Kansas University’s women team remains unbeaten no more.
In the Jayhawks first road game of the year the Nebraska Cornhuskers pulled away in the last 10 minutes to record a 73-61 victory over KU at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb.
The previously unbeaten Jayhawks (12-1,1-1 Big 12) got 23 points and 11 rebounds out of senior star Crystal Kemp, but the Cornhuskers (10-3, 2-0), who have won eight straight, got even more out of junior guard Kiera Hardy.
Hardy, the leading returning scorer in the conference, tallied 26 points Saturday night including four three-pointers.
“We’re not going to overreact to this,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “We got a chance to get two days of good reps to try and get a win on the road in Colorado.”
Kansas senior Kaylee Brown scored 13 points for the Jayhawks, which were hoping to increase the momentum they had after knocking off No. 23 Texas on Tuesday.
The first half was tight with eight ties and 10 lead changes. Both teams reached leads of five points, although neither the Jayhawks nor the Huskers could gain much momentum. The Jayhawks led at the break 35-34.
Kemp led Kansas with 10 points and four boards in the first half, while senior Kaylee Brown pumped in eight points including a pair of three-pointers.
Hardy, a Kansas City native, led the Huskers with 11 points before intermission. Both teams were red-hot from the field in the opening stanza as KU shot 59.3 percent and NU shot 51.9 percent.
For the first eight minutes after the break it was much of the same story.
At the 11:46 media timeout, the Huskers led the Jayhawks 50-49. After the timeout, Nebraska went on a 10-3 run over the next four minutes, sparked by Hardy, who hit an off-balance three-pointer that took the wind out of KU’s sails.
“Lack of focus defensively, not being able to make changes on the offense,” Henrickson said was the difference in the second half. “We got to be able to make some changes. We got to be more discipline, more poised. Then dig down defensively.”
The Huskers kept the Jayhawks at arms length for the remainder of the game, scoring their final nine points from the free throw line. NU’s Kelsey Griffin added 16 points and a team-high seven boards. Jessica Gerhart rounded out the Nebraska double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Kansas shot 45.8 percent from the field and 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from the three-point line, while Nebraska shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Kansas won the battle of the boards, 35-31.
Kansas travels to Boulder, Co. to play Colorado on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m., Central time, on Fox Sports Net-Midwest.
