Whatever, somebody up there seemed to be smiling on Kansas University’s women’s basketball team as it made history Friday night.

The Jayhawks rallied from a seven-point hole in the last three-plus minutes to stagger upstart La Salle, 75-72, in Allen Fieldhouse.

“Good teams find a way to win,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said, “and we won ugly.”

Unpretty it may have been, but it still will look beautiful in the record books. For the first time in the three decades records have been kept, a KU women’s basketball team has started the season with 11 straight victories and won all of its nonconference games.

Asked what it all meant, senior guard Erica Hallman smiled and said: “It means we’ve won 11 and haven’t lost any. Hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling in the conference.”

The Big 12 chase won’t begin until Tuesday when Texas comes to town, so the Jayhawks will have three days to enjoy their accomplishment.

Hallman was the heroine, scoring seven of her 11 points in the last four minutes — including a three-pointer with 1:01 remaining that gave the Jayhawks a 73-72 lead. She had been 0-for-4 from beyond the arc until she nailed what proved to be the game-winning shot.

“It was time to shoot and I shot it,” Hallman said matter-of-factly. “Bonnie just told me to be more aggressive, and fortunately it went in.”

Even though Hallman’s shooting had been shaky, Henrickson had no qualms about calling the 5-foot-8 guard’s number during a timeout. It was the same play the Jayhawks had used to forge a late tie against Wisconsin earlier in the season.

“Erica knows we all know she can knock that shot down,” Henrickson said.

LaSalle coach Tom Lochner, whose team wasted a hot shooting night, thought Hallman was the difference.

“She took over,” Lochner said. “She took the team on her back and made some tough shots, including that three. I thought she was the difference.”

Kansas outscored the Explorers, 11-1, in the fateful final three-plus minutes.

“We showed a lot of poise,” Hallman said. “We’ve matured. That’s the difference between this year and last year.”

Kansas won only 12 games all of last season. Now the Jayhawks can match that total with a win in their conference opener.

“We have a lot of games left,” said senior Crystal Kemp, who counted 25 points and nine rebounds, both game-highs. “We could lose all 16 in the Big 12, but we don’t plan to do that.”

The Jayhawks obviously didn’t plan to lose to LaSalle, either. The Explorers came in with only three wins in nine starts, but they brought their A-plus shooting game to Lawrence. They were 6-of-8 from three-point range and cashed 18-of-24 free throws. From the field, they were shooting over 50 percent until they missed their last four shots. LaSalle wound up making 24 of 51 shots (42 percent).

“It was frustrating,” Kemp said of the Explorers’ deadly shooting, “because we forced them into some tough shots, and they made them.”

Still, Henrickson would have liked to have seen a better defensive outing from her players.

“Give credit to LaSalle,” the KU coach said. “They hit big shots. They were smaller, but more athletic, and they took advantage of us one-on-one.”

Overshadowed by Hallman’s clutch shot and Kemp’s near double-double was freshman point guard Ivana Catic, who played all 40 minutes without being charged with a single turnover. Catic also contributed 16 points, five assists and four boards.

Notes: The announced attendance was a season-high 4,025. … Catic’s 16 points tied a career-high … KU has won 11 in a row for the first time since midway through the 1993-94 season. … Kansas has held all 11 of its opponents to sub-50 percent shooting.