KU musters little magic in loss

By Tom Keegan     Jan 11, 2006

? She fumbled the pass that had arrived late and the shot clock was about to expire, so Erica Hallman had no choice but to heave up a desperation shot. It banked off the glass, bounced on the rim a couple of times and went through the net for three points.

At that moment, it looked as if the Kansas University women’s basketball team was on its way to creating more of its magic. But the Jayhawks weren’t in Kansas anymore, so it didn’t happen.

A shorthanded, rebuilding Colorado team dealt KU its second consecutive loss, 74-65, Tuesday night in Coors Events Center.

Hallman’s long bank had drawn the Jayhawks within 40-39 with 14:47 left in the second half of a game in which KU did not score a point at the free-throw line and attempted only two charity shots.

After Hallman’s shot, the Buffaloes went on a 13-point run and led by as many as 15 points. Kaylee Brown, who led KU with 19 points to go with Hallman’s 17, hit a three-pointer with 1:22 left to cut the deficit to six points, but that was as close as it would get.

KU (12-2 overall, 1-2 Big 12 Conference) hit 11 of 23 three-point shots but did little else well on a low-energy night.

“We never matched their intensity, and that’s just incredibly disappointing,” Jayhawks coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “If we’re going to do anything at Kansas, we’re going to play hard and compete.”

To their credit, the Jayhawks didn’t whine about the free-throw disparity in a game Colorado (6-9, 1-2) made 16 of 28 from the line.

“I don’t think we were as aggressive as we need to be,” Hallman said. “We have to establish our inside game first, and we didn’t do that tonight.”

Two personal fouls limited Crystal Kemp to nine first-half minutes, but even when she was in the game, she wasn’t getting the ball often. Kemp made six of eight shots from the field and had trouble keeping up on the defensive end.

Jasmina Ilic and Jackie McFarland each scored 18 points, and McFarland added 15 rebounds for the Buffaloes.

Coming off road losses to Nebraska and Colorado, Kansas will play host Sunday to Texas A&M in Allen Fieldhouse, where the Jayhawks are 12-0.

“I don’t think it was any part of this,” KU point guard Ivana Catic said of being on the road. “Our failure to match the intensity of Colorado and execute our game plan is why we lost. We just didn’t come out and execute to the best of our abilities. I hope this game can be the final wake-up call. We have to play hard every single night.”

PREV POST

Road unkind to Kansas women's team

NEXT POST

17746KU musters little magic in loss