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PAGE 8
MONDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2015
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Kansas' second-half surge falls short against OSU
DYLAN SHERWOOD
@dmantheman2011
Senior guard Natalie Knigh scored 20 points, but Kansas (13-15, 4-11) could not stop Oklahoma State late in the game, falling 80-76 Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
Kansas has lost its past five games in conference play and has lost the past seven meetings against the Cowgirls.
Both teams started trading buckets in the first half with neither team getting a lead greater than four points.
Foul trouble hurt Kansas as four players would pick up two fouls each in the first half. Senior forward Chelsea Gardner, freshman guards Terriell Bradley and Chayla Cheadle, and sophomore forward Caellynn Manning-Allen each picked up fouls early.
Gardner only played the first six minutes of the half, only scoring three points.
Foul trouble was not the only thing hurting Kansas in the first half. Senior guard Asia Boyd was taken out of the game due to an injury.
Boyd came off the bench in the first half with nine points to lead Kansas in the first half. Boyd left the game with 6:22 remaining in the opening half.
In the second half, the Jayhawks trailed by eight points early in the going, but went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 39 all, but the Cowgirls would answer with a 5-0 run of their own.
Senior forward Chelsea Gardner shoots a layup in Kansas' game against Texas on Saturday, Feb. 14. Kansas lost to Oklahoma State 80-76 this past weekend.
Gardner picked up her third personal foul with 16:06 remaining, putting her back on the bench. Cheadle picked up her third foul early in the second half as well.
Oklahoma State then used a 9-0 run to go up nine points, but Kansas came fighting back with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 48-47 with 10:30 remaining in the game.
Kansas got its first lead of the second half off a threepointer by Knight, bringing the score to 54-53.
RFN11P0WITZ/KANSAN
Both teams exchanged buckets again late. After the Cowgirls took control, leading by nine, the closest Kansas could get was four points after Knight hit a three-pointer, but it was with three
seconds remaining.
Kansas shot 48 percent at 24-of-50 from the field, 9-of-17 from three for 53 percent and was 19-of-26
from the free-throw line.
Knight led Kansas with 20 points, Gardner added 18 points and freshman guard Lauren Aldridge had a career-
high 16 points. Boyd, who was injured in the first half, did not play the second half.
Kansas will host instate rival Kansas State on
Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
Edited by Samantha Darling
Ellis, Graham score big in Saturday's win against TCU
DEREK SKILLETT
@derek_skillett
Notoriously stoic junior forward Perry Ellis cracked a smile in the second half of No. 8 Kansas' (22-5, 11-3) 81-72 victory against Texas Christian University (16-11, 3-11) inside Allen
Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
Ellis had just thrown down a monstrous one-handed alley-oop off an assist from sophomore point guard Frank Mason III. The dunk brought the home crowd to its feet and gave Ellis his 19th of 23 total points
in the game.
"That was one of the better dunks I have had," Ellis said. "It got my teammates amped up, myself as well."
Elliis teammate, redshirt junior Jamari Traylor agreed, saying the dunk was one of the best he had seen.
"It was up there, they made
a great play," Traylor said. "He got the dunk, came back and got a steal with another dunk. I don't know how to rank it, but it is definitely up there."
Coming off a stretch of poor play, freshman guard Devonte' Graham had his best game as a Jayhawk, racking up 20 points, three rebounds and three assists while going 7-of-7 from the floor.
Graham also said his performance against TCU would be a big confidence booster.
him, growing up in Kansas City. Certainly, I think it meant a lot to his family, so that was pretty cool that we were able to do that."
"It was all about mindset for me today," Graham said. "I just tried to get in the paint and make plays for my teammates. I was more aggressive than I have been."
"Not many people know how much he helps us every day. He actually goes against Jamari, Perry, Landen (Lucas) and Cliff (Alexander) every day (on the scout team)," Graham said. "He works hard and deserved to be out there."
Up next, Kansas will travel to Manhattan for a Big Monday battle with in-state rival Kansas State in front of a raucous crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Kansas players were particularly excited to see Huey suit up for the game.
"Wayne (Selden Jr.) was telling me about it last year how crazy it was," Graham said. "So I'm preparing myself mentally for (the crowd noise)."
Despite all of the on-the-court action, there was time near the end of the game for a feel-good story, as senior team manager Chris Huey got to suit up and play in a Kansas basketball game.
The score of the game remained fairly close throughout much of the afternoon. After Ellis' dunks in the second half, Kansas built up a 16-point lead before eventually winning by just nine points.
meeting with Kansas coach Bill Self during his rough stretch of games and Self had been telling him to be aggressive and attack the basket.
"Whenever you see the ball go through the hoop, it always boosts your confidence," he said. "[I've] just got to stay aggressive from here on out and play the same way."
"We've talked about it for over a month now, because you've got to make sure he's eligible and go through all of the things that you have to do," Self said. "I decided that because he's a senior that it would be a pretty cool deal. He's not going to suit anymore — this is his one shot. I knew it meant a lot to
Graham noted he had been
Edited by Kayla Schartz
Junior forward Perry Ellis dunks the ball Saturday against TCU defender Amric Fields.
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