A year ago they were the feel-good sports story of the diaper days of 2006.

Kansas University’s women’s basketball players were the talk of the town after reeling off a school-record 12th straight victory.

That was then, and this is now.

Faced with a tougher nonconference schedule and the loss of their top three scorers, KU’s women have struggled mightily and are now saddled with the only losing record (5-7) among Big 12 Conference schools.

During a timeout in the Jayhawks’ latest loss – a 72-63 decision to Xavier on Sunday afternoon in Allen Fieldhouse – last year’s leading scorer was introduced and received a warm ovation. Crystal Kemp, who soon will leave for Romania to play professionally, was a bulwark under the basket for the Jayhawks over the last three seasons.

A lack of speed and athleticism prevented Kemp from earning a WNBA contract, but the 6-foot-2 southpaw from Topeka still boasts at least one attribute missing from this year’s KU team.

Or, as KU coach Bonnie Henrickson stated after the Xavier defeat: “I’ve got to find a post who can score.”

Not only hasn’t Henrickson been able to find an inside player who can score from among her seven-woman stable of freshmen, she has been disappointed with Marija Zinic, a 6-2 sophomore who loomed as Kemp’s heir apparent.

Zinic no longer starts. She logged 14 minutes off the bench Sunday, but that was only because Taylor McIntosh fouled out with 51â2 minutes left. Mc-Intosh is KU’s best inside player. She plays taller than her 5-11 stature, and she plays hard all the time. But McIntosh lacks offensive skills.

The search for inside punch prompted Henrickson to give Porscha Weddington her first start Sunday. At 6-1, Weddington has the height and bulk, but she needs offensive refinement, something she might be able to accrue over time.

Perhaps someday freshman Danielle McCray might develop into a scoring threat inside, but the 5-11 former all-stater from Olathe East has more of a perimeter mentality.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Feickert, Henrickson’s tallest signee at 6-2, comes from a small-town North Dakota high school and isn’t ready for prime time. Feickert has played in only two games.

As it stands now, the Jayhawks have to rely on medium- and long-range jump shots, mainly from the freshman trio of LaChelda Jacobs, Sade Morris and Kelly Kohn, who, like all freshmen, have been inconsistent.

The Kansas team that started 12-0 last year received a rude awakening in January and February, winding up in 10th place in league standings with a 5-11 record, and 10th is where the league coaches tapped Kansas to finish this season.

Right now, only Pollyanna would pick the Jayhawks to climb that high.

This freshman-dominated KU team figures to improve the more it plays. The question is whether it can improve enough in proportion to the degree of Big 12 difficulty.