Rivera's 21 Not Enough As Highlanders Fall 75-60 At #22 Kansas

Sunday, December 20

Lawrence, KS

11:00 AM

UC Riverside

Kansas (#22)

Rivera's 21 Not Enough As Highlanders Fall 75-60 At #22 Kansas

12/20/2009 9:50:16 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score - #22 Kansas 75, UC Riverside 60

Lawrence, KS - Playing their fourth ranked opponent in as many games, the UC Riverside women's basketball team faced off at No. 22 ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon, but could not pull off the upset as the Jayhawks won 75-60. The Highlanders (2-7) current four-game losing skid is the longest since the 2008-09 squad lost four in a row from Dec. 14-28.

Senior Marissa Rivera (pictured) led the Highlanders with 21 points, just three shy of her career-high. Junior Rhaya Neabors added 17 points, one shy of her career-high, while junior Rheya Neabors recorded a game-high eight assists.

Kansas' (8-2) Danielle McCray led three Jayhawk players in double-figures with 30 points.

UC Riverside found themselves down by 26 points in the second half, 70-44, with 7:17 remaining, but closed out the game with a 16-5 run to trim the margin to 15 points at the conclusion of the contest.

Rivera scored 15 of her team-high 21 points in the second period as the Highlanders improved their shooting to 51.7 percent as a team on 15-of-29 shooting.

UCR and Kansas traded buckets in the early going of the game before the Jayhawks opened up a 10-point advantage, 24-14, with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. The Highlanders then got with six, 26-20, off two Rivera layups and a Rhaya Neabors layup with 4:47 remaining.

Kansas then made a 6-0 run over the next minute and a half to take a 32-20 lead as they headed into the locker room with a 37-25 margin.

Both Rivera and Rhaya Neabors led UCR with six points in the period to lead a balanced scoring effort with six Highlanders players denting the scoring column. The Highlanders also forced 11 first-half Jayhawk turnovers.

The Highlanders stayed within their 12-point halftime deficit for the first five minutes of the second half until a 12-2 Jayhawk run gave Kansas a 57-35 lead with 12:41 to go in the game. Kansas' lead toggled between 17 and 26 points until UCR started their run to close out the game.

UCR outshot Kansas by the slimmest of margins 46.6 percent to 45.8 percent from the field, and from beyond the arc as well 36.4 percent to 35.7 percent, but Kansas out rebounded the blue and gold 45-23.

The Highlanders return home for a 1:00 pm game against Pac-10 foe Arizona on Wednesday, December 23 at the Student Recreation Center. As a special gift to fans this holiday season, parking will be free in Lot 24. Fans may also follow UC Riverside on live stats or listen to John Ramey as he broadcasts the game live at gohighlanders.com.