photo by: Sarah Buchanan/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas junior guard Sania Copeland dribbles to set up a shot against Kansas State on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Lawrence.

After a promising start against No. 11 Kansas State in this year’s first edition of the Sunflower Showdown, the Kansas women’s basketball team’s third-quarter collapse resulted in a 91-64 loss to the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon, as many self-inflicted wounds led to disaster.

The Jayhawks gave up 30 points in the third quarter, as after ending the first quarter at Allen Fieldhouse in a one-possession game, they lost control over the course of a challenging next 20 minutes of basketball.

“When teams that have depth can run offense with pace — and obviously they created some havoc on the defensive end with pressure, especially in the full court — that wears on depth,” KU coach Brandon Schneider said.

He added that the Wildcats’ own experience and depth is part of “what makes them special.”

Laia Conesa was KU’s only player to reach double-digit scoring in the first half, as S’Mya Nichols finished with three points at the break. As Conesa grew cold along with the rest of the Jayhawks in the second half, Kansas allowed multiple double-digit runs and trailed by as many as 39 points in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Sania Copeland was the Jayhawks’ only saving grace to make a bad loss look slightly more palatable, as she scored 17 of Kansas’ 26 points in the fourth quarter to tighten the margins.

On top of the Jayhawks’ struggles with ball handling and shot making, the Wildcats made the wounds sting that much more by shooting 65% from three-point land and 60% from the field overall while dishing out 26 assists in a highly efficient and collaborative victory.

“That’s credit to the bench, because you’re not going to be able to do that with just your starters,” Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie said. “When you go to the rotation and bring new people in, they’ve got to bring that same energy… You’ve got to come right into a game, and I thought they did that.”

Even without star center Ayoka Lee in the post, the Wildcats got off to a fast start, scoring quickly on their first three possessions, but Conesa kept the Jayhawks in the game early, tallying their first five points to put them up 5-4. But from there, Kansas State embarked on an 11-2 run, taking an early eight-point lead. Brittany Harshaw hit a 3-pointer to stop the run for her first points since last the game against Utah on Jan. 22. After getting down by 10, the Jayhawks scored seven straight to finish the quarter in a one-possession game, down 20-17.

Following that successful conclusion to the first period, the Jayhawks went cold to start the second, allowing a 10-point Wildcat run, courtesy of Jaelyn Glenn and Zyanna Walker, to give K-State the biggest lead of the game, up 30-17. A timeout by Schneider allowed the Jayhawks to regroup, as Conesa got the Jayhawks in the scoring column for the second quarter to get back on track.

From there, the two squads largely traded off buckets. Even as Kansas’ defense managed a good amount of stops, the Wildcats always seemed able to score after giving anything up on the other end. An impressive shooting half gave the Wildcats a 37-25 lead heading into the break, as they shot 60% from the field and 50% from deep, as Glenn led them with eight points at halftime. On the Kansas side, Conesa propelled the Jayhawks with 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting, including two big three-pointers.

After losing their footing a bit in the second quarter, the Jayhawks fell off a cliff in the third. Kansas conceded 11 turnovers after surrendering just five in the first half, took just 11 shots, and gave up 30 points. Many of Kansas’ pitfalls were self-inflicted, but both Schneider and his players gave all the credit to Kansas State for profiting off these turnovers.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” guard Elle Evans said. “They’re such a good team that when you make mistakes, they’re going to capitalize on every single one of them. And that’s what we did, and I think that’s really where the separation was today.”

“We definitely have to be a team that minimizes our turnovers,” Copeland added. “We have to be ready for any kind of defenses, especially a press. I think that kind of rattled us a little bit, and that caused a lot of our turnovers.”

Heading into the final quarter in a 29-point deficit, things were all but over for the Jayhawks, with only two players, Conesa and Evans, scoring in double digits. The team’s leading scorer for the year, Nichols, had only nine points, as the Wildcats shut her down inside the lane.

“We just did not want her to get deep and break that free-throw line,” Mittie said of their game plan going in. “Because when she gets below that free-throw line, there’s not much you can do. She’s so powerful, her footwork is so good, so we just wanted to harass her enough that she didn’t get a head of steam… But I don’t know that as much of a game plan as you put together, it boils down to the players, boils down to their effort.”

Mittie emphasized that their ability to switch bodies on Nichols was critical in the win and shutting her down.

One encouraging part of a devastating afternoon for Kansas was Copeland’s 17 points in the game, all of which she scored in the fourth quarter. Copeland has struggled offensively in conference play, scoring only 40 points over Kansas’ first ten games against Big 12 opponents, shooting 28.2% from the field, and making only two 3-pointers. But Copeland was an impressive 6-for-6 in the fourth, including hitting all three triples that she attempted.

“It felt good,” she said after the game. “I wish that it could have helped the game more in a way, but I was taking pride in that I was wearing Kansas on my jersey, and I really didn’t want to lose by more than what we were already losing.”

Following a rough loss, the week won’t get any easier for the Jayhawks (14-8, 4-7 Big 12), as they’re set to travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on No. 21 West Virginia (17-4, 7-3) in a tough environment on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

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