Crystal Kemp had pregame jitters. Kaylee Brown had a bum ankle. Erica Hallman never found the range.
That’s not the way it was supposed to be for Kansas University’s three senior women basketball players in their last game in Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas State spoiled the occasion with a a 62-44 no-doubter Thursday night.
“When our players hit the floor,” K-State coach Deb Patterson said, “they hit the floor running.”
And KU spent the night chasing, never really coming close to catching up.
“They seemed to want it more than we did,” Kemp said. “They didn’t want the seniors to get points and go out with a win.”
Actually, in spite of her pre-tipoff yips, Kemp was right on her average with 19 points.
“That’s the first game I’ve been nervous,” the 6-foot-2 senior said, “except for my first game as a Jayhawk. I don’t know why.”
Hallman said she was nervous, too, and she made only four of 13 shots. The 5-8 guard was 0-for-4 from three-point range, marking only the third time all season had she failed to count at least one three-point goal.
Meanwhile, Brown, the other senior, played 35 minutes and failed to score for the first time this season. Brown wasn’t nervous, but she was anxious after suffering a twisted ankle in practice two days ago.
“I tried to do what I could,” Brown said, “but nothing happened. It was difficult. I tried my hardest. I’ve been rehabbing every single minute of every single day.”
Brown said she hoped to be full-speed when the Jayhawks met the Wildcats again in the Big 12 Tournament. The rematch will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Dallas. K-State (18-9 overall, 8-8 Big 12) is the No. 7 seed. Kansas (16-11, 5-11) is No. 10.
K-State will take a 10-game winning streak against Kansas into that meeting in Reunion Arena, but KU coach Bonnie Henrickson stressed they were eager to face the Wildcats again.
“Actually, we are,” she said. “There aren’t a lot of teams in this league you’re begging to play, but that’s the way it is.”
Henrickson, realizing Thursday night would be an emotional experience for the three seniors, scheduled the recognition ceremony after the game instead of prior to tipoff.
“We did it beforehand when I was at Virginia Tech,” she said, “and it was just too emotional. The only problem with after the game is if you lose. That didn’t seem to work today.”
Kansas lost only four times in the fieldhouse this season, and Thursday night’s was the most lopsided. The previous worst was a 14-pointer to Texas A&M.
When the Jayhawks opened the season with a dozen consecutive victories that matched the number of wins they had recorded all off last season, a postseason appearance looked like a fait accompli.
But after finishing with a 5-11 record in Big 12 games for the second year in a row, Kansas is sitting on the WNIT bubble and hoping that postseason tourney, which has expanded from 32 to 40 teams, will tender an invitation.
KU officials have sent in the necessary WNIT paperwork, but Henrickson will have to wait until selections are announced March 13.
Asked if it was unrealistic to expect the Big 12’s 10th-place team to earn a postseason bid, Henrickson admitted she was in the dark but remained optimistic.
“Texas A&M had four wins in the league last year and got in,” the KU coach said, “but I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
Obviously, a victory Tuesday over Kansas State would add to the Jayhawks’ cachet, but not if they perform like they did Thursday night.
“We’ve got another shot at it,” Kemp said. “We just have to go (to Dallas) and prove ourselves.”
Notes: KU hasn’t won a home finale since 2000. : Kemp has scored in double figures in 28 straight games going back to last season. She also passed Tamecka Dixon and moved into sixth place on KU’s career scoring chart. : KU was 0-9 from three-point range, ending a streak of 63 games with at least one trey. : KU’s 33.3 percent shooting was a season low.