Photo courtesy of Damon Young/Kansas AthleticsThe Oklahoma State Cowgirls put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough to stop the No. 22 Kansas Jayhawks (10-1, 1-0 Big 12) from taking home an 80-65 victory Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State (10-3, 0-1) started hot in the paint, scoring 14 of 18 points right near the rim.
But the Jayhawks’ forced five Oklahoma State turnovers in the first quarter. Kansas converted those turnovers into a four-point lead in the first 10 minutes, including seven fastbreak points.
The Jayhawks took an 11-point lead into the second quarter. Kansas’s senior center Taiyanna Jackson and junior center Nadira Eltayeb led the game in rebounds through the half, and the Jayhawks scored a whopping 22 points in the paint, with junior forward Ioanna Chatzileonti leading the way with eight points.
But the Cowgirls wouldn’t go away quietly.
Junior forward Lior Garzon’s red-hot shooting stretch in the second quarter helped the Cowgirls bridge the deficit before heading into halftime. Garzon scored 11 of her 13 first-half points in the last five minutes of the half, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
Kansas saw its lead vanish to just four heading into the second half.
OSU came out of the break full of energy. The Cowgirls fought hard for offensive rebounds, grabbing five that turned into 10 second-chance points to keep the game within striking distance.
Kansas senior guard Holly Kersgieter became the catalyst for KU’s offensive attack in the third quarter. She scored nine points on 50% shooting and made 100% of her shots from the free throw line, giving Kansas a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Jackson dominated the paint on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter, where she tallied 10 rebounds and eight points right at the rim, recording her eighth double-double of the season.
Kansas’s lead ballooned to as many as 19 points in the quarter after a 12-0 run that spanned almost four minutes put the game away.
Kersgieter led KU with a game-high 23 points, while Jackson recorded a 17-point, 19-rebound double-double. Chatzileonti and junior guard Wyvette Mayberry also scored in double figures in the Jayhawks’ 15-point win over the Cowgirls.
The Jayhawks improve to 1-0 in conference play and 11-1 on the season. They host Texas Tech on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
