MU (15-7, 6-5) overcame a nine-point halftime deficit, pressured the Jayhawks into 25 turnovers, hit a season-high 11 3-pointers and got career-highs from its two starting guards in a thrilling 89-80 overtime victory.

"Any time you play KU you’re excited and you always want to have a good game and come out on top," said MU coach Cindy Stein. "It gets us a step closer to where you want to be. It’s a tremendous feeling."

It was only fitting that MU’s final three points came from its two guards who came up big when it mattered most.

Senior Tracy Franklin and sophomore Kerensa Barr sank three free throws in the last 27 seconds of overtime to finish off the Jayhawks, giving each career-highs of 23 and 13 points, respectively.

Stein has been trying to coax Franklin into becoming a more prolific scorer for the better part of three seasons. Now it appears the shy Mexico, Mo., native is coming out of her shell at the right time for the Tigers.

Franklin, averaging 9.7 points per game this season, followed up her strong 15-point performance against K-State Wednesday by hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers, making two steals and having a team-high five assists over KU.

"I was just on fire tonight," said Franklin. "Coach wanted me to keep on shooting all year. I was hitting my shots tonight so I kept firing them."

MU center Marlena "Pep" Williams also performed well in overtime, making a key steal and hitting two turnaround jumpers in the middle of the key.

Forward Amanda Lassiter also scored four points in the extra session, by finishing off a give-and-go from Franklin with a layup and hitting two free throws.

"We had this game," said Lassiter. "We just had that confidence in the whole second half and it showed. We came into overtime and ran them off the court."

The crowd, which topped the 6,227 who came to the MU versus Oklahoma game in last year’s Head to Hearnes promotion, saw regulation go down to the wire.

Kansas held a lead for all but 25 seconds in the middle of the second half. For every shot MU hit, Kansas seemed to have an answer.

But the Tigers went on a 6-0 run in the last 1:40 of regulation to send the game into overtime. The run started with a layup by Lassiter, followed by a crucial steal and fast-break layup by Franklin.

Williams tied the game at 78 with a up and under move in the paint sending the crowd into a frenzy, with decibel levels reaching the century mark.

Lassiter, who finished with 22 points, had a chance to win the game in regulation with a last second shot. Off an inbound pass, Lassiter caught and shot the ball from the right corner and hit the side of the rim.

"It was a good shot, I was wide open," Lassiter said. "It just didn’t fall, but coach said stay focused in the game because we’re going to win it in overtime."

And Stein was right. The Tigers gave Kansas a different look in overtime by going to a zone defense. The Jayhawks had trouble dumping the ball into their star post player, Jaclyn Johnson, and committed five turnovers on sloppy passing, partly due to fatigue.

Johnson, who leads the team with 16.3 points per game, hurt the Tigers early with 16 first half points. But Missouri then pressured the Jayhawk guards and didn’t allow them to feed the 6-foot-1 senior forward much in the second half.

"I know I didn’t shoot much in the second half," said Johnson, who finished with 20 points. "We stopped going to what was working for us and Missouri capitalized on that."