Head-Royce committed 24 turnovers and never held the lead in a 34-18 loss at St. Joseph Notre Dame on Tuesday, Jan. 13, as the Jayhawks fell to 1-9 on the season. St. Joseph Notre Dame turned those turnovers into 18 points, while Head-Royce did not score off any of its opponent's nine turnovers.
St. Joseph Notre Dame scored the first 11 points. After a second-chance basket by Niyah, the hosts scored on four straight possessions that followed Head-Royce turnovers, and a free throw by Mary made it 11-0. Ella Smith ended the drought with a free throw and then scored on a pass from Kara Waldrop to cut the deficit to 11-3.
St. Joseph Notre Dame answered with a 7-0 run, getting two baskets from Rylie and a 3-pointer from Yabi, to go up 18-3. The Jayhawks then scored five straight points: Emmy Mitchell made two free throws, and Abigail Kim hit a 3-pointer to make it 18-8. The hosts scored the next five points, and after a Smith basket, Niyah and Rylie scored again to stretch the margin to 27-10.
Kim made two free throws to make it 27-12, but St. Joseph Notre Dame scored the next five points, with Niyah and Yabi each scoring after turnovers, to build its largest lead at 32-12. Head-Royce closed with its best stretch of the game, a 6-0 run made up entirely of second-chance points. Smith scored on an assist from Kim, Mitchell followed with another basket set up by Kim, and Smith added one more second-chance basket to make it 32-18. Aja made two free throws to set the final margin.
Smith led Head-Royce with 9 points on 4-of-9 shooting and a game-high 16 rebounds, five of them offensive. The senior also blocked two shots. Kim added 5 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, and both assists came during the closing run. Mitchell scored 4 points, made both of her free throws and blocked a shot, and freshman Osa Enabulele had two steals.
On defense and on the glass, the Jayhawks held up well. Head-Royce outrebounded St. Joseph Notre Dame 34-28, held the hosts to 28 percent shooting and 1-of-16 from 3-point range, and matched them with 6 second-chance points. Ball security decided the game. St. Joseph Notre Dame finished with 15 steals, including seven by Niyah, who also led the hosts with 11 points and nine rebounds. Rylie added 8 points, and Yabi had 7 points, four steals and three blocks. Head-Royce shot 22 percent (6-of-27) from the field and 5-of-12 at the free throw line, and all 18 of its points came from starters.
The loss was the fourth straight for Head-Royce, which is now 1-9.