FORT WORTH, Texas – The Kansas Jayhawks cut a 13-point first quarter deficit to two on three occasions in the second half before No. 12 TCU held on for a 79-77 victory Thursday evening at Schollmaier Arena.
Jaliya Davis scored 29 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds, while S’Mya Nichols had 24 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Jayhawks. The point total by Davis is the highest this season by a freshman against a Top 25 team in Division I women’s basketball this season, while it marks the fifth time this season that Kansas has had two players score 20 or more points in the same game.
The teams shot an identical 50 percent from the field, hitting 28-of-56 field goal attempts, but TCU hit 10 three-pointers in the game compared to two for the Jayhawks. Kansas made up much of the difference at the free throw line, hitting 19-of-24 attempts at the stripe compared to 13-of-29 for the Horned Frogs.
The defeat ends KU’s two-game winning streak and drops the Jayhawks to 13-9 (3-7 Big 12) on the year. TCU improves to 20-2 and stays atop the Big 12 at 8-1 in league play. Kansas returns home to host Colorado on Sunday, Feb 1, for a game that will tip at 2 p.m. CT from Allen Fieldhouse and be broadcast on ESPN+.
“To start the game, I don’t think we played with the confidence necessary to compete against a team of TCU’s caliber,” Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider said after the game. “For the last 30 minutes, I thought we regained our composure and played with the poise required to get back in the game. I’m proud of our group for their resilience and fight.”
TCU hit its first six three-pointers of the game, building an early lead of double figures at 12-2 before Davis and Regan Williams combined for the next seven Kansas points. KU settled in offensively and shot 63.6 percent (7-11) from the field in the first quarter, but turned the ball over six times. TCU hit six three-pointers and shot 68.8 percent (11-16) from the field to hold a 30-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Davis scored the first eight points of the second quarter for Kansas, while KU’s defense held TCU to 1-7 shooting to open the quarter. The Jayhawks got as close as six at 35-29 after Nichols knocked down a jumper with 4:46 to play in the half. KU scored its last six points of the half from the free throw line as they went into the locker room down 45-37.
Kansas kept the defensive intensity early in the third quarter and closed to within once before TCU pushed its lead back out to eight at 56-48 with 6:18 to play. Lilly Meister and Nichols scored baskets before Sania Copeland knocked down a pair of free throws, capping a 6-0 run that got KU within two, 56-54, for the first time since the first quarter. TCU closed the quarter on a 9-2 run that featured five free throws, and the Horned Frogs led 65-56 with 10 minutes to play.
The Jayhawks methodically cut into the lead again early in the fourth quarter, opening the quarter on a 9-2 run to get within two on a Davis basket that made it 67-65 with 3:58 to play.
After TCU’s Olivia Miles scored three-straight points for the Horned Frogs, the Jayhawks went back to Nichols to cut TCU’s lead to 70-67. TCU would respond with a 3-pointer, which Kansas would trade baskets before a 3-pointer from Nichols to keep TCU close at 75-72 with 43 seconds remaining.
Both teams would trade baskets in the final 20 seconds, but TCU was able to extend its lead to 79-74 with a pair of free throws. In the final seconds, Nichols knocked down a 3-pointer to give her 24 points for the game. With under a second remaining, TCU was called for an offensive foul, but Kansas wasn’t able to get a shot off as Kansas fell 79-77.
NOTES
- Kansas shot 50% (28-of-56) on Thursday night as the Jayhawks have now shot 50% or better from the field six times during conference play, including in each of the last three games.
- Kansas freshman Jaliya Davis scored 29 points on 11-of-19 from the field, registering her 10th game with 20+ points, which is tied for the 14th most in school history for a single season. Davis has done so in eight of the past nine games.
- Davis’ 29 points are the most by a freshman against a Division I Top-25 team this season.
- Davis also set a career-high in rebounds with nine, surpassing her previous high of eight, which she has done three times this season.
- Kansas junior S’Mya Nichols scored 24 points on 8-of-13 from the field, marking her 10th 20+ point performance of the season and 34th of her career.
- With Davis and NIchols scoring 20+ points, Kansas has now had five games with two or more players scoring 20+ points in a single game this season. Davis and Nichols have been the players to both score 20+ in three of those five games.
