Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 21 Oklahoma State scored the final six points to defeat Kansas 57-51 on Senior Day at Allen Fieldhouse.
S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 16 points and was the only KU player to reach double figures in scoring. Laia Conesa added eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and a career high six assists, while Danai Papadopoulou made the most of her Senior Day as she tied her career high in points with eight and tied a career high with seven rebounds.
Kansas finishes the regular season at 16-13 (6-12 in Big 12) while Oklahoma State improves to 24-5 (13-4 in Big 12) heading into the conference tournament.
“I was really proud of how hard our players played for each other today,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said postgame. “I think we always talk about how we want to represent Kansas, and our community, and our state, but at the end of the day, it starts with how hard you play for each other. I thought we played our guts out when we’re obviously short handed.”
Kansas scored its first four points on jumpers by Nichols and Regan Williams. Nichols added another two from a reverse layup to tie the opening frame at 6-6 four minutes into play. A Conesa free throw was the last point of the quarter for KU, as the first quarter ended with Kansas down 15-7.
The Kansas scoring drought continued into the first three minutes of the second quarter before Nichols ended it with a traditional three-point play to lessen the deficit at 17-10. The Jayhawks locked down OSU’s offense for almost six minutes while capitalizing on a 9-0 run to tie it up at 19 before a last second Cowgirl three put them back up 22-19 heading into halftime.
Papadopoulou and Williams each added baskets while Sania Copeland knocked down the Jayhawks first triple of the day in the first five minutes of the second half. The Cowgirls added seven points of their own to keep their advantage of three at 29-26 at the media break. Both teams tallied eight more points to end the quarter as KU was led by five Conesa points to head into final action narrowly behind 37-34.
OSU scored six straight to push its lead back out to 43-35, before Papadopoulou free throws and a personal 5-0 run by Nichols got Kansas back within two at 44-42 with less than six minutes to go. Exiting the final media break, Nichols knocked in two free throws while Nadira Eltayeb contributed five points to tie the game up at 49-49 with 3:25 remaining.
OSU scored another basket, but Nichols quickly tied it up again at 51-all with a layup at the 2:04 mark. The Cowgirls hit a three-pointer on their next possession and closed out the game on a 6-0 run after hitting three free throws in the final 27 seconds.
Up Next
Kansas opens up play at the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday, March 5. Tipoff from the T-Mobile Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, is set for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Postgame Notes
Individual Notes
– Making her first career start, Danai Papadopoulou tied her career highs with eight points and seven rebounds. She also established a new career high with two blocked shots.
– S’Mya Nichols was the only Jayhawk in double figures as she finished with 16 points and three rebounds. She has now scored 10+ points 26 times in 29 games this season and 55 times total in her career. Nichols passed Shebra Legrant (1,044) and Krysten Boogaard (1,051) on KU’s career scoring list, moving to No. 30 with 1,057 career points. By going 3-of-3 from the charity stripe, Nichols is now tied with Jaclyn Johnson (1998-01) for ninth all time in career free-throws at 382.
– Laia Conesa finished with a career high of six assists while contributing eight points, eight rebounds and three steals.
– In 13 minutes of action, Regan Williams finished with five points, seven rebounds, and block
– Nadira Eltayeb scored five points and grabbed five rebounds in 13 minutes of play.
