photo by: Emma Pravecek/Kansas Athletics

KU's Chandler Prater looks to make a pass during the Jayhawks' home game against TCU on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023.

Junior guard Chandler Prater tied her career high in scoring and Kansas powered past TCU 73-55 on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse for a much-needed Big 12 win.

Prater, who led all scorers with 19 points in 32 minutes, also grabbed five rebounds and recorded four assists. She gave KU a boost on both ends of the court, and her teammates and coach certainly took note.

“Chandler, she brings a lot to the team,” senior guard Zakiyah Franklin said. “Toughness for one, just her passion for the game and her energy. We use that and feed off that all the time.”

“She played four different positions today, and I think that just speaks to her basketball IQ because you don’t get reps at four different positions in practice,” head coach Brandon Schneider said. “She’s so valuable.”

From the get-go, Kansas (15-7, 5-6 in Big 12 play) was showing off its toughness and intensity on defense, managing to get contested defense on nearly every shot attempt in the first quarter. TCU (6-17, 0-12 in Big 12 play) was held to just 15% shooting from the floor in the first frame, making just two shots. and it couldn’t find any points in the paint.

That wasn’t true for the Jayhawks, however, who attacked the paint constantly. Senior center Taiyanna Jackson dominated inside early with six points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in the first quarter alone. KU ended the quarter on an 11-2 scoring run and entered the second frame with a 15-8 lead.

“We just wanted to pressure the ball and kind of build our identity because, lately, we haven’t been doing the best of that,” Franklin said.

Kansas continued its defensive pressure on every possession, creating six TCU turnovers in the second quarter. The defense was so stifling that the Horned Frogs ended the first half with only five made field goals.

On offense, Prater started to catch fire in the second quarter, scoring more points — 12 — than the entire TCU team. She shot 4-of-5 for the period, including two made 3-pointers. As a team, KU nailed 60% of its shots in the second quarter and scored 24 points, and it led 39-19 at the half.

KU’s offense cooled off in the third quarter; the Jayhawks made 4 of 14 shots and scored only 11 points, with seven of those coming from Franklin. The Horned Frogs also started to find some success in the paint, and their defense stepped up, forcing eight turnovers and making KU shoot from longer distances.

But even that didn’t work for the visitors for long, as KU found its touch from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. Three Jayhawks made 3-pointers, including two from senior guard Holly Kersgieter. Kansas converted 50% of its shots in the final quarter.

In total, Jackson had a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double, and Franklin scored 18 points with seven assists and four rebounds. Four of KU’s starters scored in double digits.

Up next, the Jayhawks will travel to Texas Tech at 2 p.m. Saturday.