On the back of a season-high 21 points from Wyvette Mayberry, Kansas remained close all game before an ultimate 60-55 last-minute loss to Oklahoma.
The Jayhawks started hot in the first quarter Saturday before the Sooners went on a run of their own to finish the half down 28-27. Oklahoma (13-6, 7-1) then reversed the roles in the third quarter to get out to a quick six-point lead, against which Kansas fought back against to face a one-possession deficit entering the final period of play. At the end of 40 minutes, the Jayhawks ran out of steam while Oklahoma’s Skylar Vann seemed to have a second wind, scoring nine points in the fourth including two exclamation points on a Sooner 6-0 run with a minute and a half left.
Kansas’ S’Mya Nichols finished second in team points with 15, while Taiyanna Jackson grabbed 14 rebounds and swatted four blocks in her return to regular action.
The Jayhawks (10-10, 3-6) got off to a quick start, with Mayberry going 2-for-2 from 3-point territory to rack up eight early points and get out to a quick 9-4 lead. Kansas decided to dip into its bench a little earlier than normal, opting for Danai Papadapoulou to check in a little over than three minutes into the game for Jackson, who fouled out late in Wednesday’s matchup against Iowa State. The Jayhawks were able to extend their lead to seven points before a 10-3 Sooners run that ended the quarter with a mere 16-14 advantage for Kansas.
After a few empty possessions, Oklahoma’s Vann sank a 3-pointer to give the Sooners their first lead since they were up 2-1. Mayberry and Zakiyah Franklin continued to add on to their scoring totals, as Nichols scored her first points of the game on a midrange jumper to get the Jayhawks within one.
After a miss on the opposite end, Jackson and Oklahoma’s Beatrice Culliton got tangled up going for the rebound, for which Culliton was called for a common foul, and Jackson was later assessed with a technical foul for contact after the play. Luckily for Kansas, the Sooners only made a single free throw and had an empty possession afterward, minimizing the impact of the technical. From there the Jayhawks and Sooners traded possessions and the lead, before Mayberry grabbed her 13th point of the night with 12 seconds left in the half to get Kansas a 28-27 lead.
Jackson picked up her second foul of the game 10 seconds into the new half before committing a turnover on a rebound attempt on the free throw, which led to another two points for the Sooners.
Another Mayberry bucket from behind the arc tied the game at 30, until back-to-back 3-pointers by Oklahoma’s Payton Verhulst gave the Sooners a quick six-point lead and forced a Kansas timeout. Nichols sank a couple of free throws and one more two minutes later in the middle of a scoring drought. A crafty finish by Jackson at the rim made it a one-point game, and Nichols and Franklin answered a few quick Sooner buckets with a couple of their own to make it a 42-40 game going into the fourth and final quarter.
With KU trailing by four in the final period, Mayberry knocked down back-to-back jumpers to tie the game and achieve a new season high in points with 19.
The slow-moving quarter continued with only five points scored from either side at the halfway mark. Nichols tied the game after earning two free throws, before Kiersten Johnson scored her fifth straight point with a jumper just inside the key and Nichols answered with another drive to the basket on the opposite end. Jackson got Kansas back the lead with a strong post move to make it 51-49. After free throws on each end, the Sooners rattled off a six-point run, highlighted by a tough turnaround from Vann followed by a layup in transition, for a 57-53 lead.
The Jayhawks finally put a stop to Oklahoma’s run by forcing a shot clock violation before entrusting Nichols once again as a late-game leader in tight situations.
Nichols had the ball in her hands with the ultimate say in decision-making, as she quickly worked her way into the key before splashing a jumper to get within two points with a little under 30 seconds remaining. Since Kansas had only committed two fouls in the quarter thus far, a multitude of players had to rack up fouls to get to the point of Oklahoma heading to the line.
The Jayhawks did a good job of this, letting less than three seconds dribble off the clock, but when Oklahoma’s Lexy Keys sank both of her opportunities from the line, Kansas’ chances for a comeback diminished drastically. Two missed shots from behind the arc ended the Jayhawks’ last opportunity on offense and led to another made free throw for Oklahoma to fall 60-55.
After failing to score against Iowa State earlier in the week while being guarded by a box-and-one the entire game, Holly Kersgieter recorded another scoreless contest and left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent injury. Outside of Mayberry and Franklin, the Jayhawks were completely cold from behind the arc, going a combined 0-for-8.
Kansas will look to improve its 8-1 home record on Wednesday at 6:30 against unranked BYU (12-9, 2-6), which dropped a down-to-the-wire game 67-65 in Bramlage Coliseum earlier today. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. tip in Allen Fieldhouse.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
