After a disappointing loss to TCU in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament last week, the Kansas women’s basketball team missed out on an invitation to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Instead, the Jayhawks, who were projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field throughout conference play, earned an automatic qualification into the WNIT.
Big 12 foes Kansas State and Texas Tech will join Kansas in the WNIT bracket, with the tournament scheduled to tip off on Wednesday.
The full bracket, matchups, times and game locations will be announced Monday.
This will mark KU’s sixth time playing in the WNIT and its first time since 2011. Kansas defeated Wichita State in the 2011 first round before falling to Duquesne in the second round of the tournament.
The Jayhawks’ recent loss to TCU added more than a little stress to their Selection Sunday experience.
Prior to that, though, Brandon Schneider’s Jayhawks had won three in a row to end the regular season, picking up key home wins against Oklahoma State and No. 23 Iowa State to help solidify their resumé.
With the 57-52 loss to the Horned Frogs, Kansas failed to make the Big Dance and will begin its WNIT Tournament run. The Jayhawks miss the NCAA Tournament after making the field last season, their first trip since 2013.
With a 21-10 overall record and an 11-7 in-conference record last season, the Jayhawks earned a No. 8 seed last season and knocked off No. 9 seed Georgia Tech, 77-58 in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. KU then fell 91-65 to the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal in the second round on the Cardinal’s home floor.
Kansas has held its own all season long against a tough Big 12 Conference schedule. KU played six conference games against ranked opponents and finished its season with a 19-11 overall record and a 9-9 mark in conference play, good for seventh place in the standings.
Kansas dominated TCU in Fort Worth, Texas to end the regular season, taking the 84-61 victory. The Jayhawks had four players rack up double-digit scoring numbers in that game, with junior guard Chandler Prater leading the way with 24 points.
Just five days later, Kansas and TCU rematched in Kansas City, Missouri, where the Jayhawks couldn’t close out the tight contest, losing their first and only game in the Big 12 Tournament.
Along with a rigorous conference schedule, the Jayhawks finished 10-1 in non-conference play. Arguably Kansas’ biggest win of the season came on the road against then-No. 12 Arizona, where KU took home a dominant 77-50 victory. KU held the Wildcats to just 30% shooting on their home floor.
The Jayhawks have dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the season. Junior forward Ioanna Chatzileonti has missed 13 games and hasn’t played since Jan. 14 against Oklahoma. Chatzileonti averaged just under 10 points per game last season and played in every game for KU.
Senior guard Holly Kersgieter also missed three games, two of them after suffering an injury against Oklahoma on Feb. 19. Kansas went 1-1 in those two games with a dismal 63-45 loss to Kansas State, followed by a 66-57 win over Oklahoma State.
With Chatzileonti out of the lineup for nearly half of the regular season, Kansas has had to rely on senior center Taiyanna Jackson to anchor the frontcourt. Jackson has done just that, recording 18 double-doubles in 29 games played, good for ninth in the country.
Jackson has the most double-doubles in the Big 12 and leads the conference in rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. She also became the first Jayhawk to average a double-double for an entire season since the 1981-1982 season.
The Kansas center averaged 15 points per game and 12 rebounds per game along with a whopping three blocks per game. Jackson has wreaked havoc on both ends of the floor and finished the season as KU’s second-leading scorer as well as a top defensive player in the country.
Jackson has racked up plenty of in-season awards, such as the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist honor and a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Candidate nomination.
Both Jackson and senior guard Zakiyah Franklin earned All-Big 12 First Team selections after leading the Jayhawks in scoring this season. Kersgieter earned an honorable mention and Jackson was also selected to the All-Big 12 Defensive team.
This is the first time that Kansas had multiple players on the All-Big 12 First Team in Big 12 Conference history, with Franklin and Jackson both leading the Jayhawks in scoring this season.
Despite the accolades, nominations and awards Kansas received this season, the Jayhawks were left out of the Big Dance and will try to regroup to make a run in the WNIT as a consolation prize.
