahoma State,” Washington said. “We definitely look forward to playing somebody else.”
The Jayhawks have a week off to prepare for OSU, and they may need it. The unranked Cowgirls (7-10, 2-4 Big 12) beat No. 3-ranked Texas Tech, 88-87, in double overtime Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
