photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas sophomore Laia Conesa defends against Baylor guard Jada Walker on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

Kansas women’s basketball picked a bad night to have a poor shooting performance. In the team’s Big 12 Conference opener against Baylor, the Jayhawks struggled to hit shots and keep up with the Bears, ultimately losing 86-66 at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday evening.

With 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting, guard S’Mya Nichols was KU’s lone consistent scoring option. The rest of the Jayhawks went a combined 11-for-44 (25%) from the field, while Baylor shot 45.9%, hit a dozen 3-pointers and got five scorers to double figures, led by guard Sarah Andrews (19 points and six assists).

KU’s offense struggled to get open looks from the early stages of the game. The Jayhawks attacked the paint but couldn’t generate many high-percentage shots. Nichols hit the Jayhawks’ first two buckets, one of them in an acrobatic fashion, but the rest of the team couldn’t follow through. KU was 1-for-9 outside of Nichols in the first quarter.

Early in the game, the Bears ran their offense through senior center Aaronette Vonleh (16 points), who proved to be a tough matchup on defense for the Jayhawks. Vonleh had four early points as the Bears led 16-9 through 10 minutes.

Eventually, the Jayhawks were able to manufacture some open shots. Elle Evans was the main beneficiary, but her shots didn’t fall for most of the game. Evans started 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 from distance. Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said it was mainly due to Baylor’s defense, but it was also an off-night for the team’s second-leading scorer, who finished with 13 points on 3-for-19 shooting.

“A lot of it was their defense, and some of it was Elle is trying to be more aggressive, and she is being more aggressive,” Schneider said. “She just got a little too deep on some tough 2s, taking some challenging shots. I thought Vonleh did a really good job.”

The second quarter was similar, although the Jayhawks eventually got in foul trouble. Evans hit two 3-pointers in the second quarter, which boosted the struggling Kansas offense.

Baylor started to pull away and took a 20-point lead, but the Jayhawks had a near-perfect final minute of the half. Evans hit two free throws, and the Bears missed their shot on the following possession. Redshirt senior center Nadira Eltayeb went to the free throw line and made one of two shots with four seconds on the clock. Instead of Baylor getting a last-second heave, Laia Conesa stole the ball and passed to Evans, who hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer.

The shot moved the Jayhawks to a 13-point deficit just over a minute after the Bears had extended their lead to 19.

“It’s a huge play,” Schneider said. “(It’s) a little bit of momentum after playing so poorly, having a little bit of momentum and something positive happen before going into halftime. It’s important.”

Kansas almost had a similar play to start the second half when Sania Copeland stole the ball, but Evans missed a jump shot that the Bears turned into a bucket on the other end. The play was representative of the game for Kansas. Even when the team made a momentum-swinging play, the Jayhawks struggled to capitalize on it.

Facing some foul trouble, KU switched to a zone defense, but the Bears’ guards were able to hit 3-pointers throughout the second half. Even when the Jayhawks prevented entry passes to the paint, the Bears scored at will.

“The advantage that a team like Baylor has is they also have elite guard play,” Schneider said. “They made 12 3s. It was really people like (Jada) Walker who stepped up and made some.”

Another slow offensive quarter gave the Bears a 26-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Bears had pushed their lead to 30 points late in the third quarter, but a 3-pointer from Nichols and a free throw from Conesa gave the Jayhawks some life.

The final quarter was the best for KU. Players were hitting shots at their typical rate, and the team’s defense increased the pressure on Baylor. It was the only quarter in which the Jayhawks outscored the Bears, but it came too late. Already in foul trouble, the Jayhawks couldn’t overcome the deficit.

Nichols said the biggest lesson of the game was that the team needs to be more physical in conference play. Schneider later echoed the sentiment. Even as a sophomore, Nichols is the only Jayhawk with extensive experience in the Big 12, so the rest of the team will have to learn quickly how to match the physicality of the conference’s best.

“All we can do is learn from it, and we need to get more physical and really dial in on our scout,” Nichols said.

The experience could be a needed eye-opener before the conference season gets into full gear after the holiday break. The Jayhawks will take a brief hiatus until New Year’s Day, when they travel to Iowa State at 2 p.m.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols floats in a layup against Baylor on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Elle Evans makes a buzzer-beating 3-point shot to end the first half against Baylor on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Elle Evans jets past a Baylor defender on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Sania Copeland drives the paint against Baylor on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Brittney Harshaw drives past a Baylor defender on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

photo by: Landon Cory/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard Elle Evans lobs a 3 over a Baylor defender on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Lawrence.

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