Three assists. That’s all Western Illinois managed. And two came in the last minute and a half.

“We played real good defense,” Kansas University point guard Erica Hallman understated after the Jayhawks had humbled the Westerwinds, 58-41, Wednesday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

“For them to have three assists, we had to have nice pressure on the ball,” said Hallman, who had twice as many assists as the visitors.

Western Illinois (2-4) made only 12 of 45 shots (26.7 percent). Zane Teilane, a 6-foot-7 junior who is the Mid-Continent Conference preseason player of the year, was 6-of-10 from the field. Her teammates were 6-of-35 (17.1 percent).

Teilane finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. She had been averaging 17 points and 10 boards. However, point guard Jessica Cook, who had been averaging 15.2 points a game, settled for a pair of free throws.

“We really did a nice job on the Cook kid,” KU coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “And our pressure on the perimeter took the ball out of the big kid’s hands, which we were trying to do.”

Crystal Kemp, the Jayhawks’ tallest player at 6-2, didn’t have a particularly good shooting night (8-of-18) but she finished with a game-high 17 points. Two of Kemp’s misses were blocks by Teilane.

“She got a couple of my shots,” Kemp said, “but I didn’t want her to think that I was going to back away just because of her size.”

Meanwhile, KU’s defense rarely backed off.

Kansas University point guard Erica Hallman (23) attempts to drive past Western Illinois defender Rachel Reed during the second half. KU coach Bonnie Henrickson is at right. The Jayhawks beat the Westerwinds, 58-41, Wednesday in Allen Fieldhouse.

“We worked on their offense every day in practice,” said senior Aquanita Burras, who chipped in 14 points. “I think they couldn’t run it because we were in their spots.”

And in their faces.

“You have to give Kansas credit,” WIU coach Leslie Crane said. “They did a great job of pressuring us and taking us out of our sets. That was the difference. They had a defensive game plan and stuck with it.”

Crane, of course, had a game plan, too. But she had too many no-shows.

“We did not come prepared to play tonight,” Crane said. “We are going to spend the next few days trying to figure out why.”

At the same time, Henrickson’s players will spend the next couple of days away from basketball.

“I think the biggest cheer came after the game when I gave them two days off,” Henrickson said.

The Jayhawks (4-3) aren’t scheduled again until Dec. 18 against Dartmouth. The break comes during final exams.

In one sense, KU’s performance Wednesday night wasn’t much different that its previous two games — losses to Washburn and Minnesota. In each of those outings, the Jayhawks led at halftime only to wilt in the second half.

Kansas University guard Sharita Smith fights for a loose ball with Western Illinois players Laura Reeves, left, and Rachel Reed (12) during the second half. The Jayhawks beat the Westerwinds, 58-41, Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Against the Westerwinds, Kansas scored the last 13 points before intermission and raced to a 31-13 halftime bulge. Once again, the Jayhawks followed the pattern. They were outscored in the last 20 minutes, but it was by the narrowest margin (28-27) and was caused primarily by Laura Reeves’ pair of three-point goals — WIU’s only treys of the night — in the last minute and a half.

The 41 points were the second-lowest for a KU foe — five more than Missouri-Kansas City netted Nov. 27 against the Jayhawks.

“We like our defensive numbers to be in the 30s,” Henrickson said, “but we’ll take the win.”

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