Shaquina Mosley was faced with the same situation – clock dwindling, basket needed.
Last Wednesday in a two-point loss to Texas Tech, she missed a potential game-tying jumper as the clock expired. Tuesday, at home again, the senior guard drove the lane instead, floated one off the glass, and it was the final piece not only on a career-high 20-point night, but also a 70-68 overtime win over Colorado, giving the Jayhawks their first conference victory of the season.
“They didn’t really suck up off Kelly (Kohn), and I saw I had a lane,” said Mosley, who admitted her first thought with the ball was ‘take it to the rim.’ “I didn’t need to get fouled, didn’t need to settle for a jump shot. I just needed to get to the rim, kick it out or finish it.”
Senior Sharita Smith and junior Taylor McIntosh each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch of regulation to tie the game, 62-62, and Whitney Houston’s missed jumper for Colorado sent the game to overtime. In the extra frame, KU trailed 68-66 with 1:38 left, before freshman Danielle McCray hit her first field goal inside the three-point arc in nine tries from the left edge. After a couple of traded possessions, Mosley pulled down a board on another Houston miss with less than 20 seconds to play. After a KU timeout, she curled to the right from the top of the key and down the lane before floating one high off the window and in. Colorado never got a clean look with :03.7 left.
“That’s what seniors do, and that’s what upperclassmen do,” Bonnie said of her veteran trio of McIntosh, Mosley and Smith.
The win was the first for the Jayhawks since Jan. 17, which brought a 69-50 home decision over Sacramento State. KU travels to Austin, Texas, to face the Longhorns Saturday at 5 p.m.
Derby native Jackie McFarland had 22 points and 18 rebounds for Colorado (10-12 overall, 4-6 Big 12), but freshman guard Whitney Houston had a game-high 25 points for the Buffaloes. Sharita Smith scored a career-high 12 points for KU (7-16, 1-9), including a 6-of-6 performance from the free-throw stripe. Four Jayhawks (McIntosh, Kelly Kohn, Mosley and McCray) had at least seven rebounds, helping the Jayhawks stay neck-and-neck under the glass with a taller Colorado squad.
For more on this game, read tomorrow’s Lawrence Journal-World.
