LAWRENCE, Kan. – In less than 24 hours, Kansas saw three programs come from behind to claim victories, including Kansas women’s basketball. The Jayhawks completed the trio of comebacks after erasing a 19-point deficit to stun Navy, 61-54, in overtime on Sunday afternoon, inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Sunday’s matchup marked the first overtime game of the season for the Jayhawks and the fourth come-from-behind win of the year. The win marks the first overtime victory for Kansas since defeating Kansas State in extended time on March 7, 2014.
After opening the game with a quick run and gaining the lead, Kansas (5-4) fell behind early, but responded by holding Navy (5-5) to a combined nine points down the stretch, including just two made free throws in overtime.
Sophomore guard Lauren Aldridge recorded a career-high scoring marking, she finished the afternoon with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including three long-range buckets. The Marshfield, Missouri native was perfect from the charity stripe, connecting on all four attempts.
Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen logged her second career double-double, with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while freshman guard Kylee Kopatich recorded 14 points, including some pivotal free throws late in the game.
Navy’s Taylor Dunham was on fire in the first half, tallying 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the three-point line. Kansas managed to hold the sophomore guard to only four points in the second half, as Dunham finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. Junior guard Sarita Condie ended the game as the only other double-digit scorer for the Mids, with 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting and seven rebounds.
Kansas got off to a hot start, draining three of its first four attempts to take an early 6-0 lead. The two teams traded baskets over the next three minutes, with the Jayhawks maintaining their lead at 11-5 after a three-point play from junior forward Jada Brown. Navy responded with two quick long-range buckets, tying the game at 11 each with 4:54 remaining in the first quarter. Navy tacked on six more points to extend the streak to 12 unanswered points before a jumper from Manning-Allen ended a three-minute scoring drought.
After trailing by six points early in the game, Navy established an eight-point lead over the final six minutes of the quarter with a 16-2 run. The Jayhawks committed five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes and ended the period on 1-of-5 shooting. Navy tallied 12 of 21 first-quarter points came from beyond the arc, while Kansas missed the mark on all five of its three-point attempts.
27058Junior forward Caelynn Manning-Allen logged her
second career double-double against Navy.
Navy continued to knock down threes in the second quarter, connecting on three consecutive attempts. The Mids began the period on an 11-0 run to push the lead to 19 points, as Kansas missed its first six shots. Freshman guard Jayde Christopher ended the scoring drought at the 4:04 mark with a layup, sparking a 6-0 run that saw the Jayhawks hold Navy scoreless over nearly four minutes of game time.
With eight seconds remaining in the half, Aldridge hit Kansas’ first three of the afternoon, pulling her squad to within 12 points heading into the locker room at halftime. Navy’s Dunham was nearly unstoppable in the first 20 minutes of action, sinking 6-of-9 threes to tally 20 of the Mids’ 34 first-half points.
After Navy opened the scoring in the third quarter with its seventh three-pointer of the afternoon, the Mids went cold, missing the mark on their next four attempts. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks could not capitalize as they connected on only one of their first six shots.
Midway through the quarter, Kansas began to find its rhythm after getting to the free throw line and sinking 7-of-8 attempts. In the final 3:16 of the third period, the Jayhawks made 4-of-6 field goals, while Navy missed its final eight shots. Kansas’ 12-2 run to conclude the quarter cut the Navy lead to just six points heading into the fourth period of the contest.
The Jayhawks continued to fight their way back into the game, as Aldridge scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for Kansas. Navy saw its lead shrink to just three points, forcing a timeout at the 6:38 mark. Just over a minute later, Kopatich hit her first three of the afternoon to cut the deficit to two points, the lowest since Navy took its first lead of the game with 3:46 left in the first quarter.
With less than a minute left in the game, the Jayhawks finally broke through with a layup from Kopatich to tie the game at 52-52. After a jumper from Navy’s Peri Curtis missed the mark, Kansas held possession for the potential final play of the game. Manning-Allen’s layup attempt missed at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
Manning-Allen grabbed the first points of extra time, with a layup that moved her into double-figure scoring and the second double-double of 2015-16. The defensive pressure of the Jayhawks continued to give Navy fits, as the Mids attempted only two field goals in the first four minutes of overtime, missing on both. Navy went 0-for-3 from the field during overtime. However, the Mids shot 2-of-4 from the free throw line.
Freshman guard Aisia Robertson made one of her two shots from the charity stripe, extending Kansas’ lead to seven points. The Mids once again failed to connect on their final attempt, and Robertson collected the rebound to give Kansas the 61-54 overtime victory.
— KU Sports —
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s offense stepped on the accelerator early in the game against Florida Atlantic on Sunday at Bramlage Coliseum and didn’t let off until the final buzzer, defeating the Owls 102-53.
