Just over a month removed from Kansas women’s basketball’s official senior night, the quartet of Jayhawk seniors got one more chance to say goodbye to Allen Fieldhouse.
Forwards Lilly Meister and Nadira Eltayeb and guards Sania Copeland and Elle Evans walked off James Naismith Court for the final time victorious on Thursday night with an 85-78 win over San Diego State in the WBIT quarterfinals.
KU will face BYU at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita on Monday, with the time of the game and additional details yet to be announced. The Jayhawks beat the Cougars 81-60 in Lawrence on Feb. 4.
Beating SDSU wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Jayhawks. After junior guard S’Mya Nichols went down with an injury in the third, a halftime lead started to slip away from Kansas.
“I would say the second quarter and the third quarter, we really struggled to guard the ball,” Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider said. “Our ability to stay in a stance and in particular take away the right hand in certain spots, which was the scouting report — and give them a lot of credit, they’re an exceptional team and had an incredible year, but (our) fourth-quarter defense I thought, held them to 33%, we finally were able to play a little more together and be a little stingier, in particular guarding the ball.”
Nichols hurt her ankle after landing on a cameraperson behind the basket and missed the final eight minutes and 32 seconds of the third quarter before returning for the final nine minutes of the matchup.
“It was very, very clutch timing,” Meister said. “Obviously she’s a great player, she’s a great leader and I think like I said, she came in at a very crucial time and stepped up big time.”
While Nichols’ return in the final quarter helped spark the Jayhawks to a victory, freshman forward Jaliya Davis was the leading scorer for Kansas down the stretch. Davis tallied 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting in the final period, while also making all four of her free throw attempts, and finished with a game-high 25.
“I’ll go right to the free throw line,” Schneider said when asked about where Davis has improved the most this season. “She really struggled in high school and club ball, I think, with consistent confidence there, and that’s been a big part of every individual workout that we do is centered around lots of pressure free throws.”
Schneider said that he’s also seen Davis develop her skill set throughout the campaign and that Kansas hopes to stretch her shots out to 3-point range this offseason.
Schneider trotted out his usual starting five for one final time at Allen Fieldhouse, with Davis and freshman guard Libby Fandel joining Nichols, Meister and Copeland on the court to tip things off.
The story of the first five minutes was Meister’s sharp shooting. The senior forward knocked down three 3-pointers and two free throws in the opening minutes to help Kansas to a 15-8 lead at the under-five timeout.
The Jayhawks made three midrange shots in the final five minutes and took a 25-15 advantage into the second quarter.
San Diego State returned the favor from downtown to begin the second quarter, with the Aztecs connecting four times from beyond the arc in the first three minutes before tying the game on a fastbreak layup from Alyssa Jackson. Schneider used his first timeout with the game tied 29-29 and 5:44 left before halftime.
The Jayhawks found better perimeter defense after the timeout and after Jackson drained a 3-pointer, Kansas held SDSU to just two points over the next two minutes and the Jayhawks reclaimed a 39-34 lead.
The offense picked up in the final two minutes, with Kalelyn Hamilton adding a basket for the Aztecs and Nichols responding with Kansas’ first 3-pointer of the quarter. SDSU drew within one with 31 seconds remaining, but the Jayhawks were able to take a 45-42 lead into the locker room courtesy of two free throws from sophomore guard Regan Williams.
Fandel got the scoring started on the opening possession of the third quarter with a quick layup to extend the Jayhawks’ lead. The Aztecs responded with a 3 before Nichols scored on a drive to the basket that saw her land awkwardly and go down holding her ankle. She was helped off the court and back to the bench.
Without its point guard, Kansas labored. Meister collected her fourth 3 on four attempts to keep the advantage in the Jayhawks’ favor, but SDSU kept scoring consistently. A two-minute drought for Kansas allowed the Aztecs to snatch the lead back. SDSU held a 60-57 edge with just under two minutes remaining in the third.
The Jayhawk offense came alive in the final minutes of the quarter. A layup by Davis ended the dry spell and the two teams traded blows over the next two minutes. Aztecs guard Nala Williams responded with a layup of her own, and KU’s Regan Williams added a jumper. The two sides exchanged another pair of twos before SDSU had the last laugh with a free throw ahead of the buzzer, and the Aztecs took a 65-63 advantage into the final period.
Both teams had just one basket in the first three minutes of the fourth before a familiar face broke the deadlock. Nichols returned to the game with an obvious hitch and knocked down one of the biggest 3’s of the season for the Jayhawks when they needed it most. Davis added a fast-break layup on the next possession to extend the Jayhawks’ lead to three, but SDSU equalized at 70-70 with another basket from downtown.
Nichols added a jumper before the midway mark of the period to take a 72-70 edge and Davis made two free throws seconds later.
The two squads exchanged scores over the next few minutes and heading into the final minute, KU led 80-74.
After SDSU cut the deficit back to four, the Aztecs drew an offensive foul on Fandel on the ensuing play to get the ball back. The officials went to the monitor to review for a possible upgrade and determined that the foul met flagrant 1 criteria, meaning SDSU got two free throws and the ball.
The Aztecs made both flagrant free throws and inbounded with just over 30 seconds left, but a missed 3-pointer and rebound by the Jayhawks sealed the deal as Kansas headed to the WBIT semifinals with a 85-78 win. The Jayhawks won seven consecutive games at Allen Fieldhouse to close out the home schedule.
Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World
