Missouri women's basketball team falls flat against Kansas

There wasn't much suspense in Sunday's women’s basketball Border Showdown in Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas showed up to play, Missouri did not, and the Jayhawks ran away with a 72-59 victory that left the Tigers winless in Big 12 Conference play at 0-3.

Senior guard Danielle McCray finished with 26 points for Kansas (11-5, 1-2), shooting 10-for-21 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range. McCray outscored Missouri 20-18 in the first half. No matter what Missouri (10-6) tried to stop McCray, the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year found ways to score.

Down by as many as 31 points, Missouri made a 15-0 run midway through the second half and eventually cut the deficit to 12 points. But every time the Tigers seemed to get some momentum going, McCray dashed Missouri's hopes of a comeback.

If the Tigers put pressure on her, McCray drove to the hoop and flipped the ball in the basket. If the Tigers backed away, she scored on a deep 3-pointer.

RaeShara Brown led the Tigers with 15 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field. She also recorded four steals to improve her on Big 12-leading 3.3 steals a game. Amanda Hanneman had 12 points, but didn’t score until two minutes into the second half, well after the game was out of reach. Jessra Johnson, Missouri’s leading scorer this season, finished the game with just five points on 2-for-11 shooting.

As a team, Missouri shot just 40 percent and committed 22 turnovers. The Tigers were outrebounded 33-24.

Playing in front of 5,289 at Phog Allen Fieldhouse might have been unnerving for the Tigers, because the Jayhawks ran out to a 12-4 lead and finished the first half with a 46-18 lead. Missouri shot just 30 percent from the floor in the first half.

Kansas played without star point guard Angel Goodrich, who is out for the season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee earlier in the week. Goodrich was second in the Big 12 in assists at 7.1 per game. The Jayhawks didn’t miss a beat without her, and the Jayhawks dished out 14 assists. Missouri finished with 11.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Tigers. Missouri faces No. 13 Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena. On Saturday, the Tigers have another home contest at 1 p.m. against No. 9 Baylor.