Via Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Five Jayhawks scored in double figures as the Kansas Jayhawks improved to 6-0 with an 86-75 victory over Oral Roberts 86-75 Sunday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse.
S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 15 points and five assists, while Elle Evans added 12 and Laia Conesa had 11. KU had two freshmen set new career highs in scoring as Tatyonna Brown was 6-for-7 from the field for 12 points, while Keeley Parks knocked down three three-pointers and finished with 11 points in the win.
With the win, Kansas is now 6-0 on the year, while Oral Roberts moves to 2-5.
“I think it’s easy to look at giving up 75 points and say your defense was terrible. I know our team feels that way right now, but that’s not always accurate,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said postgame. “I just think it was inconsistent, and that’s where we have to be mentally tougher.
“I was very pleased with the contributions from Keeley and Tatyonna off the bench,” Schneider continued. “I think Keeley has really shown the last two games that she’s trending in the right direction. It was great to see Tatyonna finish around the basket and she rebounded the ball well.”
Oral Roberts scored the first basket of the game and led 7-4 three minutes into the game before Kansas went on a 10-0 run that included three-pointers from Parks and Lilly Meister to take the lead. Coming out of the first media timeout, Kansas continued its run as Brown and Conesa each picked up their first points of the game and Parks knocked down another three-pointer to put the Jayhawks up 21-7 and stretch the run to 17-0. The Golden Eagles were able to cut into the lead, going on a 7-2 run to end the quarter, but the Jayhawks still led 25-14 heading into the break.
At the start of the second quarter, Kansas was able to expand its lead thanks to three-pointers from Nichols and Evans as the margin reached 15, 35-20, at the 6:27 mark. ORU answered with the next 12 points to cut the Jayhawks’ lead to three, before Evans ended it with a three-pointer that made it 38-32. Kansas was able to maintain its six point lead as Nichols and Conesa made a combined four free throws, but an ORU three-pointer as time expired in the second quarter, cut the lead to 42-37 at the break.
The Eagles opened up the scoring in the second half with a layup, but Kansas was able to respond with a Sania Copeland three-pointer. After an ORU basket, Evans made back-to-back three-pointers which sparked a 9-0 run, putting Kansas up 56-41 at the 5:17 mark. The Jayhawks were able to sustain their momentum and took an 18 point lead after Libby Fandel converted an and-one opportunity, making the score 67-49 with 2:16 left in the third quarter. Kansas then took its biggest lead of the game, 71-51, before the Eagles scored and closed the quarter at 71-53.
The fourth quarter opened with Kansas and ORU trading baskets, with Meister leading the way for the Jayhawks, scoring the team’s first four points of the quarter. ORU was able to cut into the lead with a 6-0 run to make the score 77-64 with 5:32 left to play. With 3:40 left in the game, Parks made her third three-pointer of the game, but ORU responded with a three of their own to keep the Kansas lead at 13, 84-71. The Eagles’ three-pointer triggered a 7-0 ORU run to cut the lead to single digits, 84-75, with 1:44 to play. Kansas was able to hold off the ORU comeback as Brown ended the run with her sixth basket of the game, helping Kansas win 86-75.
Kansas will spend Thanksgiving week in Florida, where KU will compete at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The Jayhawks will face Georgia (Nov. 28) and Dayton (Nov. 29) in the event, with both games tipping off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ION.
