Jayhawks top Huskers, now take on Cowgirls

Published: March 12, 2008

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Taylor McIntosh had 13 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday night as Kansas upset Nebraska 73-67 in the Big 12 women's tournament.

The Jayhawks won as an 11th seed for the second straight year. Last year they beat Oklahoma State, the team they face today in the second round. KU lost 59-54 to the Cowgirls in January.

The Jayhawks (16-14), who snapped a five-game skid, won despite committing 24 turnovers and getting just nine points from leading scorer Danielle McCray.

McCray was in foul trouble all game and shot just 3-for-12 from the floor.

In her absence, Kansas got contributions from nearly everyone and stifled the Huskers, holding them to 33-percent shooting.

A 3-pointer by Yvonne Turner pulled Nebraska to within four at 68-64 with 1:28 left in the game, but Kansas' Sade Morris responded with a floater in the lane to put the Jayhawks back up six.

Heather Ezell had 25 points, including a Big 12-record seven 3-pointers, to lead the Cyclones.

Eighth-seeded Iowa State, which has won a league-record 19 tournament games, plays top-seeded Kansas State today.

Ezell had 16 points, including four 3-pointers, in the first half, all during the final eight minutes, to turn a 19-16 Cyclones lead into a 39-28 advantage at the break. She finished 9-for-16 from the field, including 7-for-11 from behind the 3-point line to tie Rene Hanebutt's single-game tournament record. Texas Tech's Hanebutt set the 3-point record in 1999.

While Colorado committed 20 turnovers, Iowa State (19-11) had only five, breaking the tournament record of six set by Baylor in 2002. The Cyclones also tied the tournament record for 3-pointers with 14.

Brittainey Raven scored a game-high 16 points, and Texas used a dominant first-half run to beat Texas Tech.

The Longhorns, who had four players with at least 13 points, face second-seeded Baylor today. Texas split the season series with the Bears this year, including a 61-51 win in Austin, Texas, the last time the two teams met.

Ashley Lindsey and Kathleen Nash each scored 14 points, and Erneisha Bailey added 13 for Texas (20-11), which held Texas Tech without a field goal for more than nine minutes in the first half. The Longhorns went on a 19-3 run during that stretch to take a 23-13 lead.

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