Via Kansas Athletics
AMES, Iowa – No. 10 Iowa State needed all 40 minutes to hold off the Kansas Jayhawks for a 79-76 victory Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. The game was tied at 76-all in the closing seconds, and ISU’s Mackenzie Hare sank a corner three-pointer for the victory as time expired.
S’Mya Nichols led the Jayhawks with 29 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Iowa native Libby Fandel, playing her first collegiate game in her home state, scored a career-high 18 points. Fandel sank 7-of-16 field goal attempts and 4-of-9 three-pointers. Keeley Parks added nine points and Elle Evans had eight.
Kansas opens Big 12 Conference play with a defeat, falling to 10-3 (0-1 Big 12) on the year. No. 10 Iowa State remains unbeaten at 13-0 (1-0 Big 12) on the year. Kansas returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 1, hosting West Virginia at Allen Fieldhouse in a game set for noon CT on ESPN+.
“Ultimately, you have to have players who are confident in themselves individually, confident in each other, and confident in their coaching staff, and I thought our team demonstrated that today,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said after the game. “I thought we played with a lot of courage on offense, and played with great urgency on defense.”
“Libby was terrific,” Schneider continued. “We talked a lot about courage, and in this environment, and the way that Iowa State plays, and how much attention they’re going to give certain players, like S’mya, other players have to be ready to play with great confidence, and shoot shots that we know we’re capable of making. I thought Libby, Keeley and Laia Conesa all demonstrated that.”
Fandel scored 11 points in the first quarter, hitting three three-pointers as the Jayhawks took an early advantage in the game. Kansas never trailed in the first quarter and led by as many as eight points before holding a 20-14 edge at the end of the quarter, which saw KU hit 7-of-14 field goals and 4-of-7 threes.
Iowa State opened the second quarter on a 10-1 run, taking their first lead of the afternoon at 24-21 with 5:33 to play in the half. Parks quickly answered with a three-pointer, one of two she knocked down as part of an 8-0 run that put Kansas on top 29-24 with 3:50 left in the half. ISU scored six of the next eight points before Laia Conesa knocked down a three-pointer to send the Jayhawks into halftime leading 34-32.
Kansas scored the first two baskets and led 38-32 less than one minute into the third quarter, but ISU answered with the next six points to tie the game at the 7:57 mark. The teams went back-and-forth with seven lead changes in the quarter, before the Cyclones used a 6-0 run to go up 55-50 and force a Jayhawk timeout with 1:37 to play in the third. Nichols and Evans combined for a quick 4-0 spurt to get KU back within one at 54-55, but ISU closed out the quarter with a basket and two free throws to lead 59-55.
Iowa State opened the fourth quarter with the first seven points, building their first double-figure lead of the day at 66-55 with 8:29 to play. The Cyclones led by 11 on three occasions, the last at 70-59, before KU went on a 10-0 run that included baskets from Nadira Eltayeb and Fandel followed by three-pointers from Laia Conesa and Nichols.
Kansas continued to stay close down the stretch and Nichols scored four points in the final minute to tie the score at 76-all on a jumper in the lane with five seconds remaining. After Iowa State called timeout to advance the ball to the front court, the Cyclones got an open look from Hare, who knocked down the corner three-pointer as time expired.
