Maybe more than any of KU’s other six freshmen, Danielle McCray wanted the streak to come to an end.

McCray, an Olathe East product who committed to Bonnie Henrickson as a junior, watched plenty of those consecutive letdowns and also still had the memory of missing a close-range shot which would have tied Kansas State at the end of regulation in a 59-55 road loss on Jan. 24. That extended the Wildcats’ dominance in the series to 12 straight games.

Behind a career-high 25 points, and a lifetime-best six three-pointers, McCray paced the Jayhawks to an 82-74 double overtime win over the ‘Cats Sunday in Allen Fieldhouse, ending the streak right around when she had expected to.

“The last game, I hung my head a little bit from that shot I missed to go into overtime, so I kind of wanted to make up for that shot, and it kind of happened,” the KU freshman forward said. “From the last game, just knowing that we were with them the whole game, it was just kind of a mental collapse last game. We knew that if we’d fight hard enough we could pull away one.”

The Jayhawks (9-17 overall, 3-10 Big 12) certainly had a battle on their hands late in the contest. After leading by 11 points early in the second half, K-State (16-10, 4-9) roared back to lead by two with 8:56 to play. A three-pointer from KU freshman Kelly Kohn and a free throw from junior Taylor McIntosh put KU up 58-54 with 1:41 left, but the ‘Cats got close-range shots from Claire Coggins and Ashley Sweat to fall, forcing overtime.

McCray put things away in a second overtime frame, though, hitting the last two of her threes on the day to give KU all the separation it needed. McCray also had 10 rebounds to go with her career best in points. It marked her third straight game with double-digit boards in the stat sheet.

Senior Shaquina Mosley flirted again with a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Kohn scored 16 points, including three treys, and freshman Sade Morris scored 13. Sweat led K-State with 20 points.

KU coach Bonnie Henrickson called it by far the best her freshmen have played collectively as a group this season, and it came in the Jayhawks’ second-to-last home game. KU hosts No. 14 Oklahoma and star center Courtney Paris Wednesday on Senior Night at Allen Fieldhouse.

“That’s what we’ve been saying – Can we just get like four of you (freshmen) to play good? Not great, just good? I mean, four people, at one time, and lets just see what happens?” Henrickson said. “And they picked a good time to do it.”

For more on this story, read tomorrow’s Lawrence Journal-World.