In its first-ever matchup against BYU, Kansas led for all 40 minutes thanks to a monster double-double by Taiyanna Jackson en route to a 67-53 win.
The Cougars had come into Allen Fieldhouse 1-7 in true road games this season, following a 67-65 loss on Saturday to Kansas State, and sustained another defeat away from home.
After struggling of late, Holly Kersgieter did not suit up due to injury. Ryan Cobbins took her place in the starting lineup and held her own, finishing with six points and 12 rebounds against a physical BYU team.
But the real standout of the night was Jackson, who set a career high by nabbing 22 rebounds and scored 25 points thanks to an impressive array of second-chance buckets.
“I don’t know how many times she scored off of those [offensive rebounds]. Probably every time,” said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. “We just can’t give that to her.”
Jackson was aided by 17 and 11 points from S’Mya Nichols and Wyvette Mayberry, respectively.
Jackson’s performance also benefited from a chip on her shoulder coming into the game, as she matched up against BYU’s leading scorer and rebounder Lauren Gustin.
“I took offense when they said that number 12 [Gustin] was the best rebounder in our conference,” Jackson said. “So that’s what motivated me going into this game, just like knowing that we have the size advantage and knowing that I am a great offensive rebounder and I can get us second-chance points.”
Gustin grabbed 10 rebounds (she averages 15 a game) and went 5-for-22 with Jackson guarding her for the majority of the game (she averages 16 points).
“I think anytime a player like Taiyanna can take a challenge personally, if that’s what it takes to get you to play at a high level, then I credit her for that,” said Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider.
To start the game, Nichols took charge, scoring six of Kansas’ first eight points of the game and running the point for a good amount of the quarter. A slow start on offense slowed even further with Nichols heading to the bench early on, as Kansas underwent a three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought, but the Jayhawks still remained in the lead for the entirety of the quarter. Jackson broke the drought with her first points of the night, which she followed up by getting an and-1 opportunity on the next play to give the Jayhawks a 12-8 lead at the end of the first.
She kept things going to start the second period, powering through three defenders for a strong bucket underneath and forcing misses down low. Mayberry then secured her first points of the game on a fast break before another Jackson bucket put the Jayhawks up 18-10 to force a BYU timeout.
Then, the quarter was suddenly halted due to a bat delay. Yes — a bat delay.
“I was guarding somebody, and she was like, ‘It’s a bat!’ and I was like ‘Girl, there isn’t a bat in here,'” Jackson said.
But yes, a live bat was indeed flying around Allen Fieldhouse. The game continued for the first few minutes of its presence, until it gained the confidence to get closer to the action, and ended up flying near the face of Cobbins while she was running down the court.
“I just thought it was a bird until it flew in my face. It didn’t hit me, but I’m pretty sure it was close. I just closed my eyes and went the other way,” she said.
After a chaotic six minutes, the bat was not caught, but the game resumed and it didn’t interfere again.
The Cougars took advantage of this wacky incident, going on a 9-2 run post-delay to make it a one-point game. Jackson then scored on a layup through a triple-team and the Jayhawks soon went up 26-21 at the half.
Jackson’s 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks led Kansas in a strong first half even as she faced at least two defenders at all times down low. Nichols recorded seven points in the first half, while Mayberry had five of her own. Those three starters were the only KU players to score in the first two periods.
Both teams came out of halftime swinging, as they traded off buckets before a jumper from Ryan Cobbins put the Jayhawks up 33-28, making her the fourth scorer for Kansas. Zakiyah Franklin joined the mix, and a putback by Jackson followed by a made foul shot gave the Jayhawks their largest lead at 38-28. A four-point stretch courtesy of Mayberry increased the lead until Papadapoulou returned after Jackson’s second personal foul and sank a crafty hook shot to secure a 44-33 lead for Kansas heading into the final quarter.
After the Jayhawks started the quarter with a five-point run to go up by 16, the Cougars returned the favor, forcing a Kansas timeout before Jackson ended the streak to make it 51-38. After starting 3-for-11 from deep, BYU’s Kailey Woolston drained three triples in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the Jayhawks’ lead to five.
Nichols and Jackson continued to be the answer for Kansas, tallying six straight points to get the lead back to a more comfortable 11 points.
Nichols put the nail in the coffin, using a tough power move past multiple defenders to finish with a crafty layup. Jackson got her standing ovation, ending her night with 50 seconds remaining in the game as she led the Jayhawks to a 67-53 victory.
Jackson made it clear that she wanted to put an exclamation point on this game not only for herself, but for her teammates and coaches.
“They stress to me how much of a better team we are and when I’m locked in, keeping my composure,” she said. “I really wanted to be able to do that for my teammates because they put me in that position.”
After a comfortable victory over a middle-of-the-pack team, the Jayhawks are halfway through their Big 12 schedule with one month of basketball left to play. While they’ve rather steadily improved as of late, they know that the road ahead is tough.
“I think we have to take it one game at a time but understand the sense of urgency that’s required,” Schneider said. “We’ve got to go on a run here if we want to position ourselves to be an NCAA tournament team.”
The next point for Kansas (11-2, 4-6 Big 12 Conference) to focus on is its matchup against TCU (15-5, 2-7). The Jayhawks will seek to win their first road conference game on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
