Jayhawks Power Over Golden Eagles In Season Opener, 84-62

Junior Asia Boyd  recorded her second career double-double after tallying a career best 17 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday.
Kansas 84, Oral Roberts 62
Allen Fieldhouse // Lawrence, Kan.
1st 2nd FInal
Oral Roberts 21 41 62
Kansas 31 53 84

Box Score (.pdf)
Photo Gallery

Statistical Leaders
Kansas Oral Roberts
Pts Gardner (24) Mayberry (17)
Rebs Gardner (13) Shelton (8)
Asts Knight (7) Key (3)
Stls Boyd (3)
Knight (3)
Mayberry (3)
Blks Manning-Allen (2)
Stats at a Glance KU ORU
FG Percentage 46.7 31.0
3-Point FG Percentage 10.0 18.8
FT Percentage 75.9 55.6
Offensive Rebounds 12 17
Defensive Rebounds 37 16
Total Rebounds 49 33
Turnovers 22 16
Points in the Paint 32 28
Points off Turnovers 16 19
Second Chance Points 14 11
Fast Break Points 6 8
Bench Points 23 21

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Junior Chelsea Gardner achieved her seventh-career double-double helping the Jayhawks to an, 84-62, win over Oral Roberts on Sunday afternoon inside historic Allen Fieldhouse.
 
Gardner led Kansas with 24 points (7-10), just two points shy of her career-high, and 13 rebounds. Gardner also broke her career-high in free throws made and free throws attempted with 10 and 12, respectively. As a team, Kansas broke the school record in free throws made and free throws attempted by making 41 of 54 shots from the foul line to lead Kansas (1-0) over Oral Roberts (1-1).
 
Junior guard Asia Boyd also contributed to the Jayhawk’s efforts with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds for the second double-double of her career. Junior guard Natalie Knight, playing in her first game since tearing her ACL during the 2012-13 season, set a new career-high with seven assists in the contest to go along with 12 points and four rebounds.
 
Freshman guard Kaylan Mayberry led the Golden Eagles with 17 points, three of which were behind the arc. In addition to Mayberry’s performance, senior guard Christian Key had 13 points and five rebounds.
 
Jayhawks took the lead early in the game, starting with a 9-2 run that lasted seven minutes into the half. The Kansas defense kept Oral Roberts scoreless going into the under 16-minute timeout. Junior guard Atoe’ Jackson was the first Golden eagle to put points on the board, sinking a jumper with 14 minutes left to play in the half.

A foul by junior forward Bunny Williams gave Oral Roberts the kick they needed to lower the Jayhawk lead, 9-8, forcing the Jayhawks to use their first time out. After the huddle, freshman guard Dakota Gonzalez was called for a double-dribble that got the crowed fired up again and helped Kansas to a 8-2 run that lasted 3:27, and widened the Jayhawk lead again to 18-10 at the 5:33 mark.

The Jayhawks continued their offensive efforts and took a 31-21 lead into halftime, behind Gardner’s team-leading nine points and nine rebounds. Boyd also helped Kansas by chalking up eight points and four rebounds. Boyd broke her career-high steal mark with three steals in the first half alone. Kansas held Oral Roberts to just 21 percent shooting (7-34) from the field in the first half.

Kansas opened the second half with a 10-3 run going into the first media timeout increasing its lead to 41-24. As the game continued, Knight dished it off the Gardner who tossed in a layup. Gardner was hot from the field making all six of her shots in the half. She was sent to the line at the 13:23 mark and knocked in both of her free throws making the Jayhawk lead, 50-26.
 
A three-point basket by Mayberry at the 12:13 mark sparked a 7-2 Oral Roberts run that shortened the Kansas lead, 54-38. Kansas answered with 10:23 left to play in the second half, when senior guard Markisha Hawkins stole the ball from Mayberry and broke away for a two-point layup at the other end.
 
After a layup by Gardner, the Jayhawks went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by the first Kansas three-point basket by Boyd, making the score 65-40 with eight minutes left to play in the game.
 
The two teams continued to trade baskets deep into the second half, but with 1:55 left to play, the third Golden Eagle fouled out of the game. Freshman guard Keyla Morgan who sank both of her free throws and recorded seven points in the final five minutes of her Jayhawk debut.
 
With Sunday’s win, the Jayhawks remain undefeated against the Golden Eagles, bringing the all-time series record to 12-0. Kansas is 9-1 in season openers under head coach Bonnie Henrickson, including nine-straight victories dating back to 2005.
 
UP NEXT:
The Jayhawks will host SIU Edwardsville on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. inside historic Allen Fieldhouse.
 
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Kansas 84, Oral Roberts 62
Nov. 10, 2013
Postgame Notes KANSAS STARTERS (SEASON/CAREER): Jr. Asia Boyd (1-1), So. Lamaria Cole(1-1), Jr. Bunny Williams (1-6), Jr. Chelsea Gardner (1-30) and Jr. Natalie Knight (1-54)
 
KANSAS’ WIN…
… Gives KU its ninth-straight season opening victory dating back to 2005.
… Makes the Jayhawks 9-1 in season openers under head coach Bonnie Henrickson, 36-10 all-time and 18-3 inside Allen Fieldhouse.
… Makes Kansas a perfect 12-0 all-time against Oral Roberts.
… Makes Henrickson 2-0 against the Golden Eagles.  
… Improves Henrickson’s record to 159-135 at KU and 317-197 overall.
… Improves Kansas’ all-time record to 758-533.
… Makes KU 47-23 when playing on Sunday and 40-25 during the month of November under Henrickson.
 
TEAM NOTES — The Jayhawks Nov. 10 opening day is the earliest start to the women’s basketball season in program history. Prior to the 2013-14, the earliest start to the season was Nov. 11, which occurred twice.
— Kansas scored seven-straight points to open up the game and held Oral Roberts scoreless until the 14:03 mark in the first half.
— The Jayhawks went without a field goal from 17:09 in the first half until the 9:08 mark in the first half.
— KU shot 41-54 (.759) from the line during the game. The 41 makes and 54 attempts are the most in for a single game in program history.
— Junior forward Chelsea Gadner (24 points and 13 rebounds) and junior guard Asia Boyd (17 points and 10 rebounds) each finished Sunday’s game with a double-double, making that the first time Kansas has had two players with a double-double since Feb. 17, 2013 against Oklahoma. INDIVIDUAL NOTES
— Junior forward Chelsea Gardner scored the Jayhawks first points of the 2013-14 season with two free throws at the 19:14 mark in the first half. Gardner finished the game with 24 points and 13 rebounds for the fifth double-double of her career.
— Gardner also set new career-highs with 10 free throws made and 12 free throws attempted.
— Junior guards Asia Boyd and Lamaria Cole made their first-career starts at Kansas.
— Boyd finished the game with 17 points 10 rebounds and three steals to set new career-highs and give her the second double-double of her Kansas career.
— Cole played 27 minutes to set a new career-high.   
— Freshmen guards Dakota Gonzalez, Dylan Gonzalez and Keyla Morgan and forwards Jada Brown and Caelynn Manning-Allen saw their first action while donning the Crimson and Blue.
— Da. Gonzalez checked in with 12:58 left in the first half and knocked in two free throws with 3:50 left in the first half for her first points as a Jayhawk.
— Manning-Allen saw her first action with 13:22 left in the second half and put in a layup at the 12:25 mark for her first points at Kansas.
— Brown was the first player off the bench for the Jayhawks, checking in with 16:36 left in the first half and recorded her first point as a Jayhawk on a free throw with 58 seconds left in the game.  
— Morgan checked in with 4:38 left in the second half and recorded her first points as a Jayhawk just 17 seconds later with a layup.
— Dy. Gonzalez entered the game with 2:55 left and knocked in a jump shot from the corner to record the first points of her Kansas career.