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

Kansas guard S'Mya Nichols shoots a 3-point shot over Lindenwood defenders on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

Kansas was without fifth-year senior Wyvette Mayberry in its season opener against Lindenwood on Wednesday night, leaving sophomore S’Mya Nichols as the only returning starter in the lineup.

The result was a much less balanced Jayhawk offense than what KU displayed last year, as Nichols and freshman Regan Williams were the only two players to score in double digits in Kansas’ much-too-close 56-43 win over Lindenwood.

Head coach Brandon Schneider clarified after the game that he considers Mayberry to be day-to-day and is “maybe a little bit more optimistic than I should be,” but said she should be back soon and they’re taking this time off more as a precaution than anything.

“Our defensive intensity wasn’t as high as it normally is. She gives great energy on the defensive side and brings speed on the offensive side, so of course we missed her,” Nichols said of Mayberry’s absence. “We could have used her for sure because the game didn’t go as we planned.”

The Jayhawks had looked well-coached and disciplined on defense to start the game, but couldn’t get the shots to fall. Nichols got the seal off the basket before Sania Copeland and Brittany Harshaw hit back-to-back 3s in transition to take an 8-2 lead heading into the first media timeout. The second half of the quarter saw three points scored for each team, as Elle Evans started 0-for-5 from the floor and Nichols was the only Jayhawk with multiple baskets after 10 minutes of play.

With an offensive foul and turnover on the opening possessions of the second quarter, Kansas’ sluggish start continued. Then back-to-back 3-pointers from Nichols and Harshaw put the Jayhawks up 17-9. Harshaw’s 3 sparked a 15-point run which impressively coincided with Kansas’ second unit being on the floor, saving Nichols some energy with her main on-ball partner Mayberry out for the night.

“It’s a lot faster when (Mayberry) is on as well,” Nichols said. “She knows how to get to the paint really fast, just like full court is easy for her. And we probably would’ve had more distribution for the 3.”

The run included two Harshaw triples and an impressive sequence in which Carla Osma scored off a teammate’s miss then got a steal and another layup on the fast break. After taking a 29-9 lead with two minutes left in the second quarter, Kansas hit a scoring drought and allowed Lindenwood its first points since the six-minute mark to head into halftime with a 29-11 lead.

Despite the miscues and missed shots on offense, Kansas’ defense looked pretty strong, albeit against a Lindenwood squad that is much different than what their average Big 12 opponent will look like.

“Defensively I was really pleased in the first half, and then we just didn’t sustain it,” said Schneider, as his team allowed the Lions to shoot only about 18% from the floor in the half, including going 0-for-10 from beyond the arc.

Lindenwood came out of the break with a bit of a bigger lineup to challenge a team that had its two main post players, Williams and Nadira Eltayeb, at three fouls each early in the third.

“Our fives have got to foul less,” Schneider said after the game, as Williams and Eltayeb both ended with four fouls. “That’s my big issue right now, is they foul entirely too much.”

This prompted a six-point Lions run and three-minute field-goal drought for the Jayhawks as they saw their lead fall to 33-21. A defensive stop followed by a post-up for Danai Papadapoulou stemmed the bleeding and ended the drought as Kansas’ offense got back on track with two shots from Williams as she reentered the game to make it 43-26 heading into the fourth.

Kansas’ last 10 minutes of play epitomized its sloppy start to the year. The Jayhawks had two turnovers, which led to Schneider calling timeout with his team up 50-30. Then they missed a wide-open Copeland in the corner while everyone else got bunched up on half of the floor. A few possessions later they tried to force it inside to end a three-minute scoring drought, which led to yet another turnover, and after getting a defensive stop in transition, they allowed a final turnover below the basket to make it 50-38.

Williams ended the drought before adding another two points to end the night as Kansas’ second-leading scorer with 11.

“We didn’t move it well enough to really ever give the defense a chance to make a mistake,” Schneider said. “We’ve practiced enough and coached it enough that the ball should move better than it did (without Wyvette)… We’ve got to be more aggressive. We can’t be shooting nine free throws as a team.”

A few rushed possessions led to some extra points for the Lions at the end, as the Jayhawks hung on to win 56-43 in the opener.

“I need to do better on defense, I was told by my coaches,” Nichols said. “We had high intensity for a minute, we just let it drop toward the end. And that can’t happen in our future games.”

Nichols missed the final seven minutes of the game with what she described as a quad contusion, but said she was feeling OK after the game.

Both players and Schneider emphasized their disappointment in the team’s toughness during the close game, which is something Schneider had held in very high regard last year.

“I feel like our defense was good, but we just need to work on some more toughness aspects,” Harshaw said. “Finishing plays, rebounding, and getting to the free throw line.”

Kansas will have plenty of things to work on over the weekend in preparation for its Monday match against Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m., in which the Jayhawks will hope for Mayberry’s return.

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

Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols makes a jumper against Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas guard Brittany Harshaw makes a 3-pointer against Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas guard Elle Evans puts up a floater against Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas guard S’Mya Nichols drives into the paint against Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.

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

Kansas guard Laia Conesa defends Lindenwood’s Kiara Smith on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Lawrence.