Via Kansas Athletics
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – A slow start turned costly as the Kansas Jayhawks suffered a 76-43 defeat against No. 18 West Virginia on Wednesday evening at WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia scored the first 18 points of the game and led 18-6 at the end of the first quarter after capitalizing on 13 Kansas turnovers. WVU extended the lead in each of the final three quarters and forced the Jayhawks into 29 turnovers, matching a season-high.
Kansas was led by S’Mya Nichols who scored 12 points and pulled down three rebounds. Laia Conesa finished with seven points, three assists and a career-high five steals. Elle Evans, Brittany Harshaw and Regan Williams had a team-high four rebounds each, while Williams also recorded a career-high three blocked shots.
The Jayhawks tied a season-high with 14 steals and turned 20 West Virginia turnovers into 15 points. Nine different players scored for Kansas in the game, combining to hit 16-of-43 (37.2 percent) field goal attempts and 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) three-pointers.
“We did not at all handle the defensive pressure and being pressed in the full court well, particularly in the first quarter,” said Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider. “Defensively, we did some good things and we did a better job in the second half of keeping them off the offensive boards and taking care of the ball. We have to learn to be more in attack mode against pressure.”
Kansas is now 14-9 on the year and 4-8 in Big 12 play following two-straight defeats against ranked opponents. West Virginia improves to 18-4 (8-3 Big 12).
Up Next
Kansas concludes its road trip on Saturday, Feb. 8, with its first-ever trip to Fifth Third Arena to face the Cincinnati Bearcats. Tipoff from Cincinnati is set for 11 a.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
