Kansas junior Chandler Prater is jubilant during the game against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

The Jayhawks’ offense caught fire in the WNIT’s second round as the Kansas women took on the Missouri Tigers for their first Border Showdown since 2012. Kansas routed the Tigers 75-47 Monday at Allen Fieldhouse.

“I just love playing in rivalry games personally,” senior center Taiyanna Jackson said. “A lot of smiles. It’s fun when you’re winning… blowing them out.”

Junior guard Chandler Prater agreed.

“Being from Missouri and coming to Kansas, a lot of people don’t understand how deep the history goes, and everybody really knows ‘Are you KU or are you MU?'” she said.

Defense was the star of the show in the opening quarter. The Tigers went nearly seven minutes of play without scoring a basket before senior forward Hayley Frank’s buzzer-beating heave put Missouri on the board.

Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider was proud of his team in their first battle with the Tigers.

Kansas coach Brandon Schneider is jubilant during the game against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

“I was really pleased with how hard they competed…I think they really demonstrated how badly they wanted to represent the program and our school and our state,” Schneider said.

The Jayhawks opened on a 9-0 scoring run and put pressure on the Tigers as they struggled to drain a shot. Missouri immediately answered back, though, with a 7-0 scoring run of its own.

The Tigers forced Kansas to turn the ball over five times, resulting in four more shot attempts for Missouri and six points off those turnovers. Prater knew that the Jayhawks had to show up on the defensive end against MU.

“If we’re going to play, it’s two feet in,” Prater said, “We’re going to play to win; there’s no backing down.”

Kansas junior Chandler Prater is jubilant during the game against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

The shots started really falling in the second quarter with both defenses forced to defend the three-point line. Kansas converted a perfect 3-of-3 of its attempts from behind the arc, while the Tigers made 33% of their shots in the quarter.

KU went on multiple scoring runs in the quarter to help extend its lead to double-digits. Kansas saw an 8-0 scoring run and a 10-0 scoring run, led by senior guards Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin both with eight points in the second quarter. Franklin drilled a buzzer-beating midrange jump shot to end the half, giving the Jayhawks a 42-26 lead.

The Jayhawks’ starters all scored 6-plus points in the first half of the game. Franklin led the Jayhawks with 14 points on a hot 5-of-6 shooting and 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line. Kansas as a team shot 62% and 66% from three, while the Tigers shot 42% and 25% from deep.

Kansas senior Zakiyah Franklin (bottom) is celebrated by her teammates during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

The Tigers couldn’t find their rhythm out of halftime as their offense went ice cold. Missouri scored just six points in the entire third quarter and drained just two baskets, shooting 15%.

On the other hand, the Jayhawks continued their offensive attack and didn’t miss a beat out of the halftime break. Kansas converted 46% of its attempts from the floor while the three-point shooting dipped to 33%.

Junior guard Wyvette Mayberry scored six points in the third quarter, equalling the Tigers’ offensive production by herself, as KU upped its lead to 58-32.

Kansas tacked on 17 more points and outscored the Tigers in the final quarter of play as the Jayhawks cruised the rest of the way. KU picked up the 75-47 victory over Missouri to advance to the WNIT’s third round.

The Jayhawks will host the the Cornhuskers on Thursday, and Prater knows how valuable the home crowd will be.

“I feel so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to play in front of my family and people who love and support us,” Prater said. “I’m just so grateful for this opportunity to play in front of our fans again and get a chance to show Jayhawk nation that we still got more to come. We’re not quitting and we’re ready to finish out for y’all.”

Franklin led the Jayhawks with a game-high 21 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting, with 5-of-6 makes coming from behind the 3-point line. All five Kansas starters scored 12-plus points in an all-around performance.

Jackson marked her name in the history books once again, breaking her own school record in single-season blocks. Jackson recorded two blocks against the Tigers on Monday, bringing her total to 96 blocks on the year, with at least one more game to come for the Jayhawks.

Kansas moves on to the third round and will host Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. Thursday on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Kansas senior Taiyanna Jackson is jubilant against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

Kansas senior Holly Kersgieter shoots the ball against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

Kansas senior Taiyanna Jackson attempts to block a shot against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.

Kansas senior Taiyanna Jackson drives the ball against Missouri during the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20, 2023. Kansas advances with a 75-45 win over Missouri.