Coming off a huge upset over No. 4 Baylor to win their first Big 12 matchup of the season, the Jayhawks hosted Oklahoma State for a Saturday night headliner as they tried to climb up the conference standings.
After staying close through the first half, Kansas faltered a bit in the first half of the third quarter, facing an 11-point deficit four minutes into the period. But the Jayhawks strapped in, led by Taiyanna Jackson, Wyvette Mayberry and Holly Kersgieter, to end the quarter with a chance to continue the comeback. Sure enough, Kansas regained the lead in the fourth quarter, where it never looked back, defeating another conference opponent in Allen Fieldhouse 70-64.
Following a 22-point game on Wednesday against No. 4 Baylor, S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 17 points in their second conference win. Kersgieter followed closely with 16 points of her own, while Jackson struggled to follow up her career night earlier in the week, scoring only six points to go along with nine rebounds.
Nichols opened the game with a bang, sinking a long 3-pointer on Kansas’ first possession. The first quarter featured many scoring droughts, as both teams went on five-point runs to stay neck-and-neck with each other, before OSU’s Stailee Heard sank a 3 with 19 seconds left in the quarter to give the Cowgirls an early 13-11 lead.
After ending the first period down by a single possession, the Jayhawks tied it up on their second possession of the half thanks to a layup from Zakiyah Franklin. The second quarter saw OSU go on a few runs, at one point extending its lead to a game-high seven points with four minutes left in the half. A five-point run by Mayberry and Franklin got the Jayhawks back into a single-possession game, before a buzzer-beating layup by the Cowgirls gave them a 31-27 lead at the break.
Nichols and Mayberry led Kansas at the half with seven points apiece, while star center Jackson went scoreless in the half.
The Jayhawks struggled going into the second half, accumulating an early 11-point deficit due to some scoring troubles. KU remained determined on both sides of the ball, though, stepping up on defense to create empty trips down the floor for OSU, while simultaneously keeping the game within striking distance on offense as it went into the final quarter down 52-45.
After sticking close by in the second half of the third quarter, the Jayhawks took advantage of their opportunity to strike quickly in the fourth. An 11-2 run to open the period got Kansas its first lead since the second quarter at 56-54. The Cowgirls fired off five quick points around a few Jayhawk buckets, before a seven-point Kansas run increased its lead to 65-59 as it started to pull away with little time remaining.
Both teams focused on the defensive end to end the quarter, as only six points were scored in the final three minutes. Kansas used its late comeback to hang a six-point victory over OSU, for its second victory in a row as it tries to climb its way out of a 0-3 start to conference play.
Despite a lack of contribution on the offensive end by some of its usual stars, Kansas used strong performances from four of its starters to power to a late comeback win. The Jayhawks will attempt to continue this climb in a tough road match against No. 10 Texas on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on Longhorn Network, while Kansas Athletics will provide radio coverage.