photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas guard S'Mya Nichols sets up the offense as she brings the ball down the court during the Jayhawks' game against Haskell on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

In its first conference game of the season, Kansas women’s basketball hit the road to take on No. 10 Iowa State on Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks sought their first win in Ames, Iowa, since January 2015, but were unable to finish it off as junior guard Kenzie Hare hit a corner 3 as time expired to keep the Cyclones undefeated and hand Kansas its first loss since the end of November.

Junior guard S’Mya Nichols paced the Jayhawks in scoring with 29 points, including 12 in the final quarter of action, while Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks led all scorers with 41 points on 19-of-28 shooting from the field. Hare’s shot was just the second 3-pointer of the game on eight attempts for the Cyclones.

“Ultimately, you have to have players who are confident in themselves individually, confident in each other, and confident in their coaching staff, and I thought our team demonstrated that today,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said in a press release. “I thought we played with a lot of courage on offense and played with great urgency on defense.”

Two freshmen, guards Keeley Parks and Libby Fandel, played big roles for Kansas on Sunday. Parks finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range and Fandel set her new career high with 18 points, which included her going 4-for-9 from downtown.

“Libby was terrific,” Schneider added. “We talked a lot about courage, and in this environment, and the way that Iowa State plays, and how much attention they’re going to give certain players, like S’Mya, other players have to be ready to play with great confidence, and shoot shots that we know we’re capable of making. I thought Libby, Keeley and Laia Conesa all demonstrated that.”

Senior forward Lilly Meister set the tone early with the first bucket of the game, a layup against Crooks, to give Kansas the early lead. Crooks returned the favor on the Iowa State end to knot it up at 2-2 before Fandel hit her first of three 3-pointers of the first quarter. Nichols also got in on the scoring, with seven points of her own in the first including one made 3.

The Cyclones were unable to assist Crooks in the first, with ten of Iowa State’s 14 points coming out of the hand of its star forward, and the Jayhawks ended the first quarter of action with a 20-14 lead.

In the second, Crooks again shouldered the heavy load for the Cyclones. After senior guard Jada Williams started the scoring, Crooks gave Iowa State its first lead of the matchup with a layup and the Cyclones went up 22-21. After senior forward Addy Brown increased the lead to three, Parks brought the teams back even with her first make of the afternoon from beyond the arc.

Senior guard Elle Evans found nylon to add to the Kansas lead before Parks drained her second 3-pointer in just over a minute, giving the Jayhawks a 29-24 lead. Iowa State powered back, closing the gap to one point, but a made jumper by Nichols kept them just far enough away.

After Crooks took the lead back for the Cyclones late in the second, Conesa drained a corner 3 to give Kansas the advantage once again, 34-32. After Iowa State missed on the other end, the Jayhawks held for the final shot of the half and Nichols’ jumper was off, sending Kansas into the half with a two-point advantage.

Meister opened the second half with a mid-range jumper and Nichols found the net from beneath after a steal of her own to give Kansas a large lead early, but Iowa State awoke quickly and tied the game 38-38.

Three-pointers by Fandel and Parks helped offset an and-1 by Crooks as Kansas took the lead back, 46-45.

Late in the third, the two teams exchanged points before Jada Williams made a layup to give Iowa State the lead back and two buckets from junior forward Alisa Williams extended the Cyclones’ lead to five.

Schneider used a timeout for the Jayhawks to regroup and they came out of the break with a new energy. Nichols drew a foul and made both from the charity strip before Evans made the layup to bring the Jayhawks within one.

Crooks scored her 30th and 31st points of the game to extend the Cyclone lead to three before Jada Williams cashed in both of her free attempts from the free throw line to give Iowa State a 59-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final period of action, the Cyclones finally made a 3-point bucket when Jada Williams cashed in from deep. Iowa State had been 0-for-5 from beyond the arc previously.

After this bucket, Kansas couldn’t find its footing. The Cyclones went on a 9-0 run and found themselves leading the Jayhawks 66-57 just two minutes into the fourth quarter. Fandel and Nichols added buckets of their own, but the momentum was squarely with Iowa State.

Senior forward Nadira Eltayeb scored through a foul bucket, but after she missed the free attempt, Kansas still trailed 70-61 and the Jayhawks took a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Fandel cleaned up a miss for two more points and set her new career high. After a miss by the Cyclones, Conesa cashed in from 3 and brought Kansas back within four points. The Jayhawks had an opportunity to draw within one possession, but a steal by Iowa State gave them the ball right back.

The two teams exchanged empty possessions for a minute before Nichols drained one from deep to draw Kansas within one, 70-69, and Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly used a timeout so Crooks could reenter the game for the Cyclones.

Crooks immediately scored twice to increase her daily total to 39, but Nichols fired right back. She hit another from beyond the arc and brought the Jayhawks within two again, but Crooks was unstoppable. Another layup increased the Cyclone lead to four and gave Crooks her third 40-plus point game of the season, the most in Division I.

On the other end, Nichols drove and was fouled, awarding her two free throws, which she made. With a 76-74 lead, Iowa State was looking for the dagger, but good defense by the Jayhawks kept the Cyclones from scoring and Kansas had the ball with 16 seconds left and trailing by two.

On the inbound, Kansas moved the ball but found Nichols, who went up and over a defender from mid-range with a floater to tie the game with just five seconds left.

Iowa State took a timeout and inbounded from its baseline. After looking for an open shooter, the Cyclones found Hare in the corner, and she in turn found nothing but nylon, allowing the Cyclones to escape with a 79-76 victory.

The Jayhawks (10-3, 0-1) now head into Christmas break before they return to Lawrence for their conference home opener against West Virginia on New Year’s Day. That game is scheduled for noon on Jan. 1.

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