photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World Photo

Kansas senior Taiyanna Jackson drives to the basket against Wichita State. Kansas won 72-52 on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022.

Kansas center Taiyanna Jackson’s monster season continued last weekend, with a 17-point, 19-rebound performance in a road win at Oklahoma State.

It marked her Big 12-best eighth double-double of the season to date — in 12 games — and led to her being named the conference’s co-player of the week. She shared the honor with Texas’ Rori Harmon, who averaged 15 points, 11.5 assists, seven rebounds and two steals in a pair of UT wins last week.

The 6-foot-6 Jackson hit eight of the 13 shots she attempted and her only free throw while adding two assists, one block and one steal in 29 minutes. It was the third consecutive double-double for the senior from East Chicago, Indiana, and the third game this season where she finished with 15 rebounds or better. Jackson had 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, leading No. 21 Kansas to a 1-0 start in Big 12 play.

Jackson currently leads the Big 12 in rebounds (12.2 per game) and field goal percentage (65.8%) and ranks second with 30 blocks. She’s also fourth in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.9 points per game.

Jackson becomes the second Jayhawk to earn a Big 12 weekly honor this season, joining senior Zakiyah Franklin, who was named the Big 12 player of the week on Dec. 19. Prior to that, the KU women’s program had not had a Big 12 player of the week honoree since 2019.

Up next

The 21st-ranked Jayhawks will play host to Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Wednesday in KU’s conference home opener at Allen Fieldhouse.

The game will be shown on ESPN+ and the Red Raiders enter the game at 12-2 overall and 0-1 in Big 12 play. Tech lost to No. 15 Iowa State, 81-58, in its Big 12 opener last weekend in Lubbock, Texas.

That snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Red Raiders, which included wins over Colorado, Sam Houston State and Oral Roberts.

Player on the move

KU freshman Bella Swedlund, a 5-foot-8 guard from Winner, South Dakota, announced on Monday that she was entering the transfer portal.

Swedlund, a three-star prospect who was ranked as the No. 25 point guard in her class by ESPN.com, has not appeared in a game for KU yet this season. She’ll have four years of eligibility remaining at her next stop.

Her departure seems to come on good terms. In her announcement, she thanked the coaching staff and university for making her “dream come true.” Current KU star Holly Kersgieter responded to Swedlund’s social media announcement with, “Bell, I love you and (am) so proud of you.”

Swedlund replied, “Go get that title. Love you, H.”

Players have until Jan. 19 to formally enter the transfer portal and be able to enroll at a new school in time for the spring semester.