OAKLAND, Calif. Head-Royce came back from eight points down twice to tie Bentley late, but the Jayhawks could not get another basket and lost 25-22 on Saturday afternoon. Head-Royce (2-14) outrebounded Bentley 53-42 and forced 12 turnovers. It also shot 18.9 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times, and in a game this low-scoring, that was enough to decide it.
Bentley scored first before Abigail Kim hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Emmy Mitchell, giving Head-Royce a 3-2 lead. That was its only lead of the game. Bentley answered with a basket by Miri that put the visitors back in front for good, then scored the next four points. Kim scored twice to keep Head-Royce close, but a 3-pointer by Zahra and another basket by Miri stretched the Bentley lead to 16-8, its largest of the day.
The Jayhawks answered with a 6-0 run. Ella Smith and Osa Enabulele scored back-to-back second-chance baskets, and Kim scored after a turnover to cut the deficit to 16-14. The teams then traded baskets before Bentley scored four straight points on a free throw by Ruhi and a second-chance basket and free throw by Miri, going ahead 22-16.
Head-Royce put together a second 6-0 run. Kim scored on a feed from Mitchell, Smith converted an assist from Kim, and Kim scored after a turnover, again on a Mitchell assist, to tie the game at 22. It was the only tie of the game. Bentley made its last three points at the free-throw line: one by Zahra and two by Marley. Head-Royce did not score again.
Kim led Head-Royce with 15 points, scoring 11 of the team's 16 points after the 16-8 deficit. She added nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, going 7-for-23 from the field. Loire Williams pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds, eight of them offensive. Mitchell had eight rebounds and a team-high four assists, three of which set up Kim baskets. Smith came off the bench to score four points with seven rebounds, and Enabulele added two points, four rebounds and two steals. Yaretzi Brown led the team with three steals.
Head-Royce's defense kept Bentley to 9-for-62 shooting (14.5 percent) and 1-for-12 from 3-point range. The Jayhawks had nine steals and outscored Bentley 6-2 in points off turnovers and 6-4 in second-chance points. The difference came at the free-throw line, where Bentley went 6-for-9 and Head-Royce went 1-for-6. The Jayhawks also went 1-for-15 from 3-point range. Marley led Bentley with nine points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and Miri added nine points and seven rebounds.
The loss was Head-Royce's second to Bentley in 11 days, after a 36-31 defeat at Bentley on Jan. 21. The Jayhawks fall to 2-14 and have lost three straight.