The Jayhawks’ struggles in conference play continued with Saturday’s road matchup against Texas Tech, which entered the game 9-1 at home on the season season. Despite a strong start and consistent first half from Kansas, Tech proved more prepared in the long run, using clusters of scoring to build a commanding lead late in the fourth quarter and claim a 73-64 victory over the Jayhawks in Lubbock, Texas.
Kansas found consistency from Holly Kersgieter, who scored 21 points for her second-highest mark of the year, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 25 points from Tech’s Jasmin Shavers.
After Wednesday’s scoring inconsistencies against Iowa State, Kansas began its matchup against Texas Tech on a solid scoring streak with Wyvette Mayberry contributing early en route to an 11-5 lead. Both the Jayhawks and Red Raiders shot 33% from behind the arc in the first quarter, with Mayberry and Kersgieter carrying the Jayhawks into the second period with a 17-14 lead.
Texas Tech grabbed its first lead of the game, however, on a five-point run to start the quarter as the Jayhawks went through a scoring drought for three and a half minutes. A bucket by Zakiyah Franklin, who has been much quieter with her scoring than she was a year ago, tied the game at 19 before S’Mya Nichols regained the lead with her first points of the quarter.
Tech scored five straight again, but the Jayhawks fought back with a 6-0 streak of their own to retake a 28-24 lead. Back-to-back 3s and a pair of free throws gave the Red Raiders the last run of the half as they claimed a 32-28 lead at the break.
Mayberry led Kansas at the half with nine points. Out of the Jayhawks’ 28 first-half points, 22 came from inside the paint, while Ryan Cobbins’ four points were the only ones scored by non-starters.
A strong start to the second half came via a four-point Kansas run to tie things at 32 apiece. The Jayhawks and Red Raiders continued to go back and forth through the majority of the quarter, with Nichols and Mayberry providing the bulk of the offense. Kansas took its first lead since late in the second quarter off a pair of free throws by Nichols to make it 44-42 with less than two minutes remaining in the third, but the Red Raiders bounced back to take a 47-44 lead into the final quarter.
Tech extended its lead with a 3-pointer from sophomore Jada Wynn and a field goal from Shavers, bringing the score to 52-44 before a three-point play by Kersgieter followed by a layup from Nichols got Kansas back within one possession.
The Jayhawks made a trend of getting within three points just to allow multi-point runs from the Red Raiders to widen the gap. With just under two and a half minutes left, a seven-point Tech streak put Kansas in a 10-point hole, 63-53.
Nichols and Kersgieter sandwiched six points around a Texas Tech field goal and two free throws, plus a Franklin field goal in the middle, to trail 67-61 with less than a minute and a half remaining.
After a Red Raider timeout and a steal by Franklin, the Jayhawks were in position to continue their comeback, but a missed layup and immediate foul ended their hopes early. Four straight Tech free throws put Kansas back into a 10-point hole, as they trailed 71-61 with 18 seconds remaining. Kersgieter sank a 3-pointer straight out of a Kansas timeout, forcing the Red Raiders to call one of their own, but a foul and turnover with one second left sealed the Jayhawks’ fate.
While Kansas improved its consistency through three quarters compared to its performance against Iowa State, the Jayhawks couldn’t follow through in the fourth, as they continuously allowed scoring runs to let Texas Tech keep its edge. The trio of Mayberry, Nichols and Kersgieter impressed, however, following the scoring struggles against the Cyclones.
With the loss, the Jayhawks fell to 7-7 on the season and 0-3 in conference play, which puts them at the bottom of the conference with Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston, all of which have better overall records than Kansas. The Jayhawks’ will match up with No. 6 Baylor at home this Wednesday, still searching for a conference win. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and the game can be streamed on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
