For the past couple of weeks, as the pride felt by the Kansas women’s basketball program grew at the same pace as the crowds that came to watch them, the Jayhawks’ goal became as much about growing their sport as winning games.
But both happened on their way to a WNIT title, which they claimed with a 66-59 win last Saturday over Columbia.
In front of nearly 12,000 fans who roared for everything these Jayhawks did, the KU women showcased both themselves and their sport for six consecutive games at one of the greatest venues in all of sports.
With the attention firmly planted on them as they celebrated their title with hats, T-Shirts, a trophy and more, KU junior Chandler Prater grabbed the microphone and took a quick stab at capitalizing on the team’s success.
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As she thanked the crowd for their support during the Jayhawks’ six-game run at Allen Fieldhouse, Prater said, “You guys were the difference in this tournament for us.”
She then squirmed from side to side and, with a sly smile on her face, added: “Lucky for you guys our season tickets for next year are on sale now.”
Next year seems like a long way away. And while there’s always a little uncertainty about what each team will look like from season to season, fans of this KU women’s team, new and old, have reason to believe that the team they watched roll to the WNIT title will be back and hungrier than ever when the 2023-24 season rolls around.
As a junior, Prater will definitely be back. And Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said after Saturday’s win that he was planning on having all-Big 12 seniors Zakiyah Franklin, Taiyanna Jackson and Holly Kersgieter back for their super-senior seasons, as well.
Add to that the expected return of starting point guard Wyvette Mayberry, in what will be her second year as a Jayhawk, a bench that grew more confident and productive the longer the season went on and five-star freshman S’Mya Nichols as well as whatever other additions the program may announce, and you’re looking at a team with preseason Top 25 potential and the chance to be a contender in the Big 12 Conference.
There’s time to get to all of that. And none of it will come without more of the kind of work they put in these past two years, which took them from frustration and futility to back-to-back trips to the postseason.
But, for now, Schneider was happy to bask in the glow of seeing what the women he coaches brought to a basketball-crazed campus.
“I couldn’t be happier with what it did to increase interest and fan support in our program,” he said of the WNIT run. “I’m hopeful that the many (people) that came for the first time enjoyed it and will plan on buying season tickets.”
Added Jackson: “Hopefully our fans just see how fun we are as a team and how we play together. I’m not going to say (we’re going to) sellout (Allen Fieldhouse), (but I’m) speaking it into existence. Hopefully, it grows every game and more people just come support us like they did this WNIT tournament.”
Journal-World file photo
