With 4:20 left in the first half of Sunday’s game against Kansas, the Missouri Tigers appeared to be on their way to capturing their first win in the Big 12 Conference.

Back-to-back threes from freshman guard Morgan Eye and senior forward BreAnna Brock had put the Tigers up by seven, and the largest crowd of the season could sense a victory in the final Border Showdown at Mizzou Arena.

But it wasn’t meant to be, as Kansas rebounded to claim a 72-63 victory.

The Jayhawks responded with a 9-0 run to take a two-point lead at the half.

The Tigers then opened the second half by committing four quick turnovers and quickly found themselves down 12 and forced to call a timeout. The Jayhawks would never let the Tigers get closer than seven the rest of the way and cruised to a comfortable 72-63 win.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 0-4 in conference play after a 10-1 start.

Missouri has relied on its inside tandem of senior forwards Brock and Christine Flores to lead it throughout this season. On Sunday, the Jayhawks’ own inside duo got the better of the Tigers.

Forwards Aishah Sutherland and Carolyn Davis each scored 24 points to lead the Jayhawks. The Tigers double-teamed Davis in the post throughout the game, but Sutherland was able to consistently knock down outside shots to thwart the Tigers’ game plan.

“I’ve always been working on my outside shooting, and since they doubled down on Carolyn, it gave me opportunities to hit those shots,” Sutherland said.

Kansas coach Bonnie Hendrickson was quick to praise Sutherland for a stellar performance.

“She can almost send that one to an agent,” Hendrickson said.

The Jayhawks were also able to hold Flores, Missouri’s leading scorer, to a season-low six points.

Hendrickson said the Jayhawks focused on taking away Flores offense coming off screens and wanted to force Missouri’s guards to beat them.

Flores credited the Jayhawks for a great performance but also blamed herself for not providing a strong post presence.

“I just need to work harder to get open,” she said.

Flores’ partner in the post, Brock, led the Tigers with 26 points. Brock said being challenged in practice this week contributed to her performance.

“Coach (Robin Pingeton) and the rest of the coaching staff just forced me to get big and be stronger than I have ever been,” Brock said.

Much was made of the Jayhawks making their last visit to Columbia, but both coaches said that the focus for their teams was on simply getting a win rather than the rivalry’s closure.

“It has been a great rivalry, and this has been a very difficult place for us to play,” Hendrickson said. “It was more about building a resume and win a tough one on the road.”

Pingeton also said that the program is not at the point where it can worry about rivalries.

“I think for other sports they’d tell you a little differently, but for women’s basketball we want to win and we don’t look at KU any differently than we look at anyone else,” Pingeton said.

The Tigers will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M.