After hosting their sixth-straight WNIT Tournament game at Allen Fieldhouse, the Kansas Jayhawks used a dominant 18-3 scoring run in the third quarter to secure a 66-59 victory over the Columbia Lions on Saturday. The win brought the Jayhawks their first WNIT Championship title in school history.
“It’s extremely cool,” senior guard Zakiyah Franklin said. “A lot to take in right now, but we’re really thankful for it and we’re just going to enjoy it.”
With an official crowd of 11,707 fans in Allen Fieldhouse, the Jayhawks (25-11) used their home court advantage to power them to victory.
“Through this whole tournament, it was just amazing to watch our crowd grow every single game, especially the student section and the students coming out here and cheering for us,” senior center Taiyanna Jackson said. “They get us going, they give us momentum.”
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Both offenses came out the gates hot, with junior guard Wyvette Mayberry attempting the first three shots for the Jayhawks, all from behind the arc. Mayberry nailed 2-of-3 attempts in the opening three minutes of play to give Kansas the early lead.
Despite the early hot start, both defenses picked up the intensity and forced tough shots all quarter long. The Lions (28-6) were held to 31% shooting in the quarter, shooting primarily from outside the arc, draining just 2-of-9 attempts.
The Jayhawks drained 37% of their shots as they focused on their interior attack. Kansas had the advantage in the paint on offense, outscoring the Lions 14-4 in the first half, thanks in part to Jackson’s defensive presence.
Jackson was a menace in the paint in the first half on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. She racked up six points, a whopping 12 boards and swatted away two shots in just the first half of play, forcing the Lions to play away from the interior.
Turnovers plagued the Jayhawks early as the Lions’ defense rattled KU’s offensive attack. Kansas gave the ball over eight times in the first half, but the Jayhawks kept the Lions in check, not allowing a single Columbia score off those turnovers.
Franklin led the way for the Jayhawks with 10 first half points on 3-of-6 shooting, adding a block and a steal to her stat line as well. Junior guard Chandler Prater followed with seven points and six rebounds and provided Kansas with the energy she brings each and every night.
Junior guard Abbey Hsu carried the Lions in the first quarter, scoring seven points on 50% shooting. She finished the half with 12 points on 50% shooting and finished as the only Lion to score in double figures during that span.
Kansas sported a tight 31-28 lead at the buzzer in a back-and-forth battle through the first 20 minutes.
That lead didn’t hold up for long, however. Columbia came out of halftime sniping from 3-point land and opened the third quarter on an 8-0 scoring run, nailing 3-of-3 attempts from the floor and immediately retaking a five-point lead.
The Jayhawks quickly responded with their own scoring run, this time with a 15-0 run that spanned 6:40 minutes of play.
“We just wanted us to come out there and just be us,” KU’s Franklin said. “We knew we needed more from each individual because that’s what we do. We out-team people and we out-tough people, so we knew we needed everybody out of halftime.”
Jackson was instrumental in creating this run, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds in that span. After that run, Nadira Eltayeb came in and provided three critical minutes for KU when Jackson went down with an ankle injury with 6:44 remaining in the third.
After scoring eight points in the first 1:08 to play of the quarter, the Lions scored just three points the remainder of the quarter. Columbia made just four shots the entire quarter, shooting 23% in the third.
“Ain’t the saying ‘Defense wins championships?’ Jackson said.
Kansas ended the quarter outscoring the Lions 18-11 to extend its lead to 49-39 headed into the final quarter.
Despite making just two baskets in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks held on to take home the 66-59 victory over the Lions. Kansas made 12 of 13 free throws in the final quarter to keep its lead intact and become WNIT champions.
Jackson tied her career-high in rebounds in the biggest game of KU’s season. She ended her season with a monster 17-point, 21-rebound double-double, with 10 of those rebounds on the offensive glass. Jackson added three blocks to her stat line as well to lead the Jayhawks to victory.
Franklin led Kansas with 19 points with a perfect 9-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe, adding a block and two steals to her night. Prater was one point shy of a double-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and a whopping four steals in an impressive defensive effort.
Hsu led the Lions with 19 points on 6-of-20 shooting with senior guard Kaitlyn Davis right behind her with 13 points.
