Kansas guard Danielle McCray squares up for a shot. McCray scored 29 points in KU's 74-55 victory against Marquette on Thursday in Allen Fieldhouse.

Who knew losing could do so much for the Kansas University women’s basketball team?

Since dropping a game at SMU almost two weeks ago, Bonnie Henrickson’s team found confidence and put its third straight Allen Fieldhouse opponent away early Thursday night on the way to beating Marquette, 74-55.

The Jayhawks (6-1) jumped out to an 18-2 lead with 10:27 left in the first half and fended off rallies by the Golden Eagles (4-3) for the remainder of the night to get the win – the team’s 300th in Allen.

“I thought it would be important for us to come out of the gate and create tempo and set the tone,” Henrickson said. The Jayhawks did that by controlling the glass (they outrebounded MU, 43-28), pushing in transition (12 fast break points) and converting free throws (KU hit 26 of 33).

Oh, yeah. And having Danielle McCray helped, too.

The sophomore wing had a career night, setting personal highs with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 free throws. What made the performance so impressive was the fact that MU coach Terri Mitchell told her team that McCray would be the KU player to stop.

“She just put some right in our face,” Mitchell said, noting that she respects McCray’s game and what she’ll do for KU this year. “She was just feeling it.”

McCray had just 10 at the half on 4-for-11 shooting, but some advice from her coach, who told her she was rushing things, turned things around.

“She came in the huddle and told me to look for something easier,” McCray said.

After that, McCray scored some easy buckets with offensive rebounds and steals, and began to attack the paint and get to the foul line, which her coach appreciated.

“There are going to be nights where her perimeter shot doesn’t fall, but that doesn’t mean she can’t help us offensively,” Henrickson said. “That’s growth for her, where she didn’t get frustrated.”

The strangest part of McCray’s onslaught came with 4:14 remaining in the game. She had 24 points – one shy of her previous career high – and was at the foul line. As she released her shot, the lights went out in Allen Fieldhouse and the ball swished through the net.

“It was like when I shot it, afterward, I thought I was dreaming or something,” McCray said. “I had to blink twice.”

A power outage caused the oddity, and the remainder of the contest was played in a half-lit Allen Fieldhouse.

“That’s why we have to go to a BCS football game, so we can have somebody pay the light bills,” Henrickson later joked, referencing KU’s upcoming Orange Bowl contest, which comes with a large payout.

Joking aside, McCray, who has scored in double figures in all seven games for KU, wasn’t the only Jayhawk with a serious outing Thursday. Sophomore guard Sade Morris (18 points) and freshman center Krysten Boogaard (12 points) also set career marks. Although only three other Jayhawks – Taylor McIntosh, Ivana Catic and Nicollette Smith – scored, Henrickson said she was happy with the team’s offense.

“If we can’t score in transition, our half-court execution is getting better,” she said. “I like our consistency. We’ve got some kids who are playing pretty consistently right now.”

Morris said that consistency comes from the team’s growing comfort level.

“We just came out and played with confidence and were comfortable. Whenever we get ourselves in a rhythm like that, these things happen,” Morris said. “We all kind of know where our shots are going to come from.”

KU will look to carry that confidence into its next home game against Indiana at 2 p.m. Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse.