Kansas women’s basketball seniors made statement with Big 12 Tournament win over BYU

The farewell tour for this group of Kansas women’s basketball seniors is in full swing, now with a statement 77-53 victory heavily backed by KU’s veterans over No. 7 seed BYU.

Friday’s win marks the first Big 12 Tournament victory for Kansas since the 2018-19 season. The Jayhawks advanced into the Big 12 quarterfinal round at T-Mobile Center, to be played on Saturday, March 9.

“I know in the back of my mind, that’s kind of the first thing I’m thinking about when we won,” super-senior guard Holly Kersgieter said. “How long we’ve been here, how long we’ve been fighting for this win ... and then to come out and capitalize (on) it like that and have such a large margin of victory. It’s kind of just something extra special to have to celebrate.”

KU guard Zakiyah Franklin, another super-senior, was the standout for the Jayhawks, leading the contest with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Kansas starters followed suit with double-digit points, including Wyvette Mayberry (14), Taiyanna Jackson (12 points) and Kersgieter (11 points).

“Just getting the ball in the lane,” Franklin said. “We know that our percentage overall offensively is good whenever we get paint touches, so that’s all I wanted to do is attack the rim.”

Heading into Friday’s matchup, the Jayhawks had to be aware of BYU’s Lauren Gustin after her 33-point outburst in the teams’ last meeting in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 17. But Kansas limited the All-Big 12 first-teamer, who was defended by Jackson, to just 10 points on the night.

“People asked me about the matchup, and I just wanted there to be an actual matchup,” head coach Brandon Schneider said. “And tonight, fortunately for us, (Jackson) was able to be in, and I don’t think we ever took her out for foul trouble.”

Jackson had four fouls in the previous meeting.

“That was an important piece,” Schneider continued.

An early 7-0 run for the Jayhawks on the back of two layups from Jackson and a 3-pointer from Mayberry provided momentum out of the gate, but BYU’s Kailey Woolston drained back-to-back shots from behind the arc to set the back-and-forth tone for the first half.

Mayberry sunk another 3 in the first quarter, but Woolston answered.

BYU held the lead for most of the early part of the game, but the Jayhawks chipped away and grabbed a 32-31 advantage on a Ryan Cobbins jumper. Kansas finished the half leading 35-33.

“I thought our guys adjusted very well defensively late in the second quarter and then in the second half in terms of just doing a better job guarding the ball and protecting the paint,” Schneider said. “I thought BYU was terrific early in the game and attacking the paint, forcing us into a lot of situations where we had to rotate. So once we shortened that up, I was proud of how we defended.”

The momentum swing in the late moments of the first half carried over for the Jayhawks, who scored 42 points in the second half, including an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter. The Jayhawks never looked back en route to their 24-point victory.

Friday’s win advances the Jayhawks to a Saturday quarterfinal against the No. 2-seeded Texas Longhorns in UT’s final Big 12 Tournament before departing for the SEC. The lone meeting this season resulted in a painful loss for the Jayhawks, a 91-56 defeat in Austin on Jan. 16.

“The good thing about coaching is you can turn on a film in early January and not recognize the team,” Schneider said. “We’re not even close to being the same team that we were in early January, and I give the players a lot of credit for that for growing and improving.

“With that being said, Texas is Final Four, National Championship good, led by a freshman (Madison Booker, averaging 16.5 points per game) who just had an incredible year. So very, very difficult challenge, especially on a short turnaround like this.”

But, as Schneider said, the Jayhawks have built themselves up into a stronger position than mid-January, winning nine of their last 10.

“I think we’re defending great,” Schneider said. “I think that’s something that’s really been at the forefront of our improvement and in our turnaround. But to compete at the highest level, you’re going to have to have a balanced offense and elite execution against a defense like Texas, so we’ll do everything we can to put together a complete game.”

Tipoff for Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup is slated for 5:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Center.