Led by a career-high 30 points from senior guard Zakiyah Franklin, the Kansas women kept pace with No. 15 Oklahoma, but the Jayhawks went cold in the final three minutes, dropping their eighth Big 12 game, 86-80, on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.
Both teams started red hot from the floor in a high-scoring first quarter. Kansas shot a blistering 62% from the field and Oklahoma shot 47%.
Senior guard Holly Kersgieter led the charge for KU with nine first-quarter points, shooting 3-of-4 and hitting her lone three-point attempt. Kansas’ success from behind the arc allowed the Jayhawks to attack the paint and catch Oklahoma’s defense off guard. KU drained 50% of its attempts from downtown and scored 12 points in the paint, including six by senior center Taiyanna Jackson.
“I thought (Franklin), Holly and (Jackson) were outstanding,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said. “Before the game, if you had told me that they were going to play that well, I would not have thought that we would have lost.”
Kansas guard Holly Kersgieter (13) drives up the court against Oklahoma on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks lost 86-80.
Oklahoma’s senior forward Liz Scott led the Sooners’ No. 2 scoring offense with with nine points, converting a perfect 3-of-3, in the first quarter, but the Jayhawks matched their effort, heading into the second quarter tied 27-27.
From there, both teams poured it on from the three-point line. Kansas drained 4-of-6 attempts, while the Sooners scored on 3-of-5.
Oklahoma attacked the Jayhawks in the paint, outscoring them 14-6 for the quarter. The Sooners were led by redshirt-senior forward Madi Williams, who scored 10 points on a nearly perfect 5-of-6 shooting clip.
With nine points each, Kersgieter and Franklin combined for 18 of Kansas’ 19 second-quarter points. Jackson was held scoreless, and OU took a slim lead headed into halftime, 50-46. Both offenses shot above 50% in the first half, while Kersgieters’ 18 points led the game in the scoring column.
Franklin’s scoring output continued into the third quarter as she found her success driving to the rim. She scored 10 points in the quarter while hitting 4-of-5 shots from the floor and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
Jackson got herself back into the scoring column with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while anchoring KU’s interior defense and swatting away two shots.
The Jayhawks’ offense kept rolling, shooting 50% in the quarter with 19 combined points from Franklin and Jackson.
Kansas held Oklahoma to just six points in the paint in the quarter, winning the battle on the inside 16-6. KU outscored the Sooners 22-19 overall to trim the deficit to just one point, 69-68.
Oklahoma led the entirety of the fourth quarter, but Kansas refused to go out without a fight. KU trailed by just two points with 3:12 remaining, but the Jayhawks couldn’t get their shots to fall. While the Sooners added onto their lead with some late-game free throws, Kansas missed three open shots from deep in the final minute of play. The 86-80 win kept Oklahoma undefeated for the season in games where it scored at least 80 points.
Despite the Sooners’ win, nobody could outscore KU’s Franklin, whose 30 points for the day led all scorers.
“It feels good, but it would’ve felt better to get the win,” Franklin said. “Just thankful my teammates were able to find me and I was able to be aggressive.”
Kersgieter’s 24 points — including 6 of 10 from three-point land — marked the second-highest of all scorers. With 19 points, Jackson ended up outscored only by her teammates and Oklahoma’s Williams. Jackson also nabbed 13 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season and blocked five shots.
The Jayhawks fell to 16-9 overall (6-8 Big 12) and the Sooners improved to a staggering 22-4 record (12-3 Big 12).
Up next: Kansas takes a trip to Manhattan to face rival Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Aiden Droge/Kansas Athletics
Aiden Droge/Kansas Athletics