Another day, another ‘W’

Kemp solid again as Jayhawks earn workmanlike victory over Florida Intl.

Some days are lunch-pail days.

So it was Sunday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse, as Kansas University blue-collared Florida International, 73-65, in women’s basketball.

“It may have been like a day at the office,” KU senior Crystal Kemp said with a smile.

“But it seemed like the boss came to see if you were doing your work.”

Kemp did her job with 20 points and 12 rebounds – her 20th career double-double – in a route-going stint, but coach Bonnie Henrickson wasn’t handing out many other gold stars.

Point guard Ivana Catic scored four clutch points in the last two minutes – two at the free-throw line – yet Henrickson rang her up for tardiness.

“Ivana showed up,” Henrickson said, “but it was about a hour and 20 minutes late.”

For her part, Catic refused to blame the so-so performance on her first experience with final exams.

“I was really exhausted after finals,” the 5-foot-8 freshman said, “but everybody else has them, too. No excuses. It’s something I have to deal with.”

Kemp had to deal with finals, too, as well as a developing head cold, but the 6-foot-2 senior was solid throughout.

“Crystal was phenomenal early,” Henrickson said, “but we went through stretches where we couldn’t find her.”

In truth, all the Jayhawks were phenomenal early as they bolted to a 20-7 lead after the first seven-plus minutes. Yet they scored only 10 points in the last 13 or so minutes before the break.

“We were pretty good early,” Henrickson said, “then we decided to make it a game. That was disappointing.”

Florida International, hoping to snap a three-game skid, erased that 13-point deficit and led by one point twice before intermission. Then a three-point goal by Kaylee Brown and two Erica Hallman free throws gave KU a 34-30 intermission advantage.

After the break, a trio of three-point goals – by Catic, Brown and Hallman – put KU in quick command, and FIU never came any closer than five points the rest of the way.

Every time the Panthers made a run, the Jayhawks came up with an answer, particularly down the stretch.

“We made some free throws,” Henrickson said, “and Ivana made some plays.”

Both teams shot about the same. Kansas was 25-of-62 from the field for 40.3 percent; FIU 26-of-64 for 40.6 percent. FIU had a slight 41-38 edge in rebounding.

The only glaring disparity was at the foul line, where KU made 18 of 28 free-throw attempts to the Panthers’ 8-of-16. Those charities also enabled Kansas to overcome an afternoon when they had more turnovers (13) than assists (11).

“They threw us off rhythm on offense,” KU’s Hallman said, “but we’ll take the win, and now we’ll prepare for Creighton.”

The Jayhawks, still unbeaten at 8-0, will entertain the Bluejays at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“It was hard to focus on basketball again after taking finals,” Kemp said, “but now we can put our whole focus on basketball.”

Notes: The official box score shows Henrickson used eight players, but she went mainly with seven. Guard Shaquina Mosley logged only 18 seconds at the end of the first half. … Freshman Marija Zinic contributed nine points and seven boards off the bench. … Unusual stat line: FIU’s Marquita Adley grabbed 13 boards and blocked five shots, but did not score. … Unusual stat line II: FIU point guard Faeza Bouderra had seven assists, six rebounds and three steals, but only two points. … Kansas converted 18 FIU turnovers into 21 points. … KU’s streak of games with at least one three-point goal grew to 45. … KU has scored at least 70 points in all eight victories. The Jayhawks are averaging 78.1 points a game.