photo by: Damon Young/Photo courtesy of KU Athletics

Kansas forward Tina Stephens looks to move past a TCU defender on Feb. 7, 2021, at Allen Fieldhouse.

A stellar start to the fourth quarter allowed the Kansas women’s basketball team to put an end to its four-game losing streak with an 82-72 win over TCU on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Freshman forward Ioanna Chatzileonti scored 11 of her career-high 17 points in the fourth. But the Jayhawks won the game on the defensive end of the floor, where TCU missed 13 of its first 16 shot attempts in the decisive period.

“I think it was energy and intensity,” said KU senior forward Tina Stephens, who led the team with 20 points. “I think we knew that we had to come out and give more effort.”

The Jayhawks (7-9 overall, 3-7 Big 12), who still trailed three minutes into the fourth, built an 11-point lead on the strength of their stops, and TCU shot 6-for-22 from the floor in the fourth.

A critical third quarter for the Jayhawks, who had trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, set the stage for the home team to pick up its first victory since Jan. 23 versus rival Kansas State.

“I thought really the entire second half we finished possessions much better,” KU head coach Brandon Schneider said of the Jayhawks’ defense. “We were really disappointed that at halftime we were down seven on the glass — it was a real focal point for this game to finish possessions.”

KU out-rebounded TCU 22-16 in the second half and 38-37 on the day.

After only scoring 25 points in the first half, KU put up 27 in the third, when Holly Kersgieter (15 points) and Aniya Thomas (11 points) both scored seven and Chatzileonti and Stephens each added six more apiece. KU shot 9-for-16 from the field, with no turnovers in the third and Thomas knocked down both of her 3-point attempts.

Stephens said Schneider and his staff presented a halftime message that helped the Jayhawks cut loose and outscore the Frogs 57-39 in the second half.

“Play, be free, have fun,” Stephens said of the mindset the Jayhawks needed. “I think you could kind of see that throughout the (second half).”

The recovery helped KU enter the fourth quarter in a three-point deficit, despite trailing by double digits four minutes into the the third quarter.

The Jayhawks were down, 33-25, entering the second half, after going 10-for-30 from the floor and 2-for-9 from 3-point range, with nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

KU actually jumped out to an 8-0 advantage to open the game, with Brooklyn Mitchell converting a pair of layups in transition and Stephens scoring inside, as well, after Zakiyah Franklin (10 points) scored the first basket of the afternoon.

That hot start in the opening 2:03 of play wouldn’t hold up, though, for the Jayhawks. TCU (7-9, 2-9) rallied quickly to tie the game at 11 before the end of the first quarter — a period in which KU ended up shooting 5-for-14 and turning the ball over seven times.

The visitors’ run kept rolling well into the second quarter, too. And by the time Aja Holmes (nine points) hit her third 3-pointer of the first half with 3:21 left in the second quarter, the Frogs’ one-time eight-point deficit had turned into a 13-point lead.

“I think we just wanted to keep fighting,” Stephens said of KU’s response to that early hole. “The game wasn’t over. There was still time on the clock, regardless of if we were down or not.”

KU is scheduled to play at No. 21 West Virginia (15-2, 9-2) on Wednesday.