Enough with the so-close-yet-so-far stuff.

Kansas University women’s basketball coach Marian Washington wants a Big 12 Conference victory — sooner, rather than later.

“It’s so frustrating. We’re that close,” Washington said, holding her fingers about an inch apart.

After two road losses by a total of just six points, Washington is hoping today’s clash with Colorado will be Kansas’ Big 12 slump-buster.

Tipoff will be at 1:05 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.

KU has lost 19 consecutive Big 12 regular-season games and 21 in a row to conference teams if you count league postseason tournaments.

Lately, the most glaring statistic working against the Jayhawks has been turnovers. Wednesday night at Oklahoma State, KU gave the ball away 26 times while bowing 60-56.

“We’ve just got to make better decisions,” Washington said. “We’ve made too many turnovers, and some of those were unforced, so it’s tough.”

Yet perhaps a flaw to be expected from a team with eight newcomers on a 13-player roster. Another problem has been a tendency to fall behind early, then battle back.

Against a veteran Iowa State squad last Saturday, KU (7-7 overall, 0-3 in the Big 12) erased a 10-point, second-half deficit to tie the game with 26 seconds remaining before falling 72-70.

On Wednesday, the Jayhawks erased an even larger deficit — 20 points — before falling to Oklahoma State.

The Jayhawks nearly pulled off road victories despite an off-night by freshman Crystal Kemp in Ames, and by sophomore Aquanita Burras in Stillwater.

Burras and Kemp are both among team leaders in points and rebounds.

“It’s really a positive,” Washington said, “to still be in ball games and not necessarily playing our best yet.”

Colorado (12-2, 2-1) comes to Lawrence fresh off a 74-54 victory over Nebraska on Wednesday. The Buffalos are led by Tera Bjorklund, a 6-foot-5 center being marketed as an All-American candidate this season. She’s averaging 16.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

Nevertheless, Washington is more concerned about her team than she is about Colorado.

“When dealing with a young club, I don’t like to get too caught up in the opponent,” Washington said. “We’ve just got to do what we do best. We should be in the ball game. We really should.”